Connecting Laptops to the Internet

The Internet isn't a computer program. Nor is the Internet a single large computer somewhere. No, the Internet is thousands and thousands of computers, all connected and all sharing information. It's more of a concept than a thing.

You need five things in order to access the Internet with your laptop:

• A computer

• A device to connect to the Internet

• Software to access and use the Internet

• An Internet Service Provider (ISP)

• Money

The computer you already have. That's easy. And if it's a modern computer, then you probably have both of the common methods of connecting to the Internet, either the built-in modem or the built-in Ethernet connection (wired or wireless). Two down!

Windows XP comes with all the Internet software that you need. Windows XP has both special software to connect to the Internet and software to use various resources on the Internet: the World Wide Web, e-mail, and other mysterious things and bewildering acronyms. Three down!

You connect to the Internet through an ISP. Or to put it another way, to connect your computer to the Internet, you have to find a computer already connected to the Internet and then connect your computer to the Internet through that computer.

The Internet isn't a single computer, but rather a multitude of computers all connected and sharing information and resources.

The ISP can be your office, where your company, the government, or whatever crime syndicate you're indebted to provides Internet service. It can be the university you attend. Or it can be a third-party service.

Finally, you need moolah to get the Internet from an ISP. Like phone service or cable TV, the ISP extracts a given monthly amount in exchange for Internet access. You have to find this money on your own.

You can get access to the Internet without having to pay a monthly fee in a couple of ways:

• You can get free Internet access in most community libraries, though you have to use their computers.

• If you connect to the Internet at work, then you get that connection more-or-less free. Though do be aware that many companies heavily filter their Internet access.