I have prepared this page for Jill Southern to help her set up her teddy bear business on the Internet. The underlined (blue if in color) words will lead Jill to sites which will help her with her purchase or assist her in the future for information on getting her business set up once it is on the Internet.

At the end of this presentation there are several hardcopy pages of what I have suggested to help Jill with the business choices.

• INTRODUCTION
• HARDWARE
• Processor
• Hard drive
• RAM
• Scanner
• Digital camera
• Modem
• Mouse, keyboard
• VDU
• Costs of hardware
• SOFTWARE packages
• Browser
• Authoring
• Email
• Graphics editing
• BECOMING KOOL ON THE WEB (How to Connect to a Web Site Using the Netscape)
• Internet service provider
• Modem
• Email address
• Phone line
• Protocols
• Html
• http
• ftp
• Internet discussions
• Saving of pages
• Naming files and images
• Image types
• Subdirectories
• Location of images
• ISSUES RELATING TO THE INTERNET
• Viruses
• Spam
• Copyright
• Security
• Privacy
• Total COSTS

INTRODUCTION

To set up a computer system to sell teddy bears over the net Jill will need an easy to run computer that is Internet friendly. The iMac by the Apple corporation is the easiest computer to operate for a beginner and to establish an e-commerce based business. Jill can purchase this iMac by clicking HERE. The DV models feature digital video technology. The iMac DV models are like mini movie theatres and studios rolled into one: so Jill can watch the latest DVD movies on them, or create her own pro-quality business movies for selling teddys, using a Apple's iMovie digital video DV camcorder and editing software. Jill will be please to learn that the iMac comes preloaded with video and streaming media. She can play QuickTime 4 which is the standard for digital QuickTime movies, watch QuickTime TV, and take full advantage of interactive websites. iMac combines the excitement of the Internet with the simplicity of Macintosh. It comes with all that Jill will need to send and receive e-mail and surf the World Wide Web. All Jill will need to do is to turn on her new iMac , and her friendly Setup Assistant will ask her a few simple questions (the kind she already know the answers to, like her phone number). Then it will walk her through the steps of getting online, and helps her become connected. Presto, instant Internet. In no time Jill will be sharing e-mail with friends and family and all those wonderful new folks buying her bears. The iMac comes with a bonus 100 hrs of Internet so Jill won't even have to fork out any money to get started.

• HARDWARE
• Processor
• Hard drive
• RAM
• Scanner
• Digital camera
• Modem
• Mouse, keyboard
• VDU
• Costs of hardware

The iMac is everything Jill will need. The iMac has the 450MHz PowerPC G3 processor . The announcement of the 450MHz PowerPC G3 released on October 13, 1999 processor is at http://www.apple.com/pr/library/1999/oct/13g4.html).

The Mac G4 that Jill will purchase features an internal hard drive with 27GB of storage space. The hard drive will be where Jill will keep all her business on. With such a large hard drive she will be able to save years of work as well as upgrade the software I have suggested for her to get. As well, Jill will have included a removable storage using Zip drives, this way she will be able to save her daily work and keep a disc in a safe place (such as in a bank vault) in case of fire, burglary, or natural disaster. This iMac also includes a CD-ROM drive as well as the popular DVD-ROM drive with video playback (for a complete description of this read the article at http://www.dansdata.com/TNT2s.htm.

RAM is short for Random Access Memory. RAM is considered to be the resources which your computer uses for all of it's computations. It's a temporary work area in which your computer uses, to do work.

In essence, while Jill is surfing or working on The Web she may notice that her hard drive light is constantly running or is blinking a good amount of the time, if this happens her computer is "going virtual". This means that her machine is trying to run the programs by reading them off the hard drive then writing back to the hard drive and so forth. This kind of activity puts a lot of extra wear and tear on her hard drive, hence it shortens it's life. A quick rule of thumb is : Internet Explorer uses 8meg of RAM and Windows 95 uses 8 meg of RAM therefore she will need a minimum of 16 meg just to be on the Internet. This does not take into affect the amount of additional RAM her machine may be using to load additional programs when her machine "boots up". Also, As Jill will be creating Web documents whilst having programs such as Photoshop on a large amount of RAM will be needed to keep the work going. Fortunaltely for Jill her new iMac comes with a wopping 1.5GB of fast 256MB SDRAM (synchronous dynamic random access memory).

