The Online World by Odd De Presno

========================================= The user interface refers to what you get on your computer screen and how, when you call an online service. It includes menus and help screens, and various options to tailor the service to your personal preferences. Navigating by menus is simpler ------------------------------ Most online services have menus to make them easier for novices to use. A typical menu looks like this: R)ead messages Q)uick search available messages W)rite messages C)omments to Sysop D)ownload programs ?) for help G)oodbye. This is enough! Enter a letter (or ?) to select a function. Enter R to read messages. There is hardly any need to read the documentation to use this service. CompuServe greets European users with this menu: CompuServe Europe EUROPE COMPUSERVE EUROPE MAIN MENU 1 About CompuServe 2 What's New 3 Member Assistance 4 Electronic Mail 5 Personal Computer Support 6 Company Information 7 Logon Instructions (Europe) 8 CompuServe Information Service (U.S.) Enter '8' to get another menu: CompuServe TOP 1 Member Assistance (FREE) 2 Find a Topic (FREE) 3 Communications/Bulletin Bds. 4 News/Weather/Sports 5 Travel 6 The Electronic MALL/Shopping 7 Money Matters/Markets 8 Entertainment/Games 9 Hobbies/Lifestyles/Education 10 Reference 11 Computers/Technology 12 Business/Other Interests You can "go" to Associated Press' newswires or the section for home-schooling in the Education Forum by entering numbers listed in menus. The service is like a tree with menus by every set of branches. A code in the upper right-hand corner of each screen tells you exactly where you are. The last menu has the code 'TOP' meaning that this menu is at the 'top of the tree'. By each CompuServe system prompt, the command GO followed by a destination code will take you directly to a desired location. Enter GO IBMHW to go directly to the IBM Hardware Forum. The GO command will save you time and money. Similar codes and commands are used on several other online services. On many systems, the first menu encountered when logging on is a list of announcements and new offerings. The following is from GEnie, General Electric's Consumer Information Service (U.S.A.): GEnie Announcements (FREE)