o The world is a very big place.
I like to think of the first problem—getting on to the Internet—by remembering what it was like using an "alternative" long distance service before the breakup of the Bell monopoly. People who used the alternative carriers had to dial all sorts of access codes—very often a local access number, a credit card number, a security code, *and* the number of the party they were calling. They knew that whatever came after that was going to be easier.
That's what getting on the Internet is like. You may have to dial a local access number, get your modem settings right, and type the right magic combination of words; but after all that, actually *using* the Internet is simple. We'll talk you through the initial steps—after a while (and some frustration) it will be as unconscious as unlocking your front door or tuning a television set.
The second problem is a little more substantial. Using the Internet, you can get yourself into situations that are, well, experimental. Because the Internet gives you the freedom to "go anywhere" and "do anything"—at least if you know the passwords—you can uncover strange incompatibilities and unfamiliar systems. I call this experience "shell shock". At some point you will likely find yourself face to face with a computer program that expects you to type a command you don't happen to know.
You can mostly avoid such situations by only trying things about which you have good information. The situation is not much different from using a telephone: if you stick to well-worn paths like dialing local numbers or simple long distance calls, you will have little trouble; but if you start dialing other countries or special numbers you may be in for a surprise or two.
When you do log on to a new (previously unknown) computer, you can expect to come face to face with something called a "shell prompt". Shell prompts look like this:
% (or some other obscure symbol, like a dollar-sign)
or this:
mail> (a favourite—means you're in some sort of mail program)
or like this: