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SURFING THE NET Having covered the world of e-mail, Elton Boocock explains

24th June 2004, Page 66
24th June 2004
Page 66
Page 66, 24th June 2004 — SURFING THE NET Having covered the world of e-mail, Elton Boocock explains
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

how portals help you to make the most of the World Wide Web.

In the first foray into what the internet can do for you, we will take a look at some of the Internet browser functions that are often overlooked, but which could save you time in every interne session. We will use the Internet Explorer browser, as this is the most popular. However, you will find the same functions across all browsers, although they'll use slightly different icons.

In the first foray into what the internet can do for you, we will take a look at some of the Internet browser functions that are often overlooked, but which could save you time in every interne session. We will use the Internet Explorer browser, as this is the most popular. However, you will find the same functions across all browsers, although they'll use slightly different icons.

In the first foray into what the internet can do for you, we will take a look at some of the Internet browser functions that are often overlooked, but which could save you time in every interne session. We will use the Internet Explorer browser, as this is the most popular. However, you will find the same functions across all browsers, although they'll use slightly different icons. One recent development on the Internet is web portals.A portal is a website or service that offers a broad array of resources and services, such as e-mail, forums, search engines, and online shops.There are portals to support a vast number of interests, hobbies and industries. We will One recent development on the Internet is web portals.A portal is a website or service that offers a broad array of resources and services, such as e-mail, forums, search engines, and online shops.There are portals to support a vast number of interests, hobbies and industries. We will

look at the portal provided by a large internet service provider (ISP), then the UK haulage industry portal, uk-trucking.net.

Wanadoo (formerly Freeserve) is one of the largest ISPs in the UK, and one way of making sure its customers keep coming back is to provide a portal that supports as many interests as possible.The site is designed to help Wanadoo customers to get to the information they require with minimum fuss. But due to the large amounts of information displayed within a portal, the navigation (menus etc) has to be simple and consistent. Main menu

A main menu down the left-hand side of the screen is common to most portal sites, as you will see with uk-trucking.net. For the user, a good portal offers consistent ways of sifting through large amounts of diverse information quickly and easily.This makes it easy for users to gain the most out of their time online. Another theme common to portals is the banner advertising positions.This tends to be the way that most portals are funded. No one likes to see advertising taking up screen space, but without it, there would be no site. While most portals include some kind of search engine, the time saved in using portals over search engines justifies their existence.

A main menu down the left-hand side of the screen is common to most portal sites, as you will see with uk-trucking.net. For the user, a good portal offers consistent ways of sifting through large amounts of diverse information quickly and easily.This makes it easy for users to gain the most out of their time online. Another theme common to portals is the banner advertising positions.This tends to be the way that most portals are funded. No one likes to see advertising taking up screen space, but without it, there would be no site. While most portals include some kind of search engine, the time saved in using portals over search engines justifies their existence.

A main menu down the left-hand side of the screen is common to most portal sites, as you will see with uk-trucking.net. For the user, a good portal offers consistent ways of sifting through large amounts of diverse information quickly and easily.This makes it easy for users to gain the most out of their time online. Another theme common to portals is the banner advertising positions.This tends to be the way that most portals are funded. No one likes to see advertising taking up screen space, but without it, there would be no site. While most portals include some kind of search engine, the time saved in using portals over search engines justifies their existence. The industry portal takes the same features as the ISP-style portal, but narrows the interest range to be more specific. By focusing on one particular speciality, the industry portal can bring The industry portal takes the same features as the ISP-style portal, but narrows the interest range to be more specific. By focusing on one particular speciality, the industry portal can bring The industry portal takes the same features as the ISP-style portal, but narrows the interest range to be more specific. By focusing on one particular speciality, the industry portal can bring

together a lot of highly relevant information, so it is more convenient for users. The UK haulage industry portal www.uk-trucldng.net has hundreds of pages that are relevant to those in the haulage industry.The site includes subjects such as recruitment, classifieds, legal help, driver development, training, health and safety and much more. Using the standard structure for Internet portals, navigation through the pages is easy, while links to other sites are provided where necessary to ensure users can find the information they seek.

As a result, finding information should be easier than using general search engines.As increasing numbers of internet users switch to broadband, portals include an increasing amount of video content. In the case of uk-trucking.net, this includes driver development plus health and safety videos viewable 24 hours a day over the internet. As with most portals, uk-trucking.net is driven by a large database that allows users to add content, such as a job advert or a comment in a forum.The interactive nature of internet portals has led to the development of 'online communities'.

In summary, the key feature that defines a portal is the volume of content range. However, you will also recognise similarities defining portals such as simple navigation, banner advertising, database-driven information, online video and interactivity in various forms.The internet portal makes a serious alternative to the traditional search engine, and helps when looking for specific information. • Elton Boocock runs www.uk-trucking.ne4 the haulage industry website.


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