 PLUG-
INS |
1. What are plug-ins?
2. What are some
common multimedia plug-ins?
3. Download/Installation Tutorial
4. Downloading
tutorials for:
5. Download
Time Calculator
(Note: Underlined terms are either links
to our glossary, or another page in our site.)
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"Plug-ins extend your
browser's ability to play media."
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What They Do...Generally speaking, plug-ins
are little applications or programs
that "plug in" to another program. Plug-ins make the
host program work better, do something a little differently,
or in some way extend its capabilities. We are going
to focus on plug-ins for Netscape Navigator and Microsoft
Internet Explorer web browsers. |
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Why You Need Them...Plug-ins for web browsers
typically allow the browser to display or play media
that is not natively supported by the browser itself.
There are nearly two hundred plug-ins available for web
browsers, and their applications range from entertainment
to business.
Our discussion will focus on multimedia plug-ins,
but many of the concepts apply to other types of software
available to download from the web. (In addition
to browser plug-ins, you can acquire demo programs, shareware, freeware, or games.)
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"...Of the nearly
200 browser plug-ins available, fortunately
you can get by
with 5 or 6."
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"..A well designed
site
will provide a link
to the plug-in
download page."
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Where You Can Get Them...Unfortunately
there are almost as many places you must go to get
plug-ins as there are plug-ins to get. The good news
is that most of us won't need more than five or six
of them.
Usually you will become aware of needing
a plug-in when you visit a site that requires one and
you can't view (or hear) the site's content. A well designed
site will provide a link to the site where you must go to download
the required plug-in. At that point you decide if you
want to spend 15-30 minutes getting and installing the
plug-in so you can see the site.
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Fortunately, once you have installed
the plug-in you won't have to do it again (except for
an occasional upgrade), and you will have opened the
door to a much richer web-surfing experience. In addition,
you will have learned a very useful skill in downloading
and installing the program, one that will open a whole
new world of software to you and give you a better understanding
of your computer. Something we could all use!
For a list of the top multimedia
plug-ins and links to download, see our plug-ins table.
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"Plug-ins open the
door to a much
richer web-surfing
experience."
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Written by: John Erik Olmund
Web Design Team 2002
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