A Better Student Article:
Academic Research on the Internet : There Is a Better Way
Ready? Let's begin. While reading these lines, please glance over to the top right corner of your monitor. You see something like "Microsoft Internet Explorer", right? You probably know that more than 90% of the internet users browse the web with this browser that comes by default with every copy of Windows. But did you know that it is very inefficient for online search, causing billions of clicks to go down the drain every day? Luckily, there are other, better online research tools.
Please welcome Firefox to the scene, the speedy red-taled beast who can run circles around Internet Explorer. Firefox is the new web browser that is rapidly gaining popularity because of its intuitive and expandable search features.
If you haven't met FireFox already and don't know how to start, head over to Firefox download page to download and install a copy right now. Trust me, this is one piece of software you will not regret. All done? Alright...Let's tame the beast.
Look over to top right corner of your FireFox window. The input box with a big "G" is a built in gateway to Google.com search. What this means is that now you can search Google without having to go to the Google homepage every time. So what's the big deal about it, you ask? Well, if you search Google once a week, this may not be a big advantage, but if you are a serious internet researcher, you will save close to an hour of your time by the end of the week. Whenever you have a question, it now takes a zip to find the right answer. Not only this saves time, the built in search window is very convenient and comfortable way to search.
Ok, so now you know that you can search Google without actually going to the Google search page, but rather have the search results feed in to your window. Your not limited to Google search only, you can use other search engines and services as well. To see what I am talking about, click on the big "G" in the top-right text box. Did you see the drop down list? By default you can search Google, Yahoo, Amazon, Creative Commons, Dictionary.com, and Ebay. Doesn't that make you feel like you are in control of the web*