One of the hottest presentations at this year’s National No-Tillage Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, was Don Nadermann’s talk about using search engines.

It’s not every day you see someone discuss the Internet and leave everyone in the variably experienced group with valuable new information, but Nadermann managed to do just that. Drawing on 2 years of experience as a computer instructor for New Horizons Computer Learning Center in Des Moines, he took his audience from defining basic Internet terms to complex, in-depth searching and other Internet issues with plenty of stops in between for explanation.

The Basics

“I bought my first computer for $1,500 2 years ago,” Nadermann laughs. “A few days later it was on sale for $700. I always felt a step behind.

“It even took me 3 months to get onto the Internet, which was of course the reason I got the computer in the first place. For awhile, I had the nicest plant stand you’d ever seen...”

However, Nadermann seems to have taken to the computer world quite well. He began with a discussion of Internet service providers, enlightening many about satellite Internet access. This service offers access through a satellite dish, and data transfer speeds approach that of fast cable Internet service.

If you currently have Internet access through a local provider, you’re probably dialing up through a router along with many other people. You may have already figured out that there are high-traffic times of the day when it’s just not worth your…