A Brief Overview
The Internet is a global network of computers linked via telephone cables and optic fibres. Some of these computers are constantly connected to the Internet while others just drop in for a visit. Every computer permanently connected to the net stores (or hosts) a bunch of information which can be accessed by other net users. To get to that information, you need to link your computer to a computer which is already "online" or a part of the Internet which is where we come in as your Internet Service Provider. Through a modem, you connect to our computer which in turn connects you to the Internet and you then become one of the millions of computers that make up the Internet.
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Double click on the icon of the two little computers at the bottom right next to your timeclock. Now click on the "Disconnect" button. When the icon disappears, you are then disconnected. If in doubt, you can always unplug the phone line from the modem to ensure a disconnection.
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If you already have the address of the site you would like to visit, simply type the address into the "Address" bar of Internet Explorer, then hit the Enter key on your keyboard.
As long as the address you've typed is correct and current, this will take you straight to the main page of that website. The set-out of a website address (or URL) usually looks like http://www.nameofwebsite.com or .com.au
You don't need to enter the full address with the http etc; simply type www.nameofwebsite.com

If you'd like to find a website on a particular topic but haven't any addresses to go to, you'd use a Search Engine to search the Net. A Search Engine simply works like a database, searching the millions of websites on the WWW and finding those that best match the keywords that you've specified. Try not to be too general nor too specific - a good way to search on the Net is with an open mind! Search using words within that particular subject, eg. if searching for information on kelpie breeders in Australia, you would enter search words such as: dog kelpie breeders australia.
If you don't find any satisfactory websites in the first 10 - 20 results, it may be better to start the search again but with different word combinations, maybe: dog kelpies breeding australian

Some popular Search Engines, just to name a few, can be found at www.google.com.au, www.excite.com, www.yahoo.com.au, www.altavista.com and www.goeureka.com.au.
Or use the Search feature found on the right of Highway banner at the top of this page.
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A good point to keep in mind is that the majority of email and website addresses are in lowercase. So as a general rule of thumb, type all email and website addresses in lowercase. If an address has both capital and lowercase letters and you type only lowercase, chances are that it will still reach its intended destination. However, it will not always work the other way round - typing capitals when it should all be lowercase can sometimes result in a Failure or Error message. Also remember, NO spaces - all addresses are a longstringofwordswithnospaces. And no fullstops after a website or email address either.
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Instead of having to type in web addresses or search for a particular website every time, you can save a direct link to any website that you have visited and would like to revisit in the future.
Whilst looking at the page that you wish to save:

• Internet Explorer: Click on "Favourites" then to "Add to Favourites". Then click "OK".
• Mozilla Firefox/Netscape Navigator: Click on "Bookmarks" and then "Add bookmark".

Now when you click on Favourites or Bookmarks, this address will have been added as a direct link on the main drop-down menu.
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Sending E-mail
Open your e-mail program and launch a new message window by clicking on the appropriate icon; this is usually called New Message, Create Message or New Mail.
In the TO box, type in the name of the recipient. It should take this form: recipient@domain.com.au (or .com etc)
Make sure you enter the address correctly or the message will return to you as a Failure Message. You can send a message to more than one person by entering multiple addresses. Just put a comma (,) between each address.
Type in a Subject and in the message box below, start writing your message. You can also copy text from a word processing program and paste it into the window. Now click on the Send or Send/Receive button and away it goes! If you're not sure if it's been sent, check your Sent Items folder.

Receiving E-mail
A common mistake users make when checking for new mail in Outlook Express, is to simply open their Inbox expecting any new mail to be sitting in there. If your email program is not set to automatically check for new mail, you'll need to click on the Send/Receive icon first. Only then is the e-mail downloaded from your mailbox on the Hwy mailserver onto your computer where you'll then find it waiting for you in your Inbox.
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With your membership with Highway, you get 10 megabytes of free server space onto which you can upload your website. Your website address (URL) will then be http://www.hwy.com.au/~yourusername and this website will remain here for as long as you have an active account with Hwy.

First of all, you'll need a website building program to create the page with. You could create your webpage using straight HTML code but you'll probably find it a lot faster, not to mention less confusing, using a web design program which does the HTML coding for you and you can then learn basic HTML as you progress. These are called Visual or WYSIWYG editors. (pronounced wi-zee-wig and stands for What You See Is What You Get)

There are a multitude of WYSIWYG editors both as Freeware (no cost at all) and Shareware (includes free trial for x days then you choose to purchase for a nominal fee). You find a list of some available from Tucows.com

HotDog PageWiz is a fairly easy shareware program to use and has a tutorial and online help to help you along. It has a 30 day trial which you can download from the HotDog homepage at http://www.sausage.com/hotdog-pagewiz.html
For instructions on downloading and installing HotDog PageWiz, please click here.

Once you've finished creating your webpage, you'll need to upload it to your home directory on the Highway server so the whole world can see it! Remember to keep your webpage under 10megs which is enough to have a pretty big site. Just so your webpage is nice and fast to load, it's a good idea to keep any pictures you use on your page to an average of around 40kbs in size each.

An FTP program is what you use to upload the files of your webpage onto the Highway server. Try downloading WSFTP_LE, an easy to use Freeware which you can download from
http://www.hwy.com.au/downloads/Utility-Software/wsftple.exe
For instructions on how to install and use WS_FTP LE, click here.
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