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Before you start your search of the World Wide Web, try some of the steps that seasoned "surfers" use to increase speed.   Most of the recommended speed enhancements for Netscape Navigator 2.x and 3.x are reached through the Toolbar at the top of the page by selecting "Options" and then "General Preferences."   In Microsoft Internet Explorer browser you select "View" and then "Options."   For 4.x, select "Edit" and then "Preferences."

Load Images Last
Almost all of your waiting time is for the pictures or images.   To load them last in Netscape, select "Options," then select "General Preferences," and finally "Images."   Select the "After Loading" option. For 4.x, select "Edit," "Preferences," and then "Advanced."   Remove the check from "Automatically load images."

Instead of loading your images last, you could simply turn your images off.   After you find what you want, then turn the images back on.   To turn off images in Netscape, start by selecting "Options" so a pulldown Toolbar appears.   Turn off "Auto Load Images" on the Toolbar by selecting it.   (There should not be a check mark in front of "Auto Load Images" when you are finished.)   To turn the pictures back on for a particular page, select "Images" from the main Toolbar, not the pulldown Toolbar you used to turn off the images.

In America Online select "Preferences" on the Main Toolbar to change the automatic loading of images.   In Microsoft Explorer, select "View," then "Options," and finally "General."   At the top of that section you can turn off the pictures, sounds, and video.

Substitute Colors
A way to cause many documents to load faster in Netscape is to change the settings for color from "Automatic" to "Substitute Colors" in the "Images" section.   Go to "Images" by selecting "Options" and then "General Preferences."   When Netscape substitutes colors, it uses the fastest loading colors in place of the much slower custom colors.

Some documents have graphics embedded in the background, making them load slower.   To speed these documents in Netscape 2.0, select "Options," then "General Preferences," and finally "Colors."   Select "Custom" and then "Choose a Color."   Be sure to choose a Basic Color, such as white; custom colors can take a long time to load.   At the bottom of the section select "Always Use My Color."

In the Microsoft Explorer browser, select "View," then "Options," and finally "General."   Turn off "Windows Colors."   (The box in front of "Windows Colors" should be blank when you are finished.)

Turn Off Animations
The most common animated programs are ActiveX and Java.   In Microsoft Explorer you can turn them off in the "Security" section.   To get to "Security," select "View" and then "Options."   In Netscape you can turn off Java by selecting "Options," then "Network Preference," and then "Languages."  

Create Bookmarks or Favorites
To get to Awesome Library quickly, for example, mark it as a Bookmark (Netscape) or a Favorite (Explorer or America Online).   In Netscape or Explorer first go to the place you will want to find again and select "Bookmarks" or "Favorites."   Select "Add Bookmark" or "Add Favorite" and the job is done.   To get back to the place later, select "Bookmark" or "Favorite" and then select the place from the list.   In America Online select "Favorites" and add the Internet address you will want to find.   (The address starts with "http.")   Next time you enter America Online you can select "Go To" on the Toolbar at the top of the page and then select "Favorites."   This will automatically put you on the World Wide Web and start with the page you selected.   You do not have to go the Internet first.

Mark the Word Search page and move it to the top of your list of marks; that way you can easily search the Awesome Library or one of the other popular Web libraries on that page from anywhere in the World Wide Web.   Also mark the portion of the Awesome Library designed especially for you:

Awesome Library for Teachers
Awesome Library for Students
Awesome Library for Parents
Awesome Library for Librarians.

Make Awesome Library Your Home Page
Make the Awesome Library your Home page so that you can use it as a directory to the rest of the Web.   If you make the Awesome Library your Home page, then it will be the site you will see when you enter the Web.   In addition, the Awesome Library will appear when you select the Home button on the toolbar.

To make the Awesome Library your Home page in Netscape, select "Options" on the toolbar, then "General Preferences" and then "Appearance."   To the right of "Browser Starts With" select "Home Page Selection."   Replace the address in the space below the "Home Page Selection" with:
http://www.awesomelibrary.org/

In MS Explorer, select "View," "Options" and then "Navigation."   In the space for "Address," replace the address already there with:
http://www.awesomelibrary.org/

In America Online, select "Prefs" and then "Navigation."   In the space for "Address," replace the address already there with:
http://www.awesomelibrary.org/

Move Addresses Quickly.
If someone sends you an Internet address using email, use "Edit" to copy the address and paste it into Netscape or Explorer.   If you are sending someone an Internet address, use "Edit" to copy the address from Netscape or Explorer and paste it to the email.   Please note that Netscape and Explorer do not require you to include "http://" in the address, which is helpful information if you end up having to type the address.   If the address is a single word and ends with ".com," you can just type the middle part.   For example, you can provide just "yahoo" to get to the address "http://www.yahoo.com."

