This page is for Web travelers who do not have much experience navigating around the World Wide Web. And, yes, such people do visit TRON Web. A Japanese student, believe it or not, once contacted the Web master in Japanese asking for the URLs of Japanese-language Web sites related to the BTRON subproject, so pages such as this are useful to some folks who come here.
For novices, the most important thing to learn about the World Wide Web is that there are "hub Web sites" from which Web surfers can launch searches for data on the Web. These hub Web sites, which play a role similar to card catalogs in a library, have huge collections of links sorted by topic. However, even though those links run into the tens of thousands, they only represent a tiny fraction of actual Web content. For that reason, hub Web sites also have a search engine, which is queried by inputting a relevant text string in a text box that is usually located in the middle of the home page, normally below the heading at the top of the page.
The most popular of these hub-type Web sites is now Google.
Some other famous hub Web sites are:
One problem with Google is that it records information about each computer system that accesses its Web site and the search queries made through it. If this bothers you, you can use either of the following search engines, which do not record personal information, and also allow viewing of Web pages via proxy.
Since political pressure is sometimes applied to the owners of popular search engines to prevent the discovery of certain information or Web sites, it is best not to limit yourself to a single search engine when searching for data on the World Wide Web. If you can't find what you want via one, try another. Also, scan bulletin boards related to topics you are interested in. Knowledgeable people always post new links on them, and they have databases in their minds that you can take advantage of with a simple e-mail query. In some ways, people are better than machines, since they have the ability to rate the value of information sources.
Before using a search engine, take some time out to learn how it works so that you can obtain the best results. That is to say, learn how the advanced search features of the search engine work. Also, spend some time going through the output of a key word search. In other words, go through about 200 matches, to see exactly what type of output it produces. The more familiar you are with Web search engines and their output the easier it will be for you to navigate around the Web.
In addition to search engines, the above hub Web sites also offer free e-mail service--which allows you to access e-mail even when you are not at home in front of your own computer--and there are many clubs you can participate in where you can come into contact with people who are specialists in various fields. Also, many of the Web sites offer automatic translation services that allow you to get "rough translations" of Web pages you are interested in that are in foreign languages you do not know. If you would like to try your own luck at deciphering foreign-language Web sites, here is a link to a useful collection of dictionaries.
http://www.yourdictionary.com/languages.html
People interested in foreign countries, in particular relocating to start a new life, will probably find Escape Artist Web site very interesting. Believe it or not, this is a huge Web site filled with information to help Americans escape from America.
Those interested in the latest news have several sites to chose from. A few of the most popular noncommercial ones are:
USA Today at
CNN at
Time Inc. Web sites at
Those interested in the latest computer-related news have several sites to chose from. Some of the more well traveled ones are:
CNET
Ziff-Davis
TechWeb
One thing to keep in mind if you are a true neophyte is that you can download both free software and free-trial-use software from the World Wide Web. Free software for Microsoft Windows and other commercial operating systems can be obtained at the following URL.
http://download.cnet.com/windows/
Free software for the open source GNU/Linux operating system can be obtained at the URL below.
Last updated: September 26, 2012