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Hints and Tips

This Section Covers --

Bookmarking
Bookmarking the Premium Services Express Page
Web Tips
Windows 95 Tips
Worth Looking At
What is the Internet?

Bookmarking

For most pages, simply click on the Bookmarks menu and select Add Bookmark. This will add an entry to the Bookmarks menu, that when clicked, will take you back to where you were before. You can also add a bookmark for a Premium Service, by right-clicking on the button that takes you from that link and selecting Add Bookmark. The bookmark created has an unusual name: to change it, click on the Bookmarks menu and select Go to Bookmarks. Scroll down to the bottom where the new bookmark is and select it by clicking your left mouse button once. Click on the Items menu and select Properties. Change the name field to the name of the Premium Service (such as MVD) and click on . Now, when you want to access the MVD database, you can click on your Bookmarks menu and select MVD.

**Bookmarking the Premium Services Express Page**

In response to customer requests, Technet has created a text-based page listing all of Technet's Premium Services. From Technet's main menu, click on the button and select Add Bookmark from the Bookmarks menu to add this page to your Bookmarks menu. If you use Technet mainly for Premium Services, you may want to make this page your home page. To do so, click on the Options menu, select General Preferences, and click on the Appearances tab. Just below where the window says Browser Starts With: is a text field which should read http://www.technet.nm.net/. Click in this field, erase what's there and type http://www.technet.nm.net/express.htm. Click . Now, whenver you start Netscape or click on the Home button, you will see this page.

Web Tips

Be sure to bookmark your favorite pages. It can be hard to remember your path to a page.

You may run across pages that want you to use plug-ins. Plug-ins are helper programs that extend the capabilities of Netscape. A plug-in can automatically show images, play sound, or do various other things from within Netscape.

Be aware that some plug-ins are quite large, and will take a long time to download and may consume large amounts of disk space. They can be useful, depending on your needs or wants.

If you are experiencing slow-down on the web, there are several strategies to speed things up.

1) Buy a faster modem. Technet currently supports up to 28,800 bps modems. This will provide the most noticeable difference in access times: a 28, 800 modem operates twice as fast as a 14,400 bps modem.

[Netscape Menu] 2) Try turning the images off. In Netscape, click on the Options menu, select the Autoload images option, as shown to the right. This will turn the autoload images off for all Web pages, including Technet's menu system. Because Technet specifies alternate text for when images aren't loaded, all buttons should be useable.

One important caveat: if you do decide to turn images off, don't forget to turn them back on when you want them.

Another thing to be aware of is that Netscape stores a local copy of all images and documents on your hard drive in a special place called a cache. It does this because it is much faster to read images and documents from your hard drive than from the network.

If you don't want to see any images, you need to remove the disk cache You can do this by Click on Options, selecting Network Preferences, and clicking Clear Disk Cache Now. This may take a few moments to occur. There may still be a few images stored in RAM: the next time you run Netscape, there shouldn't be any.

3) Another thing that will help is to upgrade to a 586 CPU computer (using an AMD, Cyrix, or an Intel Pentium chip.) This will help speed the display of graphics. Additionally, a faster video card will help: generally anything with 2 Megabytes of video memory or more will work well.

4) If a web site has retrieved some but not all of the graphics or page, and has seemed to get "stuck" one trick worth trying is to hit the Stop button on your browser. If most of the page is loaded, you may want to read it. If little of the page has been loaded, click the Reload button. If the connection is still slow, try clicking the Stop and Reload button several times in succession. If you notice any of the connections going faster, stop hitting Reload and wait for the page to load.

This may seem a little odd until you realize how the Internet works. All the data on the Internet is sent in little pieces called packets. When the Internet is busy, some of these packets don't reach their destination. It turns out that re-sending packets get a lower priority than sending new packets. So you may be waiting for a few old packets. By reloading, you are establishing a "fresh" connection that doesn't have to wait for old, lost packets to be re-sent.

Windows 95 Tips

NOTE: These tips are relevant to Windows 95 only. If you are using Windows 3.1 or Macintosh, please ignore these tips.

[Dial-Up Networking] 1) To speed up the time it takes to establish a connection, select Start,Programs,Accessories, and Dial-Up Networking. The Dial-Up Networking window displays. Right-click on the New Mexico Technet icon. You will see a short pop-up menu as shown at right. Select the Properties option. On the window that appears, click Server Type .

[ServerTypes]

Then make sure only TCP/IP is selected, as shown above. Click . Click at the next window too.

Now, next time you double click the Netscape icon, you should notice a reduction in the time it takes for your modem to connect to New Mexico Technet, because it will only establish a TCP/IP connection, which is the only one you need any way.

2) Don't turn off the automatic 5 minute disconnect. This option is offered if you're about to be disconnected by the 5 minute timeout. If you do, you'll increase the amount of time you are charged if you forget to close your connection. (Technet automatically disconnects PPP connections that have been idle for 30 minutes).

3) Internet Explorer. The easiest choice is to install Netscape 3.0. If you still would like to use Internet Explorer, you must ensure it is the most current one. Pull down the Help menu and select the About Internet Explorer option. If this menu does not say version 3.0 or 3.02, it is not the most current one, and you cannot use it to access Technet's services. Don't be fooled if it says something like 4.40.308: this is not version four. Try installing Netscape 3.0 instead. If you do have Internet Explorer version 3, Technet will provide only limited support: Technet will tell you how to use it with our menu system and how to make it use NetTerm, the telnet client you must use to access all of Technet services. For other Internet Explorer questions, consult your online manual.

Worth Looking At

1) Tutorial

The tutorial leads you through a scenario of how one customer might use the new interface to accomplish a goal.

2) FAQ

The frequently asked questions contains information in a question and answer format.

3) Glossary

The glossary defines words you may be unfamiliar with, such as Megabit.

4) Documentation Table of Contents.

This offers you links to all of Technet's online documentation.

What is the Internet?

The Internet is a vast, international cooperative computer network. Every one on the Internet agrees to have their computers use certain ways of talking to each other. These agreed-upon ways are known as protocols. Anyone using the Internet protocol is on the Internet. If you're dialing into to Technet using PPP, you're on the Internet because PPP is an Internet protocol.

Aside from the international nature of the Internet, the cooperative aspect is worth emphasizing. There is no one organization running the Internet. A series of technical bodies meets to work out problems: these bodies are formed on a strictly voluntary basis.

Another thing worth realizing about the cooperative nature of the Internet is that, occasionally, actions taken by distant Internet companies or organizations can affect the way parts of the Internet you may be attempting to access are working, or not working. Each Internet company, such as New Mexico Technet, can only be responsible only for its portion of the Internet.

This is often relevant when using your favorite Web browser: occasionally a site may be unreachable because of scheduled maintenance, or because an Internet service provider Technet has no control over is working on a problem. In New Mexico, lightning is the culprit for a down Web site surprisingly often.

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