The terms "Internet" and "Web" are becoming interchangeable. People may speak of the Internet when they mean the Web, since that is what they know. And as Hahn points out, what he knew as the "World Wide Web" (a system for accessing hypertext from web servers) has grown into the WEB, which includes gopher, mail, ftp, and other Internet clients [Hahn, 1996, p. 166].

Hypertext. Along with graphics, an appealing aspect of the Web is hypertext, the ability to link documents. Hypertext was created by Tim Berners-Lee, who invented it as a way to organize on-line scientific information at the physics laboratory CERN. When Marc Andreessen, an undergraduate at Illinois, incorporated hypertext into a program called Mosaic, it made the Web as easy as pointing and clicking at pictures and underlined words [Anonymous, Economist, 1995].

Hypertext objects can encompass all forms of computer representations. A user may click on text or something else, such as a graphic [Furuta & Stotts, 1995]. Hypertext allows users to browse and is becoming the "dominant data structure" of the Web [Newhagen & Rafaeli, 1996].

URLs. Clicking a link activates an embedded URL, or uniform resource locator, the "address" of the referred document. All URLs for the Web begin with http: which stands for hypertext transfer protocol. Other URLs exist, such as gopher:, ftp:, and telnet: [Hahn, 1996, p. 178]. With a good web browser (mentioned below), you do not need to type in the prefix, as it will determine the type of site automatically. Some older browsers, such as Mosaic, still require the prefix. In any case, when you create a link, it is a good idea to include the prefix, since there's no way to know what kind of browser someone is using to access your page.

Web Browsers. Web clients, programs that allow a user to view the graphics and text of the Web, are called browsers [Hahn, 1996, p. 166]. But these days they do a lot more. Netscape turned the Mosaic browser into an integrated program, meaning it can access web, gopher, ftp, and usenet sites, send and receive email, and even allow the user to edit a home page. This innovation led to the largest IPO (initial public offering) in history [Kaplan, 1996].

However, Netscape is not everyone's choice. Oracle founder Larry Ellison says their stuff is "very, very thin. We can blow their doors off with our server technology" Right now their real value is based on Web browsers that take you to the Netscape home page" [Halper & Karlgaard, 1996]. Of course you have to keep in mind the source. Plus, a good web browser will allow you to set any starting home page you want.

Nevertheless, the browser battle is between Netscape's Navigator and Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Explorer has impressed reviewers because it integrates well with Windows 95. Navigator, however, is popular because of its versatility. Navigator is also better at supporting Java, an object-oriented language that allows embedded applets, such as stock tickers, on a web page. Explorer has been pursuing its ActiveX technology, which allows interactive viewing and editing. While not compatible with Java, Explorer's "wrappers," or filters, allow viewing of Java applets. Both browsers provide programs for WYSIWYG web page editing [Miller, 1995].

Lately my preference is Microsoft's Internet Explorer. When Navigator kept freezing my system, I downloaded Explorer and have had no trouble with it. Plus, it loads faster. There are disadvantages, such as the lack of a percentage bar when downloading a file; and savings bookmarks takes about ten seconds as opposed to Navigator's fraction of a second. Still, the viewers and helper applications are intuitive, and the look is as good or better than Navigator. Whichever browser wins the battle, I believe most Internet users will be pleased with the results.

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