In order to go to most places on the Internet, all you need to do is open your web browser and type in the location. Currently there are many Web browsers available. Netscape Navigator and the Microsoft Internet Explorer are the most popular. Critics frequently disagree over which browser is superior. Try both and decide which you prefer.

Now you may be wondering, where should I go?

If you look at the Address Bar on your browser, you will see something that looks like:

That is the current web address you are viewing.

Many (though certainly not all) well known companies and organizations use their name as part of their web address. You can visit these places by typing in
http://www.(Company Name).com

So if you wanted to check out McDonalds' Web Site, just type http://www.mcdonalds.com in the address bar. If you wanted to visit Sony's Web Site, try http://www.sony.com. Or if you want to see what's on sale at Best Buy, try http://www.bestbuy.com. (If you notice, there is no space in the address. Web addresses cannot have a space in them, so just type the name without any spaces.)

Of course not all places fit this mold. Say you wanted information about the Capital Eye Center here in Raleigh. If you try http://www.capitaleyecenter.com it takes you to an "Under Construction Page". (That isn't their real address.) What can we do?

The Internet has several sites that run powerful Search Engines. A Search Engine will check out it's database of information and return web sites that match what you are looking for.

Google (http://www.google.com) is one of the largest and most powerful search engines.
Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com) is another popular choice and is one of the first search engines.

If you go to either search engine and search for "Capital Eye Center", you will find them pretty high on the search list and that their site is http://www.raleighcapitaleye.com. Of course search engines can also be used to look up practically anything. If you want to learn about a famous person (like George Washington or Ludwig van Beethoven), how to program the computer, how to make Chicken Francais, or what are the scores for today's baseball games, the search engine will return plenty of sites that will help you find what you are looking for.