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Getting online can save you time and money – not to mention provide a wealth of information at your fingertips.
You can use the internet to:
This guide has been produced with the support of BT‚ one of the world’s leading providers of communication products and services.
The internet has revolutionised how we communicate with each other. There are many new ways to keep in touch and lots of opportunities to meet new people – sometimes even for free. Here are some of the most popular.
Electronic mail (email) is the quickest‚ easiest and cheapest way to contact people. You can send an email to friends and family‚ wherever they are‚ and attach pictures‚ photos‚ music and voice recordings. Setting up an email account is straightforward – you could get one from your internet service provider (ISP) or you could use a web-based service like Google Mail‚ Hotmail or Yahoo! Mail.
Instant messaging is a cross between emailing and text messaging.
If someone is on their computer at the same time as you are on yours‚ you can contact them and start a conversation. Type your message‚ press enter‚ watch your words appear on the screen and the other person can then reply.
Instant messaging is usually hosted by email-account providers. Your best option for instant messaging is a program called Trillian which allows you to chat across many instant messenger services (including MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger). You can even have audio and video chats.
Using the internet for phone calls is becoming popular because it is often free or cheaper than fixed-line telephones. You will need a microphone and so will the person you are speaking to. If you both have a web camera (web cam) you can also see the person you are talking to. Skype is the most popular provider. You can chat away on free Skype-to-Skype calls and never worry about cost‚ time or distance. You can also make local‚ long-distance and international calls to fixed-line and mobile phones at reduced rates. Download the free software from Skype.
Websites that focus on connecting – social networking websites – provide a great way to find like-minded communities‚ expand social circles and keep in touch with family and friends. Friends Reunited can put you in touch with people you knew at school‚ college‚ university and even former workplaces. Other websites like Facebook and MySpace allow you to search for friends registered with the site and also to meet new people.
A blog is a bit like an online diary: it tells the world what you’re up to and you can choose to keep it private‚ share it with friends or publish it for the whole world to see. Twitter is a ‘micro-blogging’ service where your posts, known as tweets, are limited to 140 characters. Set up a free blog at www.blogger.com or twitter.com.
From shopping to accessing government services‚ and switching utility companies to comparing financial products – there are many ways to save time and money by getting online.
The Government wants us to use the internet as much as possible to deal with its various departments and agencies‚ and with the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland‚ Scotland and Wales and local councils.There is a single website, www.direct.gov.uk, that links you to all public services. You can use it to search for information about anything from health to money‚ but the most useful part deals with central and local government online. Here are just some of the things you can do:
From DirectGov you can also find your local council’s website and find out about local recycling schemes‚ rubbish collections and council-approved safe-trader schemes. Go to DirectGov and click on ‘Do it online’ for all the transactions and forms you can use via the site.
Research by the Post Office shows that the average saving by shopping online is £840 per year per person.
You can shop online around the clock‚ at your own pace and get your purchases delivered‚ although you may have to pay a delivery charge. All the major retailers have shops online and there are many specialist retailers.
Internet auction sites are also popular – you type in what you are looking for and can view pictures and read descriptions of items on sale then‚ importantly‚ find out what other customers have said about the seller. www.ebay.co.uk is the most popular UK auction website. To buy something online you’ll have to provide debit or credit card details‚ so you need to know that you can trust the retailer. www.shopsafeonline.org.uk is a directory of over 4‚000 retailers which rates them for security. You can also use www.paypal.com to pay securely using your debit or credit card‚ bank account or PayPal balance – all without sharing your financial details with the seller.
Online shopping makes it very easy to compare prices between retailers and there are websites designed to help you do this. It’s important to make sure that you really are comparing like with like‚ for instance to check what the delivery charges are for an item as they may well outweigh any apparent saving on the advertised price. A good price-comparison website will help you with this. Two websites that offer price comparisons are www.kelkoo.co.uk and www.pricerunner.co.uk. Try more than one comparison site to find the best deals and to get as full a coverage of the market as possible‚ because no site covers every single supplier.
Most price-comparison websites also include opinions from ordinary people that can help you to make an informed choice. www.which.co.uk conducts impartial product reviews for everything from washing machines to mobile phones. You can view the reports on their website, although you do need to subscribe to access the full content.
For independent reviews of products aimed at disabled and older people try www.product-reviews.org.uk.
