A home page typically serves as an online calling card for the individual or organization maintaining the site and as a guide to the site's content. Many search engines display a list of topics or categories you can click on to focus your inquiry. Getting started You may already use a computer at work for word processing, database management, or e-mail communications. You may even have a home computer for you or your children, who may use it to play games, do homework, or even consult encyclopedias or other references on CD-ROMs. If so, it's not difficult to take the next step and get online.
Many newer computers have modems built in.
If you can exchange e-mail with individuals outside your institution on your computer at work, you already have modem access. While selecting computer hardware is beyond the scope of this article, it's worth noting that how fast your computer handles data and how fast your modem sends and receives data in part determine how quickly you'll be able to view Web sites. On a older, slower computer, accessing a Web site that contains a lot of graphics may take a long wait. Next, you'll need an Internet service provider. Service providers typically furnish this software to subscribers.