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New Users Guide Welcome to the Internet. Over the past few years the Internet has exploded into the biggest global network in the world. Today it seems like everyone has a connection to the Internet. In the next few years an e-mail address will be as common as a phone number. Imagine writing a letter to someone halfway around the world, dropping it in the mail and getting a response before the sun goes down. Well, this is possible and you have the capability. With the connection you are using right now you can view documents on the World Wide Web and send and receive electronic mail or e-mail. As you browse around on the Internet you will discover many wonderful things the Internet can offer you. Southwestern Bell Internet Services offers these as part of your standard dialup service. The World Wide Web gives your computer the capability to view a document anywhere in the world if you have its Uniform Resource Locator or URL. You may have seen a URL on a television commercial. A phrase like http://www.carcompany.com is common place in today's advertisements. When you enter this URL into your web browser such as Netscape Navigator, you will be given that document. This document, however, is more dynamic than one you might find placed in a notebook. This document is hyperlinked to other World Wide Web documents. This means if you have a document on the screen similar to this one you are reading, and you see a word or phrase that is highlighted like this, you can click on it to take you somewhere interesting. There are literally millions of hyperlinked documents throughout the web. You can use the web to search other documents on the web. Southwestern Bell has provided you with one of the best search engines available. At the top of most pages on this site you will notice an Infoseek search button next to a box that you can type into. Click this "text field" with your mouse and type a word or words you would like to search for on the web and then click on the Infoseek search button. You will be given a document with many topics on the web that contain the word or words you typed. Caution, you are now surfing. As you already know an e-mail address can be very important. Don’t be surprised if you meet someone new and they ask you for your e-mail address. Along with your Southwestern Bell Internet connection you have an Internet e-mail address. This address, such as johnsmith@swbell.net, is unique. No one else will have this address and since e-mail addresses are usually made up of the name of the bearer, they are easier to remember than phone numbers. When you send an e-mail to someone, your address will be included automatically with your letter. This way the recipient can easily send you a response. If you have a question, you can bet that question has been answered somewhere on the Internet. Anything from recipes to missing dogs, it’s out there. Every time you log on to the Internet examine the document your Web browser gives you. Southwestern Bell Internet Services has worked hard to make this site all you need to make your Internet experience enjoyable. Southwestern Bell has got you started. This web site is a great example of why the Internet has become so popular. You can search the web, check the local news, switch to the national economy, get travel information on Germany, oh yeah, and do something you would expect to when online - download some software, all while using your new SWBell Featured Web Site built for you. All pages on this site will have the familiar toolbar on top of each page. Each item in this area are like departments. Each department contains the necessary tools for you to search the Internet, drop a note to SWBell, check or modify your SWBell connection, explore this entire web site, download software, and find out what this site is all about. If you're not on the SWBell home page itself, notice the compass at the top left of each page. If the arrow behind this compass is blue you can click and it will take you home. Most pages have a World News and Local Info icon. Click the World News icon and you will be given the Current Reuters World News feed. Catch up with world stories at your convenience. The Local Info Icon will take you to a list of Internet sites that contain information about your local area. Parents should take note, the departments listed on the SWBell.net pages could link you to a site outside of SWBell.net. You'll know when you're no longer at SWBell.net when you can't see our toolbar and the compass logo at the upper right of the page. Use the HOME button on your browser to bring you back to SWBell.net. Along the left of most pages are main topics of interest. Use these links to list a wealth of worldly sites on a particular topic. While most of the places you can visit in a topic are great, look for the compass at the top left of each page. If it's not there, you are not in SWBell.net web site anymore. Remember the HOME button on your browser when you get lost. Keep coming back to SWBell.net. We will try everything in our power to make this site yours. Visit our what's new section to see what's here and what's coming. If you see places we can improve or if you have a question see our Customer Service Pages or better yet, send us some e-mail through our feedback section and fill in the blanks.

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