SDRAM - Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) is the first DRAM technology designed to synchronize itself to the timing of theCPU. SDRAMs are based on a standard DRAM core and work just like standard DRAMs, but they incorporate several distinguishing and innovative features:

• Synchronous operation – unlike conventional, asynchronous DRAMs, SDRAMs have a clock input, so the system clock that controls the step-by-step operation of the microprocessor can also control SDRAM operations. That means the memory controller knows the exact clock cycle on which the requested data will be ready. In effect, this frees the processor from having to wait between memory accesses.
• Cell banks – the memory cells inside the SDRAM chip are divided into two, independent "cellbanks." Since both banks can be activated simultaneously, a continuous flow of data can be produced by switching between banks. This method, called interleaving, cuts down the total memory cycle and results in faster transfer rates.
• Burst mode – bursting is a rapid data-transfer technique that automatically generates a block of data (a series of consecutive addresses) every time the processor requests a single address. The assumption is that the next data-address the processor will request will be sequential to the previous one, which is usually true (this is the same assumption behind cache memory). Bursting can be applied both to read operations (from memory) and write operations (to memory).

In a word, synchronous DRAMs are faster. Even though SDRAM is based on standard DRAM architecture, its combination of these three features allows a faster, more efficient data transfer process. SDRAMs can presently transfer data at speeds up to 125MHz – as much as five times the performance of standardDRAMs. That puts SDRAM on a par with the more expensive SRAMs (static RAM) used in external cache.

Since a computer's main memory holds the information that the CPU needs to process, the "data travel time"between the CPU and memory is critical. A faster processor can only increase system performance if it doesnot get caught in a "hurry up and wait" cycle while the rest of the system struggles to keep up. Unfortunately, ever since Intel® introduced the x286 processor fifteen years ago, ordinary memory chips have been unable to keep pace with increasingly faster processors.

Conventional, asynchronous DRAMs have no clock input, which didn't become an issue until the second decade of microprocessor development. From that point on, systems that used standard DRAMs had to impose wait-states on faster microprocessors to keep them from overrunning memory. A wait-state is when the microprocessor suspends whatever it's doing while other components catch up.

For that reason, new memory technologies have been driven by the need not only to improve speed, but the entire memory retrieval cycle as well. Faced with this challenge, memory makers introduced a series of innovations including page-mode RAM, static-column RAM, interleaved memory, and FPM RAM (fast page-mode).

As processor speeds climbed to 100MHz and beyond, system designers incorporated a small external cache of high-speed SRAM (static RAM), along with high-performance memory like EDO RAM (extended data out) and BEDO RAM (burst EDO). FPM DRAM and EDO DRAM are the most commonly used memories for PCs today, but their asynchronous circuitry cannot sustain speeds beyond 66MHz (the maximum for BEDO).

Unfortunately, that limits today's 200MHz+ Pentium® processors to a 66MHz memory bus.

Enter synchronous DRAM. Originally, it was positioned as a lower cost alternative to the expensive VRAM (video RAM) used in graphics memory. However, it quickly found its way into many applications and has become an important main-memory contender for current PCs.

Synchronous DRAMs are built on a standard DRAM core and work just like standard DRAMs -- accessing rows and columns of data cells. But synchronous DRAM combines its special features of synchronous operation, cell banks, and bursting to effectively eliminate wait-states. When the processor needs the data from RAM, it can receive the data at a specified clock point. Thus, the actual time to process data internally hasn't changed as much as the efficiency in the pick up and delivery of data.

To understand how synchronous DRAM speeds up the memory retrieval process, imagine that the CPU has a messenger who drives a truck over to the "main memory building" every time he needs to drop off or pick up information. At the main memory building, the shipping/receiving clerk normally takes about 60ns to process a request. The messenger only knows about how long it takes to process the request once it is received. But he doesn't know if the clerk will be ready when he gets there, so he usually allows some time for error. He waits the clerk is ready to receive the request. Then he waits the normal time required to process the request. And then, he waits to verify that the requested data is loaded into his truck before he can take it back to the

Suppose, on the other hand, that every 10 nanoseconds the shipping clerk at the main memory building would be outside and ready, either to receive another request or to deliver on a request that had been previously received. This makes the process more efficient, because the messenger can arrive at just the right time. Processing will start the moment the request is dropped off. Information is sent to the CPU the moment it is ready.