BT sells telecommunications products aimed at older and disabled people. Visit www.btplc.com/inclusion/.
Managing your money online is a quick and easy way to keep tabs on your finances. Instead of queuing at the bank‚ you can set up online access to your account and use it to transfer money‚ pay bills and set up direct debits.
Because you do all the work yourself‚ banks save money on administration and this often translates into higher interest rates or lower charges.
There are also comparison websites for money-related products. You could use these to find‚ for instance‚ the cheapest credit card deals or highest fixed-rate savings accounts.
And don’t worry – there are some basic steps listed on the www.getsafeonline.org to keep you safe from fraud. www.banksafeonline.org.uk have a free guide to banking safely online. Managing utilities online Some websites compare utility prices between energy companies‚ and often offer incentives like a discounted case of wine or cashback if you switch via them to a cheaper provider – try www.uswitch.com or www.comparethemarket.com. Remember that you’ll save even more if you pay your bills online. The website www.moneysavingexpert.com provides guidance on using financial-comparison websites and the latest information and advice about switching energy company.
At the click of a mouse you can find information and advice on absolutely anything from health conditions to debt‚ but it pays to be vigilant about who and where you are getting the information from. Here are some tips on how to search for information and some reputable and trusted online sources of advice.
The world wide web links millions of websites. Each website is made up of ‘pages’ and has an address (also called URLs). Think of a topic and there will be some information about it on the web. But how can you find what you want? Fortunately‚ you can use a search engine that sifts through all the pages in seconds. The most popular search engine is www.google.co.uk. It has become so well used that people often refer to searching for information online by saying they’ll ‘Google it’! There are a number of other search engines such as uk.yahoo.com and uk.ask.com.
Top tips for searching online
There are plenty of specialised organisations providing information and advice online. Below we take a look at some sources of information on health and money.
The best place to start a search for reliable health information is the NHS website, www.nhsInform.co.uk.
NHS Inform has information on hundreds of health conditions – you will find symptoms‚ diagnosis and treatment options explained in videos featuring patients and consultants – together with details of specialist support groups to help you.
Look here too if you want to find out about hospitals you can choose for treatment. You can read and post comments about the care and treatment you receive.
The www.fsa.gov.uk (FSA) provides a wealth of information on money matters. They aim to cut out the jargon and give you the facts about financial products and services‚ helping you to make an informed decision.
The FSA has information specially for older people covering retirement‚ long-term care and pensions‚ and online tools such as a free financial health check and budget calculator.
www.nationaldebtline.co.uk provides information to help you get out of debt and online tools to help you manage debt. This includes an information pack to help you decide which debts to deal with first (priority debts) and how to deal with court procedures‚ a personal budget section to work out what repayments you can afford‚ a suite of sample letters to write to your creditors and a debt advice section.
Charities’ websites are often an excellent place to start for specialist information and advice. Some charities that may be of interest for health information include www.carersuk.org, www.bhf.org.uk and www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk, while www.cas.org.uk can offer help with money‚ family‚ daily life and your rights.
Getting the most out of the internet doesn’t just mean sorting out your money or shopping – there are endless opportunities for fun‚ stimulation and learning.
The internet keeps you up to date with everything that’s going on. You do not need to buy a newspaper and the print does not come off on your hands!
You can easily find out:
You can read newspapers online‚ and visit the BBC and itn.co.uk websites‚ for news and current affairs information.
Traditional ways to watch TV and films and listen to music and radio programmes are changing – now you can listen to and watch many of your favourite shows online any time you want‚ again and again. You can:
You don’t have to own a personal music player (MP3 player or iPod) to listen to downloaded music – most computers have built-in loudspeakers or you could buy speakers or headphones. Learn more about listening to music and podcasts using iTunes with this useful www.wikihow.com/Use-iTunes.
From gardening to golf and family trees to fishing‚ you’ll find everything you need to know on the internet. However weird and wonderful your interest‚ the chances are that there’ll be a website – just type it into a search engine and see what comes up. You can use the internet to:
Carry on working The internet is also a valuable resource for anyone who wants to enhance their career prospects. You’ll find more jobs‚ training courses and volunteering opportunities on the internet than anywhere else. Use it to:
Search the www.scotsman.com/jobs for jobs and career or try www.vso.org.uk for exciting volunteering opportunities worldwide.
