I am often asked "But, what can you DO with Internet?" Reasonable question for someone who has never surfed the Net. The best way to explain what one can do on the Net is to describe a one hour session I just carried out.

As an aerospace engineer, it is only normal that one of my interests would happen to be 'space'. An hour ago, I decided to learn more about the Space Station presently being assembled in space. With the help of a search engine, I found a promising site called The Discovery Channel Indeed, it featured a special article on the assembly of the International Space Station.

After having read an update on the work which had been carried out on this date (10 Dec 98) I explored some more. And this is where it got interesting. On this page, there was an invitation to come aboard and explore the inside of the module Unity. But in order to do so, my browser (Netscape) needed a special plug-in. Not to worry. A simple click of the mouse and, as I was reading the information contained on that page, the plug-in was downloaded AND automatically installed on my computer. Simply amazing.

But, that's only the start. I then followed the simple instruction and 'climbed aboard' Unity and was awestrucked by it all. One word to describe the experience: awesome! It was as if I actually was inside Unity with an handheld vidcam and I was filming it all. Besides showing you around, in all three axis, little 'balloon' notes jumped up at me explaining all the instruments and what have you.

I hope you actually have tried the links mentioned above. If so.... you probably are not reading this here paragraph; instead, you too are probably 'floating' inside Unity and taking it all in. After having read today's feature, I noticed a feature called The Archive. Of course, I had to go check that one. It contained all past articles on the subject and I brought myself up to date. From now on, I intend to bookmark this site and will return daily to keep an eye on our taxes at work!

If you are interested in this topic, I recommend you start your adventure right here and follow the links. Expect to stay some time here because it is mighty interesting. For example, you can see a video of the launching of Zaria. Zarya rode into orbit on a Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, where Sputnik's 1957 launch began the human exploration of space. Of course, you will need the Real Video plug-in to do so.

This is the first 'rambling' article of what I hope will become a long series. If you are a newcomer to the Net, I hope this little expedition has managed to rouse your interest in 'surfing the Net'. If you liked this new feature and would like to see more of them, why not drop me a line and let me know. Perhaps you would like to mention some subjects you'd be interested in and I will do my darnest to accommodate.

What prompted me to write this article was the realization that there is so much interesting stuff out there on the Net and, unfortunately, so few potential surfers discovering this pot of gold because they think it is too hard to do so. I agree, for the first timer, this Internet stuff can be pretty scary. I hope this series will help make surfing a 'fun' thing. I can think of many more subjects I would like to explore with you. Look at it as a mini-guide to Internet and all of the best it can offer. If the interest in this new feature warrants it, I will gladly offer more of the same. If you have enjoyed this first crack at it, let me know. We'll all be winners....

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