web in the plain language: February 2011

Wednesday 2 February 2011

Vocabulary

e-mail

Electronic mail or e-mail, is a means to exchange digital letters or messages. Each person could get her or his unique e-mail address to receive and send the messages over the Internet. An e-mail message consists of two parts - the message header with the e-mail address and the letter itself.

search engine

A web search engine searches for information on the Internet. The search results may consist of webpages, images, information and other types of files. Search engines operate automatically.

social network

A social network is an online service or website that connects the people who share the same interests and/or activities. Each user could create a profile and interact with friends over the Internet.

account

Using the Internet services, such as social networks, demands that each user has an account which consists of a username and a password to log into the network, and besides screen name and nickname.

profile

A user profile is a collection of personal data connected with a specific user which represents a person's identity on the Internet.

webpage

A webpage is a document written in the computer language (for example HTML) for the Internet. It can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on a computer monitor or mobile device. This information is usually connected with other webpages through the links.

website

A website is a collection of related web pages, images, and videos with a common address. All publicly accessible websites together are the World Wide Web.

chat

A chat is a means of direct one-on-one communication over the Internet, using special software such as instant messengers. With help of them you can communicate with your friends who are online.

Tuesday 1 February 2011

How to Create a Website or Webblog?

- What is a website?

- Which kinds of websites are there on the Internet?

- How to create a website?

Now, when you learned how to create an e-mail account, how to upload and download files, how to publish images and texts on the Internet, it will be easy for you to make one step further and create your own webpage.

Think about what you will write on your webpage, try to choose a special topic. It could be a webblog or online diary, where you could leave your impressions. Or you could collect links to the articles which seem interesting to you or republish the articles you read somewhere else (it is not so much welcomed). The webpage might not be text-only, pictures, photos and videos will make it more interesting. You could also use the webblog for writing local or private news.

It is easy to create a webpage template. Look up for free HTML tutorials online which will help you to find a way to create your own webpage. A webpage template makes the task of building a website fairly fast and easy. To lay out the website you need to use Hypertext Mark-up Language (HTML) code, the main computer language of the Internet. It controls everything that you can see on the webpage like colors, boxes, text, and animations. So, it is useful to learn the necessary HTML language tags first, before trying to create a webpage template. It is a simple computer language and you can start working without too much special knowledge.

Here are the steps to create a webpage template:

1. Study how to create HTML tables. This will help you in creating columns for your webpage.

2. Become familiar with HTML color codes. Your colors should be simple and eye-friendly. Coordinate your webpage colors and create a professional look to your viewers.

3. Prepare images and logos to place in your webpage. The files in JPG or GIF format have to be of 800 x 400 pixel size.

4. Configure your webpage width. Set your monitor resolutions to a width of 1024 pixels wide instead of the old fashioned 800 by 600 pixels width setting. It is better to have a fixed width setting.

5. Know the basics parts of the template diagram. Your webpage contents should be split up into different parts or tables to load it faster. Since the webpage is made up of different tables, a template diagram will help you have a better picture of

what your webpage should look like. You could choose a template diagram that will suit your needs. Basically, your template diagram should have tables with the heading, the body and navigation controls, optional navigation tools, and footer.

6. Create sample of the webpages first. Do not settle on just one template. If you create several drafts, you could choose the best afterwards. Consider the layout of your template. It should be user-friendly, and the colors which you use should match to each other. Make sure that the tables do not overlap and webpage loading time does not take too long to irritate your visitors. Once you like what you see, you can move on to creating the content for your webpage.

Used Words:

Website - related web pages, images, and videos with a common address. All publicly accessible websites together are the World Wide Web.

Template - a special Internet tool which helps to create web-sites.

Required Tools:

* Computer with Internet connection.

* Enough understanding of computer security while using online resources.

* Basic knowledge of the HTML.

Useful Links:

How to Publish Images on the Internet?

- Which image formats are suitable for the Internet?

- Where to store the images online?

One of the most popular image formats for the computers is the Joint Photographic Experts Group or JPEG. Many pictures from digital cameras are JPEG files. They are suitable for compression and upload. So, you could easily share the images from your camera or your computer with other people, if you publish them on the Internet.

1. You could send the files via the Inernet if you attach them to the e-mail. When you are writing your e-mail, look for a button "attach files". When the menu appears, click “browse” and select the JPEG files on your computer which you want to upload. Remember, it will now take longer to send your e-mail.

