English for Wizards

Customize your Web browser

恐竜のロゴがかっこいい Mozilla のブラウザ

Last week I mentioned that Peter had set his browser "home page" to Google. That means when he first starts Internet Explorer, it automatically goes to the Google Web site. Setting your own home page is just one simple step you can take to make your Web browsing more convenient.

When you first buy a computer, the home page is usually set to Microsoft's MSN portal (www.msn.co.jp or www.msn.com). Maybe a lot of people never change their browser home page, simply because they don't know how! So here's how:

First open Internet Explorer. Next, go to the page you want to make into your home page, such as Google, or maybe Shukan ST Online. Then find the Tools menu item at the top of the window, and choose Tools - Internet Options. Just press the "Use Current" button in the Home page section near the top of that Internet Options window. Finally, press OK. To see if it worked, try closing Internet Explorer and restarting it. Do you see your new home page now?

For English learners, it's a good idea to set your home page to one of those "word of the day" sites, so you can improve your vocabulary automatically day by day. The Oxford English Dictionary has a good simple page (www.oed.com/cgi/display/wotd). Or else you can try the Cobuild Idiom of the Day site (www.cobuild.collins.co.uk/Idiom.html).

There are many other ways you can customize your Web browser, besides changing the home page. Look at the Advanced tab in that same Internet Options window. You'll find dozens of things to play with. Or you can change your toolbar buttons by right-clicking on the toolbar and choosing Customize. Also, make sure to organize your "favorites," by doing Favorites - Organize Favorites on the Internet Explorer menu.

If you are adventurous, you can even try a different browser. Yes, there are many other browsers, such as Mozilla, which used to be Netscape. Some people say Mozilla is better than Internet Explorer. It certainly offers many more ways to customize things, and it's another one of those totally free programs you can just download (http://mozilla.org/). Why not try it? I like the cool dinosaur logo they have.

By customizing your browser, you can make everything pittari, as my son likes to say. Peter likes that word because it sounds like his name. He told me that pittari means "just right for Peter."

Shukan ST: July 11, 2003

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