All the main tour operators‚ airlines‚ train and coach companies have websites so you can browse for holidays or book travel and accommodation separately. Remember to check that you’ll be protected should the company go bust – search the ABTA or www.atol.org.uk websites. Use the internet to:
Before you use the internet‚ there are several items you will need.
Some people like desktop computers while others prefer more portable computers that you can carry around and use on your lap (known as laptops).A mouse is a hand-sized control that allows you to direct an arrow‚ or cursor‚ around your computer screen and to click on things on the screen and is how you navigate your way around the internet. They come in different shapes and sizes and are comfortable even if you have limited dexterity.Desktop computers usually have keyboard and mouse as separate items but on a laptop they are built in and the mouse is usually a track pad. The computer‚ keyboard‚ mouse are all hardware.
There are two ways to connect to the internet‚ dial-up and broadband.
Dial-up internet connectionWith a dial-up connection the computer is plugged into your phone line and dials a telephone number. It keeps your telephone line busy and is the slowest form of connection.
Broadband internet connectionA broadband connection is fast and allows you to use your phone and be on the internet at the same time. You can shop around for cheap ‘bundles’ of services, ie all your television‚ internet and phone services from one provider. There are different types of broadband connection to the internet:
When using the internet‚ you must ensure the security of your personal details and the safety of your computer from viruses – computer programs on the internet designed to access your computer without your consent. There are several free anti-virus programs that allow only safe content from the internet onto your computer.
Once you are connected‚ try the www.bbc.co.uk/computertutor/ – a useful online guide to using a keyboard‚ mouse and computer screen.
Blog A shorthand term for weblog, the online equivalent of a diary or journal.
BroadbandA fast connection to the internet using an ADSL modem‚ cable or wireless connection.
BrowserA piece of software that enables your computer to load and display pages in a website. The most popular web browsers are Internet Explorer‚ Firefox‚ Chrome‚ Safari and Opera.
Desktop computerA computer designed to fit on top of a desk that typically comes in separate parts connected during installation: the base unit or tower‚ the display monitor or screen‚ a keyboard and a mouse. Download/loadTransfer file(s) from the internet to your own computer: when used with email‚ it usually refers to collecting new messages; when used with the web‚ it usually refers to requesting a web page through a web browser.
Email Short for ‘electronic mail’‚ it is the internet version of the postal service: you send a message from your computer to another person who also has access to email.
Email address To exchange email messages with friends and family‚ and to register for many types of internet service‚ you need your own email address‚ which will typically look something like this: yourname@serviceprovider.co.uk
Hardware Any piece of equipment that is part of a computer system‚ eg printer‚ keyboard‚ hard drive (which stores information) and memory card (which affects how fast your computer works and how many concurrent tasks it can undertake).
Hyperlink A hyperlink can be a word or a graphic. When it is clicked with a mouse‚ a new web page or part of the same page opens automatically in your web browser. A text hyperlink is typically a different colour and may also be underlined.
Internet/the net A worldwide collection of computers joined by networks‚ which are linked to each other via communication links such as telephone lines. To join the internet all you have to do is connect your computer to one of the networks. Internet service provider (ISP) A company that provides you with access to the internet from your computer.
Laptop A portable computer‚ which is smaller and lighter than a desktop computer and is designed to be easily moved around.
Load See download/load
Online This means working on a computer that is currently connected to the internet.
PC Short for ‘personal computer’ – a generic term for both laptops and desktop computers.
Podcasts These are recordings of radio shows available from the internet that you can listen to when you choose.
Search engine A website that allows you to enter words or select from a list of subjects and categories to search for a topic.
Social networking websites Websites that provide dedicated web pages to share information‚ photographs and updates.
Software Any program that can be loaded onto a computer‚ from games to accounting or word-processing packages.
Web see World wide web
Web(site) address Identifies the location on the internet of a website or page. Typically looks something like this: http://www.ageuk.org.uk/ or http://www.bbc.co.uk.
Web cam A video camera connected to the internet through your computer.
Web page Viewed with a web browser – a document that can consist of text‚ pictures‚ moving images‚ and sound‚ which together provide information or describe an organisation‚ product or service.
Website A collection of related web pages published by a single organisation.
Window A separate viewing area on a computer display screen. A window can usually be resized by the user – for example‚ it can be stretched on any side‚ minimised‚ maximised and closed. You can have several windows on your screen at the same time.
World wide web (www or web) The web pages stored on computers connected to the internet.
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