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4F TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2000 DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE Touring the Web LEARNING THE NET DESTINATION: AUSTRALIA ee mod on tifoe Welb 099 I Daniel pJ Greenberg GANNETT NEWS SERVICE -Mmmmmmmmrrf. 4 ml ill it 1 1' What's a browser? It's a window to the wired world GANNETT NEWS SERVICE MARY PAT HYLAND Just in time for the Olympics, a tour of Australian Web sites. Breaking down the Barrier Fascinating facts about the Great Barrier Reef: www.australiangeographic.com ausgeobarrierreefindex.htm Barbie drawls Add these bits of Australian slang to your repertoire: Bitzer: mongrel dog, as in bits of. this, bits of that. Bodgy: of inferior quality.

Cactus: dead, not functioning. Dinkum, Fair Dinkum: true, real, genuine. Mozzie: mosquito. Sanger: sandwich. Taswegian: person from Tasmania.

Shark biscuit: someone new to surfing. Want more? Look at koalanet.com.auaustralian-slang.html Aussie anthem Lyrics and music to the national anthem, Advance Australia First: www.acs.org.aupresident1996epubs austfr.htm Start spreading the news Australians love sandwiches of bread and Vegemite, a spread made with brewer's yeast: www.vegemite.com.au Homage to Pharlap The Museum Victoria's tribute to Australia's greatest racehorse: www.mov.vic.gov.aupharlap What's big in Australia? Find photographic evidence here: www.ozemail.com.au-arundeil bigthing.htm Bandicoots, kookaburras and cockatoos, oh my! Why does Australia have so many unusual animals? www.ioo.org.au Oz-zy tunes Listen to all-Australian music, 24 hours a day: ozchannel.com.au The Australian Tourist Commission Find facts about the Great Barrier Reef at vnvw.austraUangeograpruc.corrv'ausgeobarrierreefindex.htm Speaking of homegrown music, here's the home page for 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, actor Russell Crowe's rock band: gruntland.comindex.html Do you Didgeridoo? If not, take this easy online course on the aboriginal wooden flute: aboriginalart.com.audidgeridoodig background.html What makes Matilda waltz? Could it be Australian wines? winetitles.com.auwineonline.html You can e-mail Mary Pat Hyland of the Press Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton, at pressaxcesdaol.com So you just got Internet access and are ready to try your hand at Web surfing? Welcome. Don't worry if you know nothing about the wired world, because most U.S. households don't have Internet access. Which means it's a great time to climb aboard and see what the fuss is about.

Each week, we'll explain things as clearly as we can, and emphasize ways the online world can benefit your off-line life. We'll discuss how you can save time and money and enhance your life. For example, you can get instant access to the latest information, or to mysterious ancient lore (like your DMV's registration process). We'll also tell you what to look out for, because the online world mirrors the good and bad of the real world. Once you have signed up for Internet access, you'll use a program called a browser.

Think of it as your window to the wired world. You use it to dial up information from the World Wide Web. The most popular browser is Microsoft's free Internet Explorer, which comes installed on most Windows computers. But you might also use Netscape's free Navigator or Communicator, or America Online's browser. To get to a Web site, type the site address into the long white text window near the top of the browser window.

If an address is already showing, click on the window and it will turn from white to blue. The blue means that when you type, you'll replace the old address with the new one. Try typing into the window, and press the enter key. (Usually, you don't need to type because most browsers add it for you.) Your browser starts to fetch the Web page. You'll see a small animation in the upper right corner (shooting stars, a turning globe) to let you know the site is coming.

You'll see lots of headlines on the USA Today site. Most are underlined in blue, to indicate hyperlinks. As you move your mouse pointer over them, the pointer changes to a hand. Click, and watch the new page load. To return to the USA Today front page, click the "Back" button in the upper left of the browser window.

Notice the hyperlink you clicked on has changed color, so you can keep track of which links you have visited. To return to the last story, click the hyperlink or the Forward button. Congratulations. You're online. Daniel Greenberg is a game designer who has covered technology for more than a decade.

Gannett News Service The Sydney Opera House seats 5,200, and is the centerpiece of the skyline. Construction began in 1959 and Was completed in 1973. WEB ENTERTAINMENT WHAT'S NEW ON THE WEB Map your future Movie buffs can find trivia, reviews online BY STAFF FILM CRITIC fSam Vincent Meddis USAT0DAY.COM New and interesting sites of note on the World Wide Web: Educational Mapping Your Future aims to combine state-of-the-art technology, professional staff and volunteers to counsel students and families about college, career and financial aid choices. www.mapping-your-future.org Educators and students alike can get a head start on homework at this revamped Gateway to Educational Materials. One-stop access to educational resources.

www.thegateway.org Entertaining Ditto is a search engine that invites you to "see" the Web. The service's core focus is 'providing access to millions of online pictures. www.ditto.com Public radio junkies can get listings of favorite programs delivered to their e-mailboxesK courtesy of RadioScout. Or use drop-down menus to conduct an online search. publicradio.orgservletRadioScout.