On the ease-of-use side, just about all scanner manufacturers now offer models that connect via her parallel port instead of using a SCSI connection, and most are starting to deliver scanners that connect using USB (which means she just plugs and goes). In addition, today's flatbed scanners include all the software Jill needs to let her scan photos, edit images, convert paper documents to computer-readable text, and even copy color documents.

There are many scanners available. A flatbed scanner would be the easiest and best for Jill. I have chosen the GenieScan, the tiniest flat-bed scanner in the world for Jill so not to take up preciouse space in her office and shop. For drawings or photographs of her bears all she needs to do is scan and upload the image via her Photoshop program to have it instantly viewable on her site.

The design of GenieScan is very user-friendly. Jill can start scanning by simply pressing the button. Besides, when she wants to scan a picture or an article from a thousands-of-pages book into her computer, GenieScan will help her scan it reversibly -- despite of the thickness of documents.

Before Jill can cut, crop, colourize, resize, rotate, and collate pictures with her new iMac, she will need a way to get them onto her hard disk. She will have lots of options, from point-and-click digital cameras to video frame grabbers, but by far the most versatile and cost-effective image-capture device you can buy is a flatbed scanner and by far the best for her is the GenieScan.

The one I have selected for Jill is the MagicStar 1200 with the following features

• Optical Resolution: 600 x 1200 dpi
• Scanning Resolution: 9600 x 9600 dpi
• Colour Depth: 30 bits
• Scanning Area: 8.5" x 11.7"; A4/Letter
• Connector Type: EPP
• Dimensions: 470 x 298 x 100 (mm); 18.5" x 11.7" x 3.9"
• 3D Scanning

Jill can learn more about this scanner at: http://www.tecoimage.com.tw/snr-mgstar.htm

Digital cameras capture images electronically and store them as a digital file until they are: downloaded onto a computer for viewing, manipulating, printing or for use on Web pages copied to video cassette recorder displayed on television printed directly from the camera to a printer.

A digital camera composes shots in the same way as a conventional camera using a viewfinder and lens. Most digital cameras include an optical viewfinder, similar to those found on compact 35mm cameras, which gives a view that is slightly different from that taken through the lens. Some digital cameras offer a single lens reflex (SLR) viewfinder which gives a true representation of the image to be recorded.

Once the shutter is released the image is recorded onto a charge-couple device (CCD) which is a grid, or array, of tiny light sensors that convert the image into picture elements called pixels. This determines the maximum resolution of images. A 640 x 480 camera would indicate that there are 640 horizontal and 480 vertical pixels giving at least 300,000 pixels, which is the same as many computer screens.

Digital cameras are available in a variety of CCD arrays, including Megapixel cameras which comprise more than 1 million pixels. Generally speaking, the more pixels the better the quality and the more an image can be enlarged. An increasing number of cameras are now offering more than one resolution, so allowing you to choose the quality of image before shooting.

Digital cameras save images electronically as a digital file in the camera memory rather than on film.

There is a choice of memory available including:

• fixed internal memory
• removable flash memory card
• a combination of fixed and removable flash memory card disk.

All will retain data when the camera is turned off.

Removable storage is sometimes referred to as digital film and offers the potential for taking more shots. There are two main removable flash memory card technologies:

• CompactFlash
• SmartMedia.

Both offer a range of capacities starting at 2Mb which can store 6 to 80 pictures depending on the resolution and level of compression.

There are several options for downloading images onto a computer which include:

• serial port lead which connects the camera to a computer
• universal serial bus (USB)
• floppy disk drive which uses flash memory adaptors
• PCMCIA slot where the memory or camera can be inserted.

Many cameras include software which is loaded onto the computer to enable images to be downloaded, edited, manipulated and saved in a compressed format such as JPEG, GIF, or FlashPix.