2. Use a free online service to store your files. There are many websites where you could upload your photos for free, for example Photobucket, ImageShack and Picasaweb. Flickr.com is also one of the popular services, but you can only upload there up to a certain file size, if you are using a free account. If you pay for the service, you can upload more images and the bigger images equivalent up to one gigabyte. Photowebsites are a useful way to learn the photo technique, while you could comment on the other people’s photos and discuss them. To use these websites, you need to sign up with your e-mail account, create a password and a user account. Some of the websites become owners of your images, which you upload there. It might be not in your interest as an artist or photographer. So, you should read the “Terms of Service” first to see the rules of the website where you are going to present your photos.

3. You could also send your images through a chat program. In many chat programs (such as AIM, and Yahoo! Messenger) you could show a picture to a person you are talking to. Most of the time, you will see a small button in your chat window that looks like a picture. Click on it and share the file with your friend.

If your file is too big, many websites will resize it to an adequate file size. Sending through the e-mail won't resize it, and the larger the file is, the longer it takes to send and receive it. Consider that some people have electronic mailboxes that are of a certain size, and a large file might just fill them up.

4. You could also upload your images and share them with your friends through the social network.

Required Tools:

* Computer with Internet connection.

* Enough understanding of computer security while using online resources.

* Enough understanding of the copyright policy on the Internet.

Quick Tips:

* Resizing images makes file transfers faster and easier.

Used Words:

JPEG - a method of compression for digital images.

file sharing - allows the access to the information in the digital form, such as computer programs, multi-media (audio, video), documents, or electronic books.

user account - a special registration which allows a user the access to a computer system, or e-mail.

server - a computer program which supports the work of other programs, which may or may not be running on the same computer.

Useful Links:

How to Download/Upload a File Online?

- What is file download/upload?

- Where to find the files to download online?

- How to upload the file?

Internet is a great storage of various files. You could find there almost any kind of files, from music and films to software and audiobooks.

Tips for downloading the file:

Find the file which you need.

- To download the file click on the menu to open and save it.

- Install the file. Usually you download the file in the form of archive, which you have to set going afterwards. When the download is complete, open the downloaded file and start to install the program. You have to locate the folder to save files on your computer.

Tips for uploading the file:

You could not only download the files, but as well upload the files online and make them public and share them.

FTP, or the File Transfer Protocol, is a very popular program, used to copy or download a file from one computer to another. There are following steps to upload files to another computer.

* You need to get a FTP subscription.

* Download and install a FTP client which will allow you to upload the files to your FTP manager. FileZilla is one of the most used FTP clients. Find a to filezilla-project.org with help of your webbrowser. Click the button that says “Download FileZilla Client” and download the program. After the download is complete, start the setting or installing the program.

* Prepare the files you want to upload to your FTP server.

* Get a FTP account ready. In order to upload files to your FTP file manager you have to input the following details: host address, username, password, port number.

* Launch FileZilla and begin uploading the files:

1.) Enter the host address which is your website address as well.

2.) Input the username and password.

3.) Enter the port number which you will get from your web host.

4.) Hit the “Quick connect” button to log on to your FTO manager.

Once logged on using the FTP client find the files you want to upload on your computer and right click on them. Select “upload” from the menu and start the transfer. It will take a few seconds, depending on how big the file sizes are.

Used Words:

download - to receive data to a local system from a remote system.

upload - to send data from a local system to a remote system such as a server or another client.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) - a network protocol which is used to copy a file from one computer to another over the Internet.

Useful Links:

http://filezilla-project.org

How to Find the News Online?

- How to find the news on the Internet?

- How to write the news on the Internet yourself?

You can get express news online – it is fast. And the internet news channels are the most flexible one. Here are several top global express news websites:

1. Yahoo.com is one of the most popular express news. There you could find different kind of news: opinion or editorial news, magazine news, business news, world and local news, scientific news, and even automobile news.

2. CNN offers a variety of topics from international, regional to local. They also have a weather service.

3. Msnbc.msn.com is a great website with news, links and articles.

4. Fox News is the online express news website of the Fox Broadcasting Company. They publish international and national news with comments and videos.

5. The New York Times also has an online version with global edition for international news.

6. BBC is a powerful news resource of the British Broadcasting Corporation.

7. News.google.com is a website where you could find the news links to the other websites.

8. Dw-world.de is a respectful news resource of the German Broadcasting Company Deutsche Welle.

Most popular newspapers publish the news online on their websites. Webblogs are a great source of information as well. They are locally and personally oriented. You could use a webblog and publish there the news which has a private importance for you and your friends.