MainPage Health Best Hospitals Finder analyzed 6,247 institutions to come up with a list of 173 hospitals Movie sites Internet Movie Data Base: www.imdb.com Movie Review Query Engine: www.mrqe.com Irreverent movie reviews and previews: www.rottentomatoes.com Movies news, reviews and spoilers: www.aint-it-cool-news.com Lots of links to other movie-related sites: www.cinema-sites.com Reviews, features, interviews: mrshowbiz.go.com Movie reviews, news, trailers: www.film.com Classic Hollywood, American films: www.filmsite.org Life and times of Louise Brooks: www.pandorasbox.com Official Academy Awards site: www.oscars.com Good info for moviegoers in Chicago: chireader.commovies The New Republic online: www.tnr.com New York Observer online: www.observ- Tip of the Week Old browsers don't display all Web sites properly, and new versions generally have better security. You can download the latest version for free. For Internet Explorer version 5.5, go to www.microsoft.com windowsie. For the latest Communicator (version 4.74), go to www.netscape.com and click on the Download button. JACK GARNER The Internet is a movie-lover's paradise, with nearly as many sites as there are movies to fuel them.

With clever mouse-clicking, you can read reviews galore, check on release dates, get box office returns, read about stars, check for news about movies on video, DVD or television, and so much more. But like everything else, the world of the movies on the Internet is an unchecked marketplace of ideas, opinions and news. The Internet is the most democratic of all media; that's both its strength and its weakness, for just about anybody with any thoughts about movies can put them on the Internet. It's amateur hour out there. Still, there are several Web sites well worth pursuing if you care about the movies.

Here are some of my favorites, with Web addresses in the box at right: Bible of cinema The Internet Movie Data Base: The bible of cinema on the Web, a well-documented, all-purpose encyclopedia of film information. Type in a title of a movie in the search engine, and you'll get background information, cast and crew lists, amateur reviews (which you can also submit), links to professional reviews and to the official studio Web site, release dates, box office information and more. The Movie Review Query Engine: An easy-to-use search engine to find any and all professional film reviews of a movie. Type in the title, and you'll see a list that will link you to the newspaper, magazine, Internet or trade journal reviews you want. Rotten Tomatoes: A more irreverent and entertaining version of the Movie Review Query Engine that organizes the reviews as short blurbs that either approve or disapprove of the film.

Ain't-It-Cool News: An irreverent, very personal and wacky film site, filled with reviews by Internet critics who chase after advance and test screenings. Cinema Sites: A broad-based listing of movie-related links; a good place to start. Mr. Showbiz: A magazine-format entertainment site, with reviews, features, interviews and links. Film.Com: A wide-ranging magazine-style site, with features, trailers, links and news.

that it says provide the best level of medical care. www.usnews.comusnewsnycu healthhosptltophosp.htm The FDA's Oncology Tools site says it represents the first effort at pulling together cancer-related drug information by disease category. Also includes listings of clinical trials and reference works. www.fda.govcdercancer Lifestyle Culinary guru Julia Child guides you through lessons from 16 master chefs. Great recipes spiced with a streaming-video database you can search by chef, ingredient or cuisine.

www.pbs.orgjuliachild What do a "Dharma Dog," Hasidic fashion and religious etiquette have in common? They're part of the eclectic elements you'll find at Beliefnet, a multifaith site with information and inspiration. www.beliefnet.com Useful resources A virtual lifesaver for the klutzy: The Stain Guide provides tips for cleaning up everything from acid and adhesive tape to wine and wood sap. www.chemistry.co.nzstainframe. htm The Web makes it easier to find retirement communities, assisted living residences, Alzheimer's facilities and nursing homes. All it takes is a few mouse clicks to select a community at Senior Housing Net.www.seniorhousing.net Sam Vincent Meddis is USA TODAY.com's technology editor.

His Web address is tech You can e-mail comments and suggestions to him at cyber i usatoday.com Most popular health and family Web sites: The Greatest Films: A superb site for fans of classic cinema, complete with argument-starting 100-best lists, essays and star and director biographies. Fan pages The Louise Brooks Society: A fine example of a fan page, a thoughtful, artful site devoted to the life and times of a fabled silent movie legend, with rare articles from the '20s and superb photos. The Academy Awards: The official Oscar site, with listings, history, clips and information; a key site in Academy Award season. Jonathan Rosenbaum page: An example of how the Internet allows access to critics at smaller independent outlets, including this Chicago Reader critic. LWebMD.com 2.

onhealth.com 3. allHealth.com 4. Planetrx.com 5. BabyCenter.com 6. Ediets.com 7.

drkoop.com 8. More.com 9. nih.gov 10. drugstore.com Gannett News Service Julia Child offers recipes on the Web. SOURCE: PC Data Online, week ending Aug.

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