Internet Explorer utilizes the point-and-click technology to allow for easy selection of hypertext links and uses drop-down and toolbar buttons to navigate through the vast Internet (phdsystems, 2003). All Web browsers are capable of doing the basic tasks of finding and loading Web pages from the Internet and displaying the pages following HTML standards and conventions. Each Web browser is unique as is there are enough freedoms in HTML and the Web standards in general (cs.wayne.edu, 2003). Though there are many similarities with each Web browser there is enough difference that each browser has requirements or features that should be kept in mind while creating a Web document (cs.wayne.edu, 2003). The first browser that was ever made called NCSA Mosaic was developed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications in the early 1990s. Because of its graphical user interface, it was used on Macintosh computers and gave the popularity to the World Wide Web. Netscape Corporation introduced their first commercial web browser called Netscape Navigator. Eventually there was another web browser created, Internet Explor
9679;The Display Window is the part of the Web browser that displays the translated information of a Web page onto the computer screen itself (itep, 2003). This window acts just like any other window of a Macintosh or Windows operating system. It has a close button, a maximize button (which converts to the restore button once clicked) and a minimize button. It can also be resized and can also be moved around the screen (gactr.uga.edu, 2003).
9679;The Scroll Bar is the vertical bar to the right inside of the browser. This lets the user scroll up and down the Web page by clicking on either the up or down arrows and the top and at the bottom of the bar. Some users have a mouse with a wheel between the clickers, which can also be used to scroll up and down the Web page by moving it up and down. Some Web pages are too wide to fit in the users screen and a horizontal scroll bar will appear then. This is used the same way the vertical bar is used save that it goes from left to right and the mouse wheel cannot be spun to move it left or right (learnthenet, 2003).
9679;The Reload or Refresh button does just what it says it does, it refreshes or reloads the page. Sometimes, a connection to a server will be to slow and will freeze on the user. Pushing the Reload or Refresh button will immediately restart loading the Web page that is trying to be accessed. This is handy should the user be waiting for a site update that hasnt happened yet. Also, when the page is refreshed the collection of usually images is stored in a cache (pronounced cashed). A cache is a collection of temporary files that are stored on the computer for quicker access to a certain Web page or document (learnthenet, 2003).
Now these two web browsers go beyond just finding and displaying Web pages and documents. There are many handy features that are available for the user to choose from to help in the surfing as it is called of the internet. Some of the nifty features are the ability to send and receive e-mails, chat with others online, read and post messages to newsgroups, play audio and video files and to run other applications such as Java applets or ActiveX within a Web page or document (itep, 2003). But to view these wonderful extras, the user need to have downloaded and installed the correct helper applications. These viewers as they are called can be accessed through certain companies websites and sometimes in the upgrades for the Web browser. Basically, viewer applications allow for the user to view movie clips, hear sound clips and to have images displayed on the screen and so on. For example, Internet Explorer can be configured so that Windows Media Player is the main video and audio player for the browser when the user clicks on an audio or video clip on a Web page (phdsystems, 2003). A couple of helper applications of Internet Explorer allows for the user to access most internet resources, even those through FTP, Gopher and telnet. Also, Internet Explorer comes with newsreader and e-mail interfaces so that the user can access newsgroups, send and receive e-mails from within Internet Explorer (itep, 2003).
9679;The Stop button allows the user to stop the browser from loading the Web page that it is being uploaded. This is useful should the Web page or document is taking to long to load or if the user suspects a freeze in their system (learnthenet, 2003).
There are many other features that are important for a user to know when using a Web browser. The row of buttons at the top of the Web browser itself is called the toolbar. The toolbar is one of the main and most important components of a Web browser. Both Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator have similar but
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