Browsers

A browser is a piece of software that enables you to navigate the World Wide Web on your computer. Many browsers are capable of handling multimedia information, such as sound and video, in addition to traditional graphics and text. There are five main browsers: Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Mosaic, Lynx, and Opera, although Internet Explorer is by far the most common, followed by Netscape Navigator.

Newsgroups are essentially online discussions posted by anyone interested and centered around specific topics. For example, a newsgroup may be focused on computers, education, or music. Within those categories there can be many subcategories. Usually, the subject of a particular newsgroup can be quickly discovered by the first few letters of the newsgroup's name, such as comp for computers or edu for education.

The basic function of a Web browser is to serve as a doorway into the World Wide Web. The Web browser receives requests from you, the user, and then sends them on to server machines on the Internet which contain the information you requested. In order for the Web browser to do this, you need to type a universal resource locator, URL, or address into the address location field which is usually found at the top of the screen.

A Web browser is a software application that browses for, finds, and displays requested World Wide Web pages. A browser serves as a doorway for you to step into the Web. Browsers were originally designed to display text only, but a browser called Mosaic, introduced in the early 1990's, was able to display both text and graphics.

A newsreader is a program that browses, locates, and allows you to participate in newsgroups. In more technical terms, a newsreader is a special client application that allows you to access newsgroups on Usenet. Client application means that the newsreader program operates as a visiting client, representing requests for information from your computer to a server on the Internet.