User manual TOSHIBA SATELLITE M45-S355

[. . . ] Satellite M40/M45 ® User's Guide If you need assistance: Toshiba's Support Website pcsupport. toshiba. com Toshiba Global Support Centre Calling within the United States (800) 457-7777 Calling from outside the United States (949) 859-4273 For more information, see "If Something Goes Wrong" on page 168 in this guide. PMAD00027013 10/05 2 Handling the cord on this product will expose you to lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling. Model: Satellite ® M40/M45 Recordable and/or ReWritable Drive(s) and Associated Software Warranty The computer system you purchased may include Recordable and/or ReWritable optical media drive(s) and associated software, among the most advanced data storage technologies available. As with any new technology, you must read and follow all set-up and usage instructions in the applicable user guides and/or manuals enclosed or provided electronically. If you fail to do so, this product may not function properly and you may lose data or suffer other damage. [. . . ] They make it easier to connect to a particular network address and send and receive information. 132 Exploring Your Computer's Features An overview of using the Internet Internet Service Providers To connect a computer directly to the Internet, many people and businesses use an Internet Service Provider (ISP). An ISP is a company that has the equipment and the telecommunication lines necessary to maintain an Internet connection. You can connect to the Internet by using a telephone and modem or through other higher-speed communication methods such as Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL), cable, and satellite links. Connecting to the Internet To connect to the Internet, you need: A modem and telephone line, or a LAN connection A Web browser An Internet Service Provider (ISP) account The Microsoft® Web browser Internet Explorer is automatically configured on your system so that when you first start it, it guides you through signing up for a new ISP account, or assists you in setting up your computer to work with your existing ISP. Once you have established an ISP account, you can connect to the Internet. For more information on connecting a modem, see "Connecting your modem to a telephone line" on page 144. Have your modem dial the ISP's telephone number, and establish a connection with the ISP's computer. 2 If you are using your computer at the office, then you probably connect to the Internet through your company's network. See your network administrator about connecting to the Internet. Exploring Your Computer's Features An overview of using the Internet 133 Surfing the Internet Once connected to the Internet, the Web browser displays a home page, for example, your ISP's home page on the Internet or your company's Web site home page. The Web address, or Uniform Resource Locator (URL), is a unique identifier for that computer system linked to the Internet. Web addresses can also appear within a Web page's text, and are known as links. Clicking a link automatically transfers your Web browser to that site. You can also use a Search Engine, a Web site specifically designed to help you look for information. Internet features The Internet offers many types of communication tools to help you perform many tasks. Internet email To send and receive email of your own, you need a mailbox on the Web or an email address. If you have an account with an ISP, you can probably set up an email address at the same time you sign up for the service. Internet chat rooms A chat room is a Web site that offers a place where people with similar interests and ideas communicate in real-time, one-on-one or in groups, by typing messages which are instantly viewed by others on their computer screens. Internet news groups A news group is similar to a chat room, but instead of using a dedicated site to converse about a specialized subject with others in real-time, it uses a Web site as a 134 Exploring Your Computer's Features Exploring audio features clearinghouse where all the messages are placed, like a gigantic bulletin board. Online shopping Many Web sites offer products and services for sale. Uploading to, and downloading files from, the Internet Transferring files from one computer to another is termed uploading (transferring data from your computer to a site on the Web), or downloading (transferring data from a site on the Web to your computer). It can be as simple as attaching a file or document to an email, or you can use the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) features of your Web browser to transfer large amounts of data. Exploring audio features You can use your computer to record sounds using an external microphone. You can play . wav sound files or audio CDs using the built-in speakers, headphones, or external speakers. Playing an audio CD Insert an audio CD and close the disc tray. If the computer is turned on, Windows Media® Player opens and the CD begins to play. To access the Windows Media Player, you can open it through the Start menu or activate it from the taskbar. Exploring Your Computer's Features Exploring audio features 135 NOTE When using Windows Media Player, your system may not be able to activate Standby or Hibernation modes. To prevent this from occurring, close Windows Media Player before you select Standby or Hibernation mode. Sample Windows Media® Player screen The CD Player control panel works much like an ordinary compact disc player: To play the CD or to pause, click the Play/pause button on the CD Player control panel. Before putting on headphones to listen to an audio CD, turn the volume dial down, and do not set the volume too high when using the headphones. Continuous exposure to loud sound can harm your hearing. 136 Exploring Your Computer's Features Exploring audio features Playing CDs using Auto-Run If you insert a CD into the DVD-ROM/multi-function drive and the Auto-Run feature does not automatically start your disc, try launching the CD manually. If your disc does not run using this method, try using an application that is associated with the media on the disc. For example, if it is a music CD, open Windows® Media Player and point it to play the CD. [. . . ] For example, the properties of a file include the file's type, size, and creation date. R RAM (random access memory) -- Volatile memory that can be written to as well as read. By volatile, we mean that information in RAM is lost when you turn off your computer. A diskette is one example of a removable disk. 258 Glossary resolution -- A measure of the sharpness of the images that can be produced by a printer or displayed on a screen. For a screen, it is expressed as the number of pixels available horizontally and vertically. [. . . ]