Web TV for Dummies Quick Reference »

About the Author Renee Gentry worked on the WebTV team for two years in areas including electronic commerce and product management. She has been involved in the online world for eons, it seems, first creating and moderating forums on The Source and on CompuServe way back in 1986. She made her first purchase on the Internet purchase in 1996 and was instantly hooked on the Web. When she heard about WebTV in 1997, she eagerly moved to Silicon Valley to join WebTV Networks, Inc. Renee counts herself lucky to have been involved with bringing the Internet and e-mail to the non-geeks of the world, and is now excited about the new era of interactive television. Keep in touch with her by going to www.manicmonkey.com.

This one-stop guide offers easy-to-understand tips and shortcuts for installing and enjoying the fast-growing Internet system that allows people to surf the Web on their television screen. The book provides concise answers and information on the latest Web TV technology as well as advice on browsing, search engines, e-mail, WebPIP, TV Crossover Links, and much more.

Intro: How to Use This Book.
Organization Is the Key.
PART I: Getting to Know WebTV.
PART II: All about E-Mail.
PART III: Meeting Strangers and Making New Friends with Chat.
PART IV: Discussing Life in a Newsgroup.
PART V: The Wild, Wild Web.
PART VI: The TV Part of WebTV.
PART VII: Keyboards, Printers, and Other Accessories.
PART VIII: Building Your Own Home on the Web.
Appendix A: Favorite Surfing Hot Spots.
Appendix B: What to Do When Things Don't Seem Right.
Techie Talk.
Things I've Said and What I Meant.
The Cast of Icons.
First Things First.
PART I: Getting to Know WebTV.
Accessing Your Billing Statement.
Adding Extra Users.
Accounts for kids.
Call Waiting and WebTV.
Changing Your Account Settings.
Changing Your Password.
Changing Your Payment Method.
Connecting to and Disconnecting from the WebTV Service.
Programming Your WebTV Remote Control.
Removing a User.
Reviewing the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Signing Up for WebTV Service.
The first screen: Your first link.
Using the device of your choice for signup.
Tell them something about yourself.
Plus a few more steps for Plus.
Telling WebTV about the Devices Connected to It.
Updating Your WebTV Unit.
What Is an ISP and Do You Need One?
Using the ISP of your choice.
PART II: All about E-Mail.
ABCs of Online Typing.
Correcting mistakes.
Using paragraphs.
Adding a Picture to Your Message.
Adding a Personalized Signature to Your Messages.
Adding Your Voice and Other Sounds.
Automatically Checking for Messages.
Avoiding Spam, the OnlineVersion of Junk Mail.
Cleaning Up Your Mailbox.
Discarding a message.
Retrieving a discarded message.
Copying, Cutting; and Pasting.
Creating a Storage Area.
Don't Shout Unless You Mean To.
If Yuo Hav Por Spellin.
Reading Your Mail.
Replying To and Forwarding Mail.
Forwarding e-mail to others.
Replying to the sender.
Including the original message in your reply.
Replying to the sender and others.
Saving Your Messages.
Sending a Greeting to a Friend.
Sending a Greeting to Lots of Friends.
Sending an "Electronic Greeting Card"
Sending a Web Page to a Friend.
Smiley Faces and Other Happy Things.
"Have a Nice Day," the next generation.
Say more with less.
Alt key combinations.
Using the Address Book.
Adding a name and address.
Changing a name and address.
Removing a name and address.
Writing a message with the address book.
Your E-Mail Address.
PART III: Meeting Strangers and Making New Friends with Chat.
BBL and Other Ways to Leave a Room.
Chatting with Others.
Chatting Privately with Whisper.
Color-Coded Chat.
Creating a Chat Room.
Determining Who's in the Room with You.
Finding and Entering a Chat Room.
IRC.
Making Sense of the Cacophony.