I have chosen the Megapixel Digital Camera - Dimera 1311, digital camera from TECO, as the most convenient tool to capture digital images in the easiest way. Through the easy-to-use TWAIN driver, Jill can download images from Dimera 2000 digital camera via serial port, RS-232C interface, to her iMac computer or record AVI file for later playback. Jill can learn more about this camera at http://www.tecoimage.com.tw/dc1311-spec.htm.

modems

A modem is a device that can occupy an internal slot in a computer (called a "half card" or "internal" modem). Or it can be an external device (usually referred to as a stand-alone modem) and hook-up to a computer via cables.

Modems convert a computer's binary language into audio tones. Those tones can then be sent anywhere in the world using ordinary telephone lines. But, in order to receive these tones, there has to be a modem at the receiving end, too. At the receiving end, the modem "hears" the tones and converts them back into the binary language used and understood by computers. This process is called Modulation Demodulation (hence MO-DEM for short).

In order for the modem to work, there has to be something between the modem and the computer. An intermediary that makes sure the data transmitted is useable . . . that's what the communications software program does. This is the program that instructs and directs both the computer and the modem so the computer will know what to do with the data it has received.

A modem's speed is measured by bits-per-second ... usually expressed as "bps". It wasn't too long ago that 2400 bps was considered as being high speed. Today, however, even the home user can buy an affordable 14,400 bps modem! Which is to say that the 14,400 bps modem will transmit data six times faster than a 2400 bps modem.

Jill will get the 3Com 56K External Faxmodem by 3Com Corp (http://www.3com.com).

It is a V.90 56K ITU standard external fax modem with x2 technology; ships with Connections CD-ROM of software; downloads at up to 56 Kbps, and sends at up to 31.2 Kbps

This modem is included with Jill's iMac and is no extra cost.

A mouse is a tracking device that fits in Jill's hand. It is rolled on the surface next to the computer. The mouse supplements, and in some cases replaces, the keyboard as a way to give commands and enter information.

The mouse which comes with Jill's new iMac is the 2 Button Mouse by Macally Peripherals (here).

This advanced, ergonomically shaped and fully programmable 2 Button mouse provides a winning combination: support for Jill who needs to " make it all happen" in the intensive Macintosh environment and for the times she needs the support for the Windows emulation software or Windows/DOS card environments. The speed and agility of the Macally 2 Button Mouse combined with the unmatched versatility increases productivity and provides a stress free work environment for the left handed user( which Jill is). Macally 2 Button Mouse is compatible with any application that runs under System 7.1 or higher, including MacOS 9, which is what Jill will use. This user friendly mouse is also integrate programming for internet browsers to scroll the web page withease. The 2 Button Mouse features a control panel which provide the power and flexibility for customizing manyfunctions; up to four key strokes for keyboard and double click, click/click lock for the mouse. This is included with Jill's iMac and is no extra cost.

A keyboard is one of the primary text input device. (The mouse is also a primary input device but lacks the ability to easily transmit textual information.) The keyboard also contains certain standard function keys, such as the Escape key, tab and cursor movement keys, shift and control keys, and sometimes other manufacturer-customized keys.

The computer keyboard uses the same key arrangement as the mechanical and electronic typewriter keyboards that preceded the computer. The standard arrangement of alphabetic keys is known as the Qwerty (pronounced KWEHR-tee) keyboard, its name deriving from the arrangement of the five keys at the upper left of the three rows of alphabetic keys. This arrangement, invented for one of the earliest mechanical typewriters, dates back to the 1870s. Another well-known key arrangement is the Dvorak (pronounced duh-VOR-ak, not like the Czech composer) system, which was designed to be easier to learn and use. The Dvorak keyboard was designed with the most common consonants on one side of the middle or home row and the vowels on the other side so that typing tends to alternate key strokes back and

forth between hands. Although the Dvorak keyboard has never been widely used, it has adherents.

Jill will be getting the Adesso NU-Form Basic for iMac Keyboard by Adesso, Inc (http://www.adessoinc.com).

