The WWW18 is an Internet service of linked information files. The files can be local or at different Internet sites and may in turn contain links to other files. The information files can contain text, graphics, animation, sound and interactive elements like menus, forms, etc. The best way to understand what it is is to use it!
Some people mistakingly think that the WWW is the Internet, but it is only one service. Internet services include, amongst others, telnet, FTP, Usenet and email. That said, many WWW access programs, called browsers, often allow you to use other Internet services. For example, the Netscape browser, if setup correctly, offers email and Usenet access.
There are a number of WWW browser programs available. If you have a terminal type connection to UNE systems, then the only browser that will work properly is lynx. Lynx only displays text not graphics. It will, however, provide all the linking facilities necessary to get around.
If you have a PPP connection, you can use a graphical form of a browser that runs on your system. Under Linux (with X), Windows, and Macintosh systems, you can use Netscape. You can obtain a copy of Netscape for your system from http://www.netscape.com or from a CDROM included with many computer magazines.
If you are using the X Window System, you can run Netscape on metz or turing and have it display on your local screen. If you do it this way, it's a good idea, from under the options menu, to set the Netscape disk cache to 0. This is particularly true on metz where there are strict file and disk space quotas.
So what can you find on `the Web'? A good starting point is the UNE home page whose address is: http://www.une.edu.au which has links to our School's home page (http://mcs.une.edu.au) and various other interesting sites.
Some units also have material on Web pages. See your unit notes for details. Try http://turing.une.edu.au/~comp131 for the COMP131/132 home page.