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I was told that I need an Internet "domain" in order to have my own web site. Yet friends of mine who subscribe to America Online have their own web pages as part of the service. What is a domain and are there any advantages to having one?

ANSWER:

Every web site has an associated physical address on the Internet known as an Internet Protocol (IP) address. Since this address is numerical in nature, think of it as you would a phone number. For example, the IP address of the server hosting the website for my national radio talk show, Computer America, is 161.58.235.176. Since we're better at remembering words than numbers, most businesses try and find numbers that spell out their name or product. So when you need to send roses, it's easier to remember 1-800-FLOWERS than a stream of digits. The same holds true for finding a web site. Remembering "computeramerica.com" is going to be more intuitive that trying to recall those IP numbers. The name associated to an IP number is referred to as its Domain name. With the millions of IP addresses on the Internet, there must be some kind of organization that keeps track of all those domain names and the IP addresses to which they correspond.

The Domain Name System or DNS is comprised of computers, data, software and an organization of people all working together to create and maintain the words-to-numbers directory that points all of our computers to the Internet information we wish to access. Its primary function is to translate the easy to remember names into their corresponding IP addresses that the Internet and its computers can use to locate a web site.

Your friends with home pages on AOL don't have their own domain. They use AOL's domain and reside within it. Since AOL is hosting the web site, you must first type in "www.aol.com" followed by more slashes representing added sub levels before reaching your friend's home page. Accessing your friend's web site means you'd have to type something like "www.aol.com/homepages/yourfriendssitename.com." Aside from having to remember those additional letters, if your friend decides to leave AOL and use another web hosting service, they will lose their address and all of their information stored there. Having your own domain gives everyone direct access to your web site. Even if you change your Internet provider or web hosting service, you still own the domain name. So no matter whom your friend picks to host his web site, everyone would still only have to type "www.yourfriendssitename.com." It's just like being able to keep your same local phone number no matter where in the world you may choose to move.

Some web hosting services such as Crankit.net will register your domain name and provide a wide variety of web hosting services for monthly fees starting as low as $9.95 a month. What makes Crankit stand out from some other web hosting services is that the company provides its subscribers with additional software controls that empower its users with many administrative abilities usually reserved by customer service personnel. Check out their web site for pricing and feature descriptions.

www.crankit.net

Color monitors that surround you

Looking for the ultimate in computer monitors? Hammacher Schlemmer has two that are out of this world. The Panoramic Computer Screen is comprised of three high resolution screens angled into one unit and is priced at a mere $22,749.95. Traditional screens have around 98 square inches of viewing area. The Panoramic gives you an eye-bending 500 square inches of screen real estate. The wraparound design gives your peripheral vision the ultimate workout as you see your computer world expand before your very eyes. A single USB connection manages all three screens for a true multimedia experience. Product number: 10206

If the Panoramic monitor wasn't enough to knock your socks off, this next one is guaranteed to leave you bare footed. Billed as the world's only 180 degree immersive computer screen, this hemispherical projection screen literally encircles the user giving the observer an almost 3D experience. This radical-looking screen is a work of modern art that one might see in a Star Trek movie. But this is real and it's available to you. Well, sort of. Requirements are that you be a gaming enthusiast with an unlimited expense account. But if you qualify, this is the only screen for you. For the tidy sum of $20,594.95, I guarantee you will become the envy of every computer geek on the entire planet. Product number: 10244E.

Both monitors work on Windows and Macintosh systems.

www.hammacherschlemmer.com