Now that you've got access to the vast body of information known as the Internet, you may be wondering, "How am I going to find anything useful?" Although many veteran Internet surfers may tell you that half the fun is hunting for the information, you may be interested in a couple of ways to find the information you want, and finding it fast. In this section, we'll show you some tips and tools that will make finding information on the Web much easier.

New Search Capabilities

Most users are easily frustrated by Web searching and find it difficult and time consuming to locate target data. The Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 new search tool makes locating the right content easy. Internet Explorer 4.0 splits the browser window into two panes, putting a search bar on the left and a regular Webpage on the right. When you clicked a search query in the left-hand bar, the linked page appears on the right. Not only is this the ideal solution for scanning through a large number of search results, but you never lose track of your search results or have to click the Back button to access another page because the search pane is always there for you. If you want to find information without even using a search service, you can use the Autosearch feature typing "go", "find", or "?" and a word or phrase right in the Address bar. Internet Explorer immediately starts a search using its predetermined search service. Then, after you go to a Web page, you can search for specific text on that page. Go to the Internet Explorer 4.0 Web site to learn more about the new search feature of Internet Explorer 4.0.

Custom Pages

Imagine picking up your morning newspaper and finding the pages filled with exactly the articles you're interested in - front-page stories about issues that interest you, the sports section listing the scores for your favorite teams and your favorite sports, and only your stocks featured in the financial pages. That's the idea behind a customizable Web page. Of course, you still have access to the rest of the news, but the type of information you request is ready and waiting when you open the page, so you never have to go looking.

There are plenty of pages on the Web that allow you to create a compilation of the latest news and hyperlinks to your favorite areas of interest. Here are just a few:

home.microsoft.com

This Web site allows you to personalize your start page. You can choose from such subjects as entertainment,sports, technology, or finance, and every time you revisit that page, the latest information on subjects you've chosen will be waiting for you.

www.msn.com

MSN™, The Microsoft Network online service, allows you to create a customized page displaying all your favorite links, news, and information. By clicking Custom on the bar at the top of the page, you enterthe customization area, where you can type the URLs of your most visited Web pages. When you'vecompleted the customization process, your customized page will display links to all your favorite Web sites, as well as the latest headlines.

MSNBC

This customizable news-oriented site draws its content from the new MSNBC News Network, a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC News. Microsoft Investor This customizable financial site lets you track your own portfolio as well as the markets that interest you.

All about search engines

If you've poked around on the Web for a while, you've probably come upon one or more sites that offer ways to find content through either an indexing system or a search function, or both. These sites include Yahoo!, Lycos, AltaVista, Excite, HotBot, InfoSeek, WebCrawler, and others. Generally, when you open the home page of one of these search services, you type one or more key words describing the information you're looking for, and wait for the search engine to present a list of sites that match your request. If you've used search engines before, you've probably noticed that they work in different ways and give you different results. The mechanisms used by these services are distinguished by their methods of gathering information:

Cataloging sites maintain their own indexes (catalogs) of Web sites or individual pages. Searches are limited to sites and pages that are in the catalog, rather than the entire Internet. (Examples: AltaVista and Lycos.) Review sites prepare reviews and ratings of Web sites and present subjective summaries of the sites that match your search criteria. (Examples: Excite and Magellan.) Conceptual sites organize sites by category and present a list of pages in categories related to your search string. (Examples: InfoSeek and Yahoo!)

Sites to visit

Access to major search engines is provided through all-in-one search sites, like those at Microsoft.com and MSN.com. These sites also provide detailed information on how to choose a search service. And for tips on getting the best results from the search engine you decide to use, read Advanced Search Techniques in the next chapter of this guide.