Hello and welcome to the first MNRealty.com "E-Class"!!! - We're working
this out as we go along, feel free to send your feedback on how to do it
better!

----------------------------------------------------------------

Downloading Programs on the Internet and 
Using AOL Instant messenger                  
 - copyright 4/99 by Chas Campbell


You've heard the term.....  Downloading..... Uploading..... What's up with
that?

These terms simply refer to sending or recieving files from one computer to
another. If you send files, you are UPloading. If you receive, you are
DOWNloading. This class is about downloading files from the Net.

Just about everything you do with computers is about *Files*  -  Files are
pieces of information stored on a computer, usually associated with a
program or type of information. Programs are files. Pictures are files.
Letters are files. Etc. Etc.

Since there are so many files, the Geeks got together with God and gave all
files a *Name* so that we can keep track of things. Most files have a name
and what we call an "extension" - usually something that follows a period
in the file name. The extension or ending tells us what kind of a file we
have. Examples:

File Name          Extension        Kind of File
---------------          --------------        ----------------
aim95.exe             ".exe"            Program
herm76b.jpg          ".jpg"             Photo
blueline.gif             ".gif"             Graphic or Clipart
resume.doc           ".doc"           Word Processing Document
98sales.xls            ".xls"            Spreadsheet

So by looking at the ending of a file, we can often tell what kind of file
it is. (There are MANY more than this.) ALL files that have the same ending
are the same kind of file as above, meaning all files that end in ".exe"
are programs.

There are many different ways to Download. Many of you already have
downloaded files automatically as "attachments" in e-mail. An attachment is
simply a file(s) that is sent along with your e-mail. That's why you will
see the file NAME listed along with your e-mail.

The *Official* language of Up/Downloading is called FTP, which stands for
File Transfer Protocol. Fortunately, all this is now done behind-the-scenes
so you just usually visit a web page to download something and click on it.

Our class goal is to successfully download the AOL Instant Messenger
program and install it on our computers. The first step is getting the file
to your computer.

*Note - If you are an AOL user with version 4 of their software, you're
done! The AOL chat feature is built-in. Stay tuned for more info.

For everyone else - The first step - and your first homework assignment -
is to download the AOL Instant Messenger File, called AIM95.exe.

To do this, just click on the link included below. This will take you
directly to the AIM download page: http://www.aol.com/aim/download.html
Once you are there, click on the link for Windows95/98 unless you have a
different type of computer.

When you click the link, a "box" will appear... We will discuss this box in
our next lesson. For now, just click [OK] or [Save] to begin the
downloading process.

You should see a box showing the progress of the download. The AIM95.exe
file is actually a "package" of a lot of smaller files all combined and
compressed into one single file - easy to download.... But it's a pretty
large file. - 1.6 megabytes. This means it will probably take around a half
hour or longer to completely get to your computer. If anything interrupts
this process, the file is no good.

If you have Anti-Virus Software running, the AV will first "scan" the file
for viruses before asking you to save.

You can continue to web surf when downloading - or e-mail, or do other
work. But you can't log off or reboot your computer until the download is
finished. 

If you want to just start the download and "walk away", you can. First make
sure you're e-mail and any other programs are closed so that just the
download and Netscape or IE is running. This way, the file will finish
downloading, then your Net connection will "time out" and logoff
automatically after it's finished. A good idea is to start a big download
at night, just before bed. Shut everything else down and when you wake up -
voila!

So ladies and gentlemen.... start your Downloads!