Used Words:

Link - a part of the web page, that is connected with another electronic document on the Internet, which could be loaded in the browser by clicking.

Website - related web pages, images, and videos with a common address. All publicly accessible websites together are the World Wide Web or the Internet.

Webblog - is a type of website or part of a website.

How to Buy and Sell Things on the Internet?

- How to Buy and Sell Things on the Internet?

Tips for buying things on the Internet:

Many people nowadays prefer to buy or sell things on the Internet. If you need to buy something, it is not necessary to go to the shop or supermarket. You could also buy things online. There are several huge internet shops where you could buy various products – from food to the technics. You could find the new one items and secondhand as well. It is more easy and convenient than to do shopping in the supermarket. For instance, some people don’t like shopping at all.

The most popular one worldwide Internet shopping services are Amazon.com and Ebay.com. You can order the products there and they will be delivered to you by post or with a courier. You can pay online with credit card or on arrival. There are thousands other smaller one specialized Internet shops.

Tips for selling things on the Internet:

The Internet proposes an easy-to-handle and client-oriented way to advertise and sell your products. A well-written ad for a product you want to sell on the Internet will interest more buyers. You can write an internet ad for your own product or for another person's or company's product that you intend to resell. Writing an ad takes some skills.

Used Words:

Online shopping allows to buy goods from a seller directly in real-time over the Internet.

Useful Links:

How to Get the Maps Online?

- Where could I find a map online?

- How could I use the map and plan my itinerary on the Internet?

Finding a map on the Internet is quick and easy. Online maps are more up-to-date than traditional maps.

Tips for finding the local map:

1. Mapquest is a very popular website which specializes in maps. It can provide you with maps of almost any location in the U.S., Canada, Europe and most of other countries. You could also find there driving directions, including which roads to take, and even estimate the time and distance of the journey. You have to know exactly your starting point and the point of destination.

2. Expedia is a website that gives you detailed driving instructions and topographical maps for the United States and Europe. This website has the advantage of being a "one-stop shop" for travel plans. There you can book a flight, book a hotel room and rent a car. Both of these websites offer interactive maps. You can zoom in as close as you wish, all the way down to street level. You can also zoom out and see your entire road at once.

3. National Geographic has a very useful tool called MapMachine. At this website you can look up a map for nearly any place on earth and get the population statistics, average rainfall, typical weather for each season and even historical facts.

4. maps.google.com is powerful resource which provides a detailed search of any address worldwide.

If you are traveling to a completely unfamiliar area, it's a good idea to get maps and directions from at least two sources, just in case one source proves to be inaccurate. And you could always stop and ask for directions.

Useful Links:

Tips for finding the World map:

You could find a world map in one of these spots:

1. National Geographic website features fact sheets about every country. There are maps which you could download at its resource MapMachine.

2. At World Maps website you will find classroom-type, roll-up world maps. They can provide you with relief maps, political maps and historical maps, as well as many other formats.

3. Rand McNally. The recourse offer fold-up maps, wall maps and online maps, just like the other sources listed here, but you can also find world atlases and many kinds of globes. And, if you can't find what you need, they offer custom-designed maps, too.

4. maps.google.com - is powerful resource which provides a detailed search of any address worldwide.

5. google.earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program.

Just remember, if you are using a map for travel, always get the most current version available. Political boundaries in some areas of the world change on an almost-daily basis.

Useful Links:

Tips for finding street maps:

If you are driving to an unfamiliar area, or easily getting lost in your own backyard, a street map is very useful.

1. Mapquest is one of the oldest and the best mapping websites. It provides street-level maps of nearly any country in the world. You can zoom in close enough to see each street in detail and zoom out far enough to see several streets at once.

2. Yahoo! also provides interactive maps. However, they also include current traffic conditions with their maps, which can be very useful if you're driving in a large city.

3. Search with the help of search engine for the websites of the local tourist offices in the city to which you are traveling to. They usually display city maps.

4. maps.google.com - is powerful resource which provides a detailed search of any address worldwide.

If you choose to print out an online map for reference when you are traveling, be sure to use as large a piece of paper as possible. An 11" x 17" format is ideal. Street maps contain lots of detail, which you need to know when you're in an unfamiliar area.

Required Tools:

* Computer with Internet connection.

* Enough understanding of computer security while using online resources.

Useful Links:

How to Find the Transport Schedule Online?

- Where to find a schedule of the transport online?

