What Can the Internet Do for You?

I was recently asked to create a web site for another seniors' organisation and was happy to oblige. After it was up and running I received an email from one of the committee members that stated: "I took half of the committee (those who were interested) to the computer room, showed them how to access their website..."

Half were interested, half were not—and this was the group responsible for running the organisation.

The response was to be expected, and my reference to it is not intended to be a criticism. For me, it underlined the need for us to let our friends know just what the Internet can do for them. My own background was telecommunications and I sent my first email in 1952. It wasn't much like the Internet, though—I used Morse code. At a reunion of former telegraphists a few years ago I discovered that less than 5% had any interest in computers, and these were people who already had the basic skills.

The Internet is a cornucopia of goodies that are there for the taking. Most of them are free and the others generally don't cost very much. What I would like you to think about is this: if we are enjoying and using the Internet, why not tell our friends about it? I don't mean that we should browbeat them interminably – evangelists are usually boring people and normal folk tend to avoid them – but do let people know what you're getting from your time on line.

I probably spend more time at the computer than most: maintaining three web sites and a blog is fairly time-consuming. Even so, I do a lot of things that are just for pleasure. Take note of the things you do and you'll be surprised at the gems you uncover. I'll make a list of some of the things I've done or discovered in the last couple of weeks to give you an idea.

• Did some banking and paid some bills. No big deal. Most Internet users do that.
• Stayed in touch with friends and family by email. Mundane stuff, but it's a wonderful facility.
• Downloaded some free books from Project Gutenberg.
• Played chess. I used to travel from Blaxland to Rooty Hill Chess Club to play, and to tournaments all over Sydney, but now I can play from home—an enormous saving in time and money. And my chess club is on line 24/7, so I can choose what time I play, and with whom.
• Last weekend my son attempted to swim the English Channel. I sat up in bed and watched his pilot boat's progress on a site called Ship AIS. While the vessel was heading east at about 2 knots I knew he was travelling well but when it started going west at 12 knots I knew he'd only made it to the half way mark.
• Played Sudoku which was featured a couple of weeks ago in Geordie Conyngham's Train Your Brain class. It's a fascinating class and I heartily recommend it to you.
• Checked the weather. You can do that on the U3A site of course by clicking WEATHER at the top of any page, but I use iGoogle as my home page and have added the Bureau of Meteorology's Weather Radar as well as the Blaxland weather report and forecast, so I can see it at a glance. The weather radar shows clearly where it is raining and how heavily.
• Used Google's Translate function to translate some Swedish text to English. (That Translate function isn't perfect but it's good enough to have enabled conversations with many chess opponents who don't speak English.)
• Checked out the background in one of David Baldacci's thrillers. Although the events were recent I learned more about David Koresh's Branch Davidians and the massacre at Waco; I also learned more about the Oklahoma City bombing. And, just to satisfy my curiosity, I looked to see why the TriBeCa region of Manhattan is spelt with three capital letters. (Incidentally, I once found a rather intriguing personification of God in one of Fr Andrew Greeley's novels and emailed him to ask about it. His reply came back within the hour. Let's see you do that with Snail Mail.)
• Having posted Abbott and Costello's Who's On First elsewhere on this web page I visited a site called Dead or Alive to see how long since they actually died, and of what cause. Clearly their work has immortalised them.
• Researched the statistics and probable outcome of a particular illness. A word of warning about medical research though: you need to be very careful which authorities you trust.
• I've looked up recipes, watched the closing duel from Scaramouche, and kept up with the news. I don't buy newspapers any more, I read the Herald on line. I use an on-line TV guide, too!

So those are just some of the uses I've found for the Internet in the past fortnight. You'll be able to compile a list of your own which is just as varied, or perhaps more so. The fact is you can learn anything about any subject you can name on the Internet. If you don't understand why your computer is behaving in a particular way, Google the question. Do you want to know whether our local newspapers are reporting the truth about world affairs? Double check with the Washington Post or the Manchester Guardian. Do you think our politicians are putting too much spin on the way they report their activities? Check those overseas sources to see what other people are saying.

We have a wonderful resource at our fingertips. PLEASE tell your friends. But, above all, do make use of it yourself.

                    —David Evans, Webmaster