[micro_learner]

am new to computers and I am sure this question is trivial

I work in a company which basically is connected by a LAN where we need to access each computer by our username and password.
What I need to know is whether I can access the internet by hooking up the ethernet cable to my laptop.I tried doing so ..but it does not work.I tried puttting the IP address of one of the computer but it does not work either.
When I see the status of the connection.
It says it is "connected" with Speed 10Mbps.

I know that this question is trivial and my approch may be naive..but will appreciate any help whatsoever..need it be books articles or references.

We have Windows 2000 professional on both the computers