Preventing Your Children from Chatting.
Safe (and Sane?) Chatting.
PART IV: Discussing Life in a Newsgroup.
Adding a Newsgroup to Your Favorites.
Creating Your Own Newsgroup.
Finding a Newsgroup.
Flame-Bait and Asbestos Gloves.
Posting a New Message.
Reading a Post and Other Related Messages.
Responding to a Post.
Subscribing to a Newsgroup.
Three Dots Mean There's More.
Voting on a Newsgroup Proposal.
WebTV-Only Newsgroups.
PART V: The Wild, Wild Web.
A Government Project Started It All.
Choosing a Different City for Around Town.
Connecting as a Different User.
Dot What?
For Kids Only.
Hanging Up and Ending Your Connection.
Home, Sweet Web Home.
Humming Right Along.
Organizing Your Favorites Folders.
Creating a new folder.
Listing items by name only.
Moving an item from one folder to another.
Removing a folder.
Removing an item from a folder.
Renaming an item in a folder.
Printing a Web Page.
Returning to Your Favorite Sites.
Saving Your Favorites.
A few of my favorite things.
Searching for Sites.
WebTV Search.
Other search engines.
Search-engine math.
Searching by category.
Security on the Web.
Credit cards recommended.
Picking a password.
Secure servers and encryption.
Shopping on the Web.
Adding items to your shopping cart.
Safety and shopping go hand in hand.
Ultimate attic of treasures.
Surfing Safari.
Using Shortcut (F1-F7) Keys.
Watching TV while Surfing the Web.
PART VI: The TV Part of WebTV.
Changing Channels.
Channel Surfing, High-Tech Style.
Controlling Live TV.
Finding Extra Info about Your Favorite Shows.
Getting Reminders about Upcoming Shows.
Going Interactive.
My Other Home Is a TV.
Playing a Video Tape.
Automatically recording a show.
Manually recording a show in progress.
Saving Your Favorite Channels.
Searching TV Listings.
Surfing the Web while Watching TV.
Switching Between TV Home and Full-Screen TV.
PART VII: Keyboards, Printers, and Other Accessories.
Buying a Printer.
Choosing a Keyboard.
WebTV wireless keyboards.
Computer keyboards.
On-Screen Keyboards.
Even Your Phone Jack Can Go Wireless.
When Your RF Needs Adapting.
PART VIII: Building Your Own Home on the Web.
Accepting the License Agreement.
Adding Links to Your Page.
Adding Pictures to Your Web Page.
Adding Text to Your Web Page.
Avoiding a Long Load Time.
Creating a New Web Page with Page Builder.
Editing and Changing Your Pages.
Preventing Your Children from Building a Web Page.
Publishing Your Pages for All to See.
Rearranging Items on Your Web Page.
Removing a Web Page You Created.
Removing Items from Your Web Page.
Removing Pictures from Your Scrapbook.
Saving Images to Your Scrapbook.
Images from e-mail.
Images from a Web page.
Images from a video capture.
Saving Your Web Pages to a VCR.
Telling Others about Your Web Pages.
Unpublishing Your Web Page.
Appendix A: Favorite Surfing Hot Spots.
Automobiles.
Beauty.
Career.
Cooking.
Community/People.
Entertainment.
Genealogy.
Health.
Drugstores.
Hobby, Home, and Garden.
Kids.
Money and Finance.
News.
Opinion, News, and Satire.
Reference/Education.
Search Engines.
Seniors.
Shopping.
Books.
Clothing.
Gifts and novelties.
Mega-stores and department stores.
Merchant ratings services.
Pet supplies.
Sporting goods.
Toys.
Videos/DVDs.
You set the price.
Sports/Recreation.
Teens.
Tools/Utilities.
Travel.
WebTV.
Wild & Wacky.
Appendix B: What to Do If Things Don't Seem Right.
Believe It or Not.
E-Mail.
Keyboard/Remote.
Passwords.
Phone Line/Connecting.
Printing.
TV listings.
TV Picture/Sound.
VCR/Camera (Video or Digital).
Web Surfing.
Appendix C: Connecting all the Cables.
Connection in a Nutshell.
Send the TV Signal to Your WebTV.
Connect Your WebTV Unit to Your TV.
Connect the IR Blaster.
Connect Other Devices.
Plug in Your Phone Line.
Get the Power.
Glossary: Techie Talk.
Index.
Book Registration Information.