- How to use the schedule to plan the itinerary on the Internet?

When you travel with buses, trains or plains often or from time to time, it is important that you know the schedule. The Internet is one of the possibilities to find it. When you have a timetable, you will likely not miss any train, bus or plane ride in your life ever. So, always be a wise passenger and plan your journey in advance. Tips for planning a train journey:

* you could check for the train schedule at the websites of the train companies.

* you could check for the local train schedule at the local websites. Different local administration and transportation websites are catering train travel information.

* there are websites which display the train timetable for one particular country.

For example, in Germany it is Deutsche

Bahn Website, in Japan - Japan Train Online, in Poland – Centrum obsługi pasażera.

* EuRail - you can get train travel information all over Europe through this website. It includes links to the websites with train schedules in different countries in Europe, such as Germany and Austria. The website also offers a train map.

If you plan a bus journey or a plane flight, you could also find out easily lots of websites with the necessary information. Each bus and plain company world wide provides detailed information about the transport on the Internet.

Examples:

You need to plan a route from Weimar to Berlin on the 5^th of January of 2011. Just go to the website: http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/ and fill in the question

form up. All what you need is to put there the correct date and time and define the destination points "From" – "To". The more exact the information is the more detailed answer about the prices, connections and discounts you will get. You could also book and buy your ticket online.

Required Tools:

* Computer with Internet connection

Useful Links:

Trains Schedule:

Buses Schedule:

Air Planes Schedule:

How to Find or Place an Ad Online?

- Where to find a website with ads?

- How to write and publish ads online?

One of the advantages of the Internet is advertising. You could reach an unlimited audience.

Tips for searching for an ad:

- Consider the topic of your ad. The more exact you are, the easier it would be to find what you need.

- Search the category with the ads you need.

- Search for the more actual ads.

- Look through several websites.

Examples:

You are looking for a skateboard. But you need a used one, because you have no experience with skateboards and want to try first, if you will like skateboarding at all. So, you need the ads on the used or secondhand skateboards. Choose several websites with ads and start reading them regularly. If you learned how to find an ad, you could, for example, look for the job online. If you don’t find any ads concerning your demand, you could place an ad yourself.

Tips for writing an ad:

If you want to advertise on the Internet, you have to learn how to write good ads. Do not forget to put down your contacts such as e-mail address, online messenger and phone number in the ad. Once you have great ad text the next step is to find places where to publish it. Free ad websites are one of the best

places to start. Some of the bigger ad websites get millions of visitors a day. And there are really a lot of free ad websites for you to post to. Starting with the bigger ones first is your best move. There are paid one websites as well.

Paid advertising is another way and it takes many different forms. You can place your ads on some of the most popular websites for a fee. Now understand the amount it will cost ultimately will depend on the popularity of the website. Besides websites other avenues of paid advertising are webblogs, forums, search engines, and social networks.

Tips for placing an ad online:

- Consider the topic of your ad. The more exact you are, the easier it would be to get a response.

- Find a website with the ads which is popular and trustworthy at the same time.

- Find a category at the website which suits your ad.

- Write short ads. You need to catch the interest of the person viewing the ad immediately.

- Start with the headline. Peak the interest by telling what need or problem the product solves.

- Write an informative ad. The text should be short but full and contain all the necessary information. You have to describe what are the benefits of the product and what does the product do. Do make sure that what you are claiming is the truth. Please, put down in the ad all the necessary details in order you could be contacted easily, such as e-mail, online messenger and phone number. Think carefully about which contacts you would wish to display, since you make this information public and it could be misused.

- Make use of personal pronouns like "you" and "your".

- Capitalize to catch attention, but don’t overdo. Never capitalize the headline – this will look annoying and shouting. Use it only to emphasize certain words.

- Don’t forget to update your ad to make it actual.

Writing an effective Internet ad requires that you get attention and interest of a potential buyer. Learning how to place an ad on the Internet would help you sell and buy products online. You could look for the job online as well.

Required Tools:

* Computer with Internet connection

* Enough understanding of computer security while using online resources

Useful Links:

How to Use a Chat Room?

- What is a chat room and how does it function?

- How could I join and use a chat room?

You could use a chat room to discuss with your friends anything in the World, from music to politics online. In the chat rooms people from different countries, cultures, and continents meet each other and talk.

There are the most popular chat services:

- When you use Yahoo Messenger you can join there a region- or topic-based chat rooms. Whether you are looking for a group to discuss what Lady Gaga is up to or what is the latest news from China, Yahoo Messenger will allow you to join these. The application allows users to create their own chat rooms as well.

