Windows 10 All-in-One For Dummies - Woody Leonhard

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for novices to create powerful, efficient HTML. Some of those products are getting close.

       To read a web page, you must use a web browser. A web browser is a program or desktop app that runs on your computer and is responsible for converting HTML into text that you can read and use. Many people who view web pages use Google’s Chrome web browser, although Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Microsoft’s Edge browser in Windows 10 are all contenders. Internet Explorer is still inside Windows 10, but you have to dig deep to find it. (Hint: Click the Start icon and then open Windows Accessories.) Internet Explorer is no longer actively maintained by Microsoft, and their plan is to convince people to use Microsoft Edge. If you don’t stick to the dated and insecure Internet Explorer, any web browser is a good choice.

       More and more people (including me!) prefer Mozilla Firefox (see www.mozilla.org), Opera (see www.opera.com), or Chrome, from Google (www.google.com/chrome). You may not know that Firefox and Chrome can run right alongside Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge, with absolutely no confusion between the two. Err, four. In fact, they don’t even interact — Microsoft Edge, Firefox, and Google Chrome were designed to operate completely independently, and they do not mess with each other in any way, except when trying to promote themselves over their competitors.

      One unwritten rule for the World Wide Web: All web acronyms must be completely, utterly inscrutable. For example, a web address is a Uniform Resource Locator, or URL. (The techies I know pronounce URL “earl.” Those who don’t wear white lab coats tend to say “you are ell.”) As I said earlier, the HTML acronym means HyperText Markup Language. On the web, a gorgeous, sunny, palm-lined beach with the scent of frangipani wafting through the air would no doubt be called SHS — Smelly Hot Sand. Sheeesh.

      

The best part of the web is how easily you can jump from one place to another — and how easily you can create web pages with hot links (also called hyperlinks or just links) that transport the viewer wherever the author intends. That’s the H in HTML and the original reason for creating the web so many years ago.

      Who pays for all this stuff?

      "Who pays for all this stuff?" is the 64-billion-dollar question, isn’t it? The Internet is one of the true bargains of the 21st century. To get online, you probably have to pay AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, Mediacom, Evan, Cable One, CenturyLink, some other cable company, or another ISP a monthly fee. The fee you pay varies depending on the speed you want for your Internet connection and the services bundled with it, such as TV and online streaming subscriptions.

      

Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer are free, sorta, because they come with Windows 10, no matter which version you buy. Firefox is free as a breeze — in fact, it’s the poster child for open-source programs: Everything about the browser, even the program code itself, is free. Google Chrome and Opera are free, too. Both Microsoft, with Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer, and Google, with Chrome, keep tabs on where you go and what you do online — all the better to convince you to click an ad. Firefox collects some data, but its uses are limited. The same with Opera.

      Most websites don’t charge a cent. They pay for themselves in any of these ways:

       Contract advertising: Google has made a fortune. In 2019, advertising accounted for $134.81 billion in the company’s revenue.

       Use display advertising: Many sites run ads, most commonly from Google, but in some cases, selected from a pool of advertisers. The advertiser pays a bounty for each person who clicks the ad and views its website — a click-through.

       Use affiliate programs: Many sites may also participate in a retailer’s affiliate program. If a customer clicks through and orders something, the website that originated the transaction receives a percentage of the amount ordered. Amazon is well known for its affiliate program, but many others exist.

       Increase a company’s visibility: The website gives you a good excuse to buy more of the company’s products. This is why architectural firms show you pictures of their buildings and food companies post recipes.

       Reduce a company’s operating costs: Banks and brokerage firms, for example, have websites that routinely handle customer inquiries at a fraction of the cost of H2H (err, human-to-human) interactions.

       Draw in new business: Ask any real estate agent.

      Some websites have an entrance fee. For example, if you want to read more than a few articles on The New York Times website, you have to part with some substantial coin — $12 for twelve weeks — for their most basic option, the last time I looked. Guess that beats schlepping around a whole lotta paper.

      Here’s how it usually goes: You figure that you need to buy a new PC and spend a couple weeks brushing up on the details — price, storage, size, processor, memory — and doing lots of comparison shopping. You end up at your local Computers Are Us shop, and the guy behind the counter convinces you that the best bargain you’ll ever see is sitting right here, right now, and you’d better take it quick before somebody else nabs it.

      YOU MAY NOT NEED TO PAY MORE TO GET A CLEAN PC

      I hate it when the computer I want comes loaded with all that nice, “free” crapware. I’d seriously consider paying more to get a clean computer.

      You don’t need an antivirus and Internet security program preinstalled on your new PC. It is going to open and beg for money next month. Windows 10 comes with Windows Security (formerly known as Windows Defender), and it works great — for free.

      Browser toolbars? Puh-lease.

      You can choose your own Internet service provider. AT&T? Verizon? Who needs you?

      And trialware? Whether it’s Quicken or any of a zillion other programs, if you must pay for a preinstalled app in three months or six months, you don’t want it.

      If you’re looking for a new computer but can’t find an option to buy a PC without all the “extras,” look elsewhere. The big PC companies are slowly getting a clue, but until they clean up their act, you may be better served buying from a smaller retailer, who hasn’t yet presold every bit that isn’t nailed down. Or you can buy direct from Microsoft: Its Surface tablets and laptops are as clean as the driven snow. Pricey, perhaps. But blissfully clean.

      Microsoft’s online store sells new, clean computers from major manufacturers. Before you spend money on a computer, check to see whether it’s available dreck-free (usually at the same price) from the Microsoft Store. Go to www.microsoftstore.com and choose any PC. The ones on offer ship without any of the junk.

      If you bought a new computer with all that gunk, you could get rid of it by performing a reset or reinstall. See Book 8, Chapter 2 for details.

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