QikLinx (Quick Links) represents (in my humble opinion) many of the most beneficial and interesting Internet sites. The list is categorized by topic, with a "clickable" category index. Site names have been presented as "clickable links," so a simple mouse-click will wisk you directly to that site. Then, if you like what you see, just "bookmark" the site so you can easily return there as often as you wish!

By that time, my years of surfing the Net had resulted in a rather impressive list of "bookmarked" Internet sites. I willingly shared my list with others and as word of my handy list spread, more and more employees requested copies. Unfortunately, borrowers wasted a lot of time deleting unwanted entries from the list because many dealt with my profession (at the time, video and multimedia). Clearly, something had to be done, so I taught myself HTML (HyperText Mark-up Language, the common Internet page development code), and started a project called "Bob's Link-O-Matic." (I named it on a dare. Thanks, Scott!)

Link-O-Matic compiled my most useful bookmarks into one central file residing on the company LAN (Local Area Network). This served our LAN-connected employees well, but the company's network "firewall" (a computer that blocks unauthorized Internet access) prevented outside access. As the Internet revolution progressed, more employees got Internet access at home and I soon began receiving requests for an Internet version of Link-O-Matic. QikLinx, the succesor to Link-O-Matic, is installed on an Internet hosting service and is available for public access. The rest, as they say, is history!

• DON'T PANIC. I don't care WHAT you've been told, things WILL go wrong. Software will crash, connections will be lost and, oh yes, ERRORS. You'll see ominous-sounding error messages with intimidating words like "Unauthorized", "Connection Refused" and the ever-popular "Forbidden." No sweat. They're nothing to worry about. If you get an error message, check the Internet address for typos and try again. If you again see the error message, the problem may well be at the desired website. In short, if you're getting through to most locations, the cause of the errors may be beyond your control,
• SLOW CONNECTIONS. The World Wide Web is graphics-oriented. It's supposed to be. Unfortunately, pages with lots of graphics can be painfully slow for people connected via telephone modem. (Sometimes the "World Wide Web" is called the "World Wide WAIT!") Here's what you can do to speed things along:
  - Turn off the graphics. Most web browsers have an option to display graphics ("Show Pictures") or not. Turning OFF the graphics will speed things up a lot!
  - Look for text-only pages. If you find a good site, but the graphics make it very slow, look for a clickable link (often at the top or bottom of the page) that mentions "text-only" or "slow connections." Since graphics can be a problem for people with dial-up connections, many Web page designers provide alternate pages with fewer graphics. Bookmark THESE pages instead of the graphics-laden ones.
  

• "Primary" address - http://home.earthlink.net/~startz
• "Permanent" address - http://qiklinx.tripod.com

• From the "Tools" menu, select "Internet Options..."
• Click on the "General" tab
• In the "Home Page" section's "Address:" field, enter (or Copy/Paste)
  http://home.earthlink.net/~startz
  
• Click "Okay"

• From the "Edit" menu, select "Preferences..."
• Under "Category:", select "Navigator"
• In the "Home Page" section, enter (or Copy/Paste)
  http://home.earthlink.net/~startz
  into the "Location:" text field.
  
• Click "Okay"

• From the "Options" menu, select "General Preferences..."
• Click on the "Appearance" tab
• Under the "Startup" section, enter (or Copy/Paste)
  http://home.earthlink.net/~startz
  into the "Browser Starts With:" text field.
  
• Click "Okay"