To join this chat you will need to download and install special software into your computer and create a free account. Visit yahoo.messenger.com to download a copy of the installer. Follow the directions and read up on the other features of the application. There is also an option to use the chat service via a web-based interface. Visit chat.yahoo.com for more details.

- Gmail.com – this worldwide e-mail service offers a built in chat Google Talk. If you have a gmail account you could chat with other users.

- IRC or Internet Relay Chat is one of the oldest and most popular chat services. The service is free and all you need to do is to download and install the software. Visit mirc.com and get your copy. Install, create a new account, and log in. Select a network to connect to and start chatting away.

- AIM is a very popular chat program helps you connect with your friends. It supports Google Talk and Facebook Chat.

- Skype – chat program which you could download online and use for chatting and international or landline calls. You could also connect webcam, headphones and microphone to your computer and talk to your friends or organize a web-conference online.

Social network websites like Facebook and MySpace have chat as well. When your friends are online, open up a chat and start chatting away.

Check out your Internet provider, while some of the bigger Internet providers give an access to chatting or instant messaging services. Keep in mind that some chat room services are not free and may require a monthly membership fee from you for using the service. Some chat services do not regulate offensive language. So make sure you are ready to talk to the people who might be not so friendly to you.

Used Words:

Chat - is a means of direct one-on-one communication over the Internet, using special software such as instant messenger. It helps you to communicate with your friends who are online.

Web-conference - a conference via the Internet.

E-mail - is a method of exchanging digital messages from one person to one or more recipients.

Internet provider - is a company that provides access to the Internet.

Download - to download means to receive data to a local system from a remote system.

Install - to install means to put the program onto a computer system so that it can work.

Required Tools:

* Computer with Internet connection.

* Enough understanding of computer security while using online resources.

Useful Links:

How To Join a Social Network?

- What is a social network?

- How does it work?

- How to join a social network?

Social networks are very useful to make new friends and keep in touch with old ones. You could get contact to the people from different parts of the World, who share your interests. With help of Facebook and Twitter which are the most widely used social networks worldwide, or MySpace or LiveJournal everybody can connect with anybody in the world. So, you will never be alone. When you have passion for something, you want to talk to other people who understand you. And social networks give a way to do this.

1. Set your interests and passions – music, writing, fashion, technics, computer games, sports, politics, ecology, business. There are already hundreds of social networking websites in the world, which unite people with different interests.

2. Search the Internet for the social networks.

For Example:

MySpace is a social network, which is used mostly by the people who play and love music. On this website you could publish your music for the other people to download or listen online. Or you could publish announcements about concerts and new albums. This website helps musicians to find other musicians for cooperation.

Flickr.com is a social network for the people who make photos. If you publish there your photos in the digital form, the other users could see and comment on them. It is a great way

to learn photography as well.

Youtube.com is social network which unites video-amateurs. You could publish there short videos and form your own video channel.

3. Think out a name for your account in the social network. Make sure that is easily remembered, and will reflect what you are posting about.

4. Think carefully about what to post. Anything you post to your social networking website represents you as a person and appears on public. That is why it is better to select everything you post carefully - from the pictures to the links and the webblogs. Think about this, when someone you added as a contact reads about who you are, what opinion will they get?

5. Make an attractive profile using the existing setup for your webpage. That can attract many people. Use photo and video sharing and chat.

6. Try to post useful and interesting materials.

7. Use links to other websites or social networking websites.

8. Sign up to several social networking websites. You could choose from over 50 of them.

For example: you could use one social network for social contacts and another for professional networking.

9. Remember to update your website regularly to make your website interesting and popular.

10. Tell your friends and acquaintances about your profile. Raise their interest to join your webpage. You could use an e-mail for this purpose.

If you once created a profile in a social network, it would be not a problem for you to create a website.

Used Words:

social network - an online service or website that connects the people who share the same interests and activities. Each user could create a profile and interact with friends over the Internet.

user profile - personal data connected with a specific user which represents a person's identity on the Internet.

webblog - is a type of website or part of a website.

webpage - a document written in the computer language (for example HTML) for the Internet.

website - related web pages, images, and videos with a common address. All publicly accessible websites together are the World Wide Web.

Required Tools:

* Computer with Internet connection.

* Enough understanding of computer security while using online resources.

Useful Links:

About Me

Wednesday 2 February 2011

Tuesday 1 February 2011