The iNU-Form Basic for the iMAC and Power Macintosh G3 is a full-sized split-key ergonomic extended keyboard. The flat split-key design and extra-deep wrist support allows Jill to key in comfort. NU-Form is 100% USB compliant (spec 1.0 and HID) and is fully plug and play compatible. No drivers needed! Color-coordinated to the original iMAC, its onboard power switch means extra convenience and two bus-powered ports allow you to add a pointing device and hub for expandability. High-quality membrane keyswitches mean a longer life and the 106-key extended layout includes dual space bars, COMMAND, CONTROL, OPTION and SHIFT keys plus a large ENTER key. NU-Form for iMAC comes with a three-year warranty. This is included with Jill's iMac and is no extra cost.

COSTS of hardware
 

SOFTWARE

A browser is software, just like a word-processing or spreadsheet program, only instead of cranking out pie charts or memos, a browser enables you to see Web pages. Mosaic was the first browser, while Netscape and Internet Explorer are the most commonly used nowadays. The advent of browsers transformed the Internet - formerly a dry, text-based thing only a government official or academician could love - into the colorful, user-friendly Web we know and use.

How it works: Browsers take text files written in HTML (which is the coding language that transforms plain-old text with images, sound clips, and links to other Web pages) and assemble all the relevant pieces into one colorful, easy-to-digest page. Browsers can also host a variety of additional Internet fun: email, chat rooms, newsgroups, online gaming, and more. More on this later in number 5.

Below is how to use the Netscape browser it is free at http://home.netscape.com/

How to Connect to a Web Site Using the Netscape

To start Netscape Communicator:

        Start Windows
        Logon

Double click the Netscape Communicator  icon on the windows desktop.

A window will appear asking you to select a user or default user, select the user and press OK.

Netscape displays the Home Page. The home page appears every time you start Netscape Communicator.  This section you are in of Netscape Communicator is known as Netscape Navigator.

To Quit Netscape Communicator

Authoring

There are many packages which will help Jill author sites for the Web. I have chosen two of the best for her; PageMill and Authorware. They both do different things and she should learn both packages.

Jill can create full-featured Web pages without having to know a thing about HTML or URLs. That's because with PageMill software, it's a simple, drag-and-drop operation! From creating or importing text and images, to adding audio, video, and animation. It is available from Adobe at http://www.adobe.com/.

Authorware is designed to allow subject matter experts, with or without programming skills, to create compelling interactive media both online and off. Its interface features a simple flowchart model that is easy to understand. Adding dynamic multimedia, engaging interactivity, externally linked content, and complete hypermedia is a snap, because Jill just needs to use icons to do it all. There are many new features and improvements in Authorware 4.0, including support for GIF and JPEG files, external content links, better file compression, sprite extras, ActiveX support, and more. This demonstration version of Authorware contains all the features you receive when you purchase Authorware, but the trial version is limited to creating small, sample applications. The Authorware "Show Me" files provide more than 35 short step-by-step lessons on how to use Authorware.

The iMac comes with everything Jill will need to send and receive e-mail and surf the World Wide Web. Sherlock, the most powerful search technology on the Internet, and a key feature of the Mac OS 9 (the system software which comes with the iMac). Sherlock understands plain English queries, making it easy looking for on the Internet. For example, type a simple question like "who invented electricity" (and even leave out the question mark), and Sherlock will find answers for Jill, ranked by relevance.

The iMac makes it easy to connect to the Internet, with a built-in 56K modem (read the section at the end 'TOO MUCH TO KNOW ABOUT MODEMS) and an 10/100BASE-T Ethernet port (maybe a bit techno for you Jill but it is how you will connect with the Web - don't worry no knowledge of this is really needed), and a choice of connecting through telephone line, cable modem or DSL modem (or wirelessly with the optional AirPort Card and AirPort Base Station). Of course Jill will stick with the 56K modem through her telephone for now.

The other great thing about the iMac is that Jill only needs to learn one Macintosh software application and then she got a pretty good handle on them all. Because all Macintosh applications work the same basic way, with convenient pull-down menus and with icons that represent familiar tools and objects.

The new iMac also comes with USB mass-storage support, USB audio device support, USB communication device support, and universal USB game device support (so it works with just about every game control device out there, right out of the box).

COSTS