Street Talk

There''s no denying it: We are living in a dot com world. Millions of people use the Internet for business and pleasure every day. A few local folks share how they use the Internet in their daily lives.

Jesse Gonzalez

Age: 21 Occupation: Retail store owner Resides: Salinas

What do you use the Internet for? I use the Internet for business and downloading and uploading music.

What is the best part of the Internet? It''s worldwide. You can also meet a lot of great people.

And the worst part? Some parts of the Internet are still kind of shady. There are a lot of scams and scam artists.

What should people know about the Web? You can use it to your advantage. Don''t just waste all your time looking at porn.

Ryoko Sato

Age: 22 Occupation: Student Resides: Salinas

What do you use the Internet for? For school and fun, like chatting, e-mail, and Internet phone.

What is best about being online? You can get information from all over the world.

And the worst part? Cyber-terrorism, hacking, e-mail bugs and viruses.

Howard Cordova

Age: 34 Occupation: Supervisor Resides: Salinas

What do you use the Internet for? Research and fun. I like browsing race car Websites.

What is the best part of the Internet? The worldwide access to all kinds of information at my fingertips.

And the worst part? Minors have access to sites meant for adults. As a parent, I think the Internet chat rooms are dangerous. You really don''t know who your kids are talking to.

What should people know about the Internet? Don''t be afraid to take a look and try it for the first time. There''s a whole world out there of different Websites to check out.