DATE: Monday, August 4, 1997                TAG: 9708020282

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ROBIN BOYD, SPECIAL TO PILOT ONLINE 

                                            LENGTH:   88 lines

AN INTERNET PRIMER FOR AMERICA ONLINE USERS, NEW AND EXPERIENCED

America Online's ease of use brought millions of Americans online, but for a couple years it was anything but easy to get to the Internet's World Wide Web through AOL.

Not anymore. AOL has added many improvements, and some AOL customers may no longer realize when they're surfing the Net instead of pulling up AOL's proprietary information. Here are a few tricks and tips to help AOL users solve the mysteries of the Internet.

AOL vs. the Net: First, understand the difference between AOL and the Internet. The Internet is an open network of connected computers and files. Each computer and file has its own distinct address on the Internet called a URL, or Uniform Resource Locator. That's the http://www.whatever.com.

AOL is a closed bulletin board system with a graphical user interface. But AOL can get you to the Internet.

To explore the Internet you need a browser, which is a program that deciphers the Web's text, pictures, sound and even video. The two most popular browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Previous releases of AOL did not include a browser; however, the most recent versions for Windows integrate a pre-programmed version of Internet Explorer. (Macintosh users can find platform-specific details by searching for ``using other browsers'' on AOL's Member Services.)

Getting to the Web: So how do you get to the Web through AOL? It's simple. Click on the ``keyword'' icon on AOL's toolbar. In the keyword window that pops up, type the URL of the Web site you want to visit. The browser will open and will access the Web site. (Important: You must include the ``http://'' part of the address for this to work.)

Another way is to click on the ``globe'' icon on the toolbar. It will open the browser and take you to a starting page. From there you can type your desired URL in the drop-down text box at the top of the browser window.

Changing your home page: When you open AOL's browser, the default home page is the AOL Web site. Let's say you want to change your home page to Pilot Online. On the Members menu, click Preferences. Click the ``WWW'' button. Type http://www.pilotonline.com in the address field and click OK. The next time you start your browser, Pilot Online will automatically load.

Bookmarking your favorites: Once you start exploring the Internet, there will be many sites that you may want to visit frequently - such as CNN Interactive, The Weather Channel and ESPN - without having to manually enter the addresses each time. ``Bookmarking'' does the trick. When you bookmark a Web site, the address is saved in a list. When you want to visit the site again, just pick the name in your bookmark list and the browser will take you directly to the site.

AOL's name for bookmarking is ``favorite places.'' Virtually any area on AOL or on the Internet can be saved as a favorite place. To mark a site as one of your favorite places, locate the area or Web site that you want to bookmark and click on the ``heart'' icon that is in the title bar of the window.

Using a different browser: AOL's integrated version of Internet Explorer is functional but you may prefer the stand-alone version of Internet Explorer or the more popular Netscape Navigator. For free downloads of each of these browsers, visit the Microsoft Web site and the Netscape site.

Both of these browsers are fully compatible the 3.0 version of AOL for Windows. To use either of these browsers, sign on to AOL, minimize the AOL window, and then open your preferred browser. You must establish your AOL connection first.

Other ways to get to AOL: Many current and former AOLers became frustrated with the problem of dialing in and getting busy signals, or even getting kicked off after making a connection. One way to avoid this is to access AOL through an Internet Service Provider (ISP) such as InfiNet, Erols or AT&T WorldNet or through your Internet account at work or school. Many ISP accounts will cost $20 or less a month.

On AOL, you'll need to change your setup location to TCP/IP network. Then dial up your ISP. When you sign onto AOL, you'll quickly be connected to America Online.

This setup gets you the advantage of a more direct Web connection using Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer through an ISP, but you can still jump to AOL for chat, messaging and e-mail.

AOL calls this account the ``Bring Your Own Access'' plan. It costs $9.95 a month compared with $19.95 for the dial-up plan.

There is one major disadvantage. If you get a busy signal dialing into your ISP, or your connection to AOL is refused, you may have to dial directly to one of AOL's numbers. You'll be charged an extra $2.50 an hour.

Check the keywords ``new pricing'' and ``access'' on AOL for more information about these services. On Pilot Online, you'll find detailed instructions on all of this column's topics on the newly expanded Help section. MEMO: Robin Boyd is a Virginian-Pilot intern pursuing an MBA at the

University of Miami. Send Internet questions and suggestions for this

column to (pilot@pilotonline.com) with ``online column'' in the subject

field. Or, write us at Pilot Online, 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, VA

23510.

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