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Your browser will take you to most places on the Net, but
sometimes it needs the help of some extra bits of software to do things like play music,
video, or animation.Fortunately it’s really easy to download and add these
"plug-ins" to your browser – and in some cases, your browser will install
them automatically without you having to do anything!
Really useful plug-ins all serious Net users should have include Realplayer (audio and
video), Flash (animation) and QuickTime (video). What’s more, they’re all free!
Upgrading your browser is another time
when you may need to download software. |
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Wrong. In fact every time you visit a web page
your browser is actually downloading image and text files from the server (computer) the
site is "hosted" on, to the server at your Internet Service Provider, then to
your own computer. But of course it all happens so fast you don’t even notice. 
Downloading software follows the same path – it just takes a bit longer! Once you
click the "download" link on a site, the "file" containing the program
will be transferred from the server where it is hosted to your ISP and then to your
computer. It may take a bit of time, depending on the size of the file, how fast your
modem is, and how busy the site is that you are visiting.
| A dialogue box like
the one below will appear on your screen, showing you how much of the file has been
transferred and how long it will take. |
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| Sometimes the
software will install itself automatically on your computer…but in most cases you
will be asked where on your computer you want the file to be saved. |
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Once the download is finished you will need to find the
file, open it and follow the instructions for getting the software to work on your
computer. So it’s a good idea to put it somewhere you can easily find later, or to
note its location down on a piece of paper. |
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Before you download any software,
make sure you have an active, up-to-date virus guard installed on your computer. It’s
better to be safe than sorry! Here’s more information about viruses and how to avoid them. There are all kinds of
software out there – from computer games to new versions of Internet browsers to
complete songs and even movie trailers….
In this tutorial we will be using a cool software plug-in called Flash! to make our
pages come alive. This plug-in may already be installed on your browser – to check, click here. A new window will
open to show you a brief Flash animation, or tell you that you need to download the
plug-in. |
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| Simply click on this
link to the Macromedia site, then follow the instructions on the page. Once you have completed the
installation, simply close down the window and you will return to this page. |
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