Use "Stop"
If a page does not show up on your screen after a reasonable wait, select "Stop" so you can move on to another site.   The site could be slow in loading because it is too busy at that time.   Sometimes when you select "Stop" after a reasonable wait you will find that the text has already loaded; in such a case you may be able to get the information you want without waiting for the site to load fully.   Selecting "Stop" and then "Reload" will often result in much faster loading when the loading is particularly slow.

Work in a Second Window
You can work in a second window while you are waiting for something to load.   Select "File" and then "New Web Browser" in Netscape 3.0 or "New Window" in Explorer 3.0.

It's Broken!
If you find that three straight connections do not load in a reasonable time, your connection may be "broken."   It happens.   It is also easy to repair.   Simply get out of the Internet completely and then go back in again.

Clear Your Disk Cache
Your hard disk cache may get full and slow you down.   Your cache can also cause you to see pages as they once were, rather than as they currently are.   In Netscape select "Options" and then "Network Preferences."   Clear your Disk Cache.   In Explorer select "View," "Options," "Advanced," "Settings," and then "Empty Folder."   While you are in the advanced settings of Explorer, set it to check for new material "Every time you start Internet Explorer."   In America Online select "Preferences" and then "Advanced."   Clear your cache.

If you have a good understanding of the technical specifications of your computer, you may want to change the size of your hard disk cache after you clear it.   Your hard disk cache can be set from zero to 10,240 Kilobytes (10 MB), depending on the amount of hard disk space you can spare.   It does not help to use more than 10 MB.   In Explorer you can change your hard disk cache by selecting "View," "Options," "Advanced," and then "Settings."   In Netscape you can also change your RAM cache, which should be about 1/8 of your RAM memory size.

Software Speed Enhancers
One program, TweakDUN speeds your connections by adjusting settings in your Windows registry, such as reducing your MTU speed.   It can double the speed of your connections if your computer is not networked with others.

Programs can also speed your exploration of the World Wide Web by automatically opening each link on each page you visit.   This can, in fact, make searches faster for you.   By the time you get to a link on a page, it may already be available.   This presents a moral dilemma.   Use of such software can increase connection problems for everyone by tying up connections for you that you may not even use.   Use of such software is therefore not recommended at this time.

Faster Connections
The fastest modems can operate at 33.6-kbps if the service provider supports that speed locally.   A 56-kbps modem is about to be introduced, but speed increases with it are still uncertain.   Your service provider will need to support the 56-kbps modem in order for the increased speed to be available.   Some reviewers question whether the 56-kbps modem will result in greatly increased speed because of limits in most Internet sites and uneven quality of phone line connections.

ISDN connections are faster (64-kbps to 128-kbps), but are significantly more expensive to initiate and maintain.   ISDN connections are more typically used by businesses because of the costs and complications of installation.   ISDN costs are coming down and becoming more broadly available, so some users may wish to consider them.

Some companies are developing satellite or cable technologies to connect users to the Internet.   (See Internet Service Providers.)  Costs may range from $30 to $60 per month for cable.   Monthly costs for satellite connections may be in the same range as cable costs, but satellite connections have high installation costs.   Satellite and cable connections are both capable of providing you with information over the Internet at over 300-kbps.   (Information from you to others will be at slower speeds, however.)  The service provider will be the key in actual speed because special sites will need to be set up to take full advantage of the technology.   Reviewers of early versions of these services have reported large increases in actual speed using such connections.   Satellite services are available in many locations, while cable Internet services are not yet available in most places.

Converters, such as WebTV, are now available to provide Internet information through your television set.   Converters do not provide cable connections.   They use modems and provide modem speed.   They allow access to the Internet without the high cost of purchasing a computer, but visual quality can be poor compared to computer monitors.

If you have suggestions or comments, please contact us by selecting the email address below.   Otherwise, you may want to return to Search Tips.