INTERNET

What is Internet?

Internet is derived from two words: Interconnection and Networks. Internet is a network of networks- a global communications system that links together thousands of individual networks. More than 20 % of the worlds population worldwide use the Internet, according to Internet World Stats. This high level of connectivity encourages an unparalleled degree of communication, resource sharing and information access.

Internets History

The Internet began way back in 1969 - but it was called the ARPANET then. It started out as a research project, and was developed by an agency called ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) within the US Defense Department, in conjunction with a number of universities and military contractors. Its purpose was to explore the possibility of a communication network that could survive a nuclear attack. Although it started out as a research project, the ARPANET quickly developed into a communication tool. It was used for email, discussion groups and for exchanging files.

In 1979 Usenet was born. The size of the network grew too, and it became increasingly popular - more and more universities connected. Other similar networks started popping up too (BITNET and CSNET were two). All these different networks had trouble communicating with each other because they used different communications methods. By the end of 1983 a standard communications protocol was established (called TCP/IP). All the separate networks started using the protocol, and connected to one another forming a network of networks. This became known as the Internet.

The size of the Internet kept growing at a faster and faster rate. In 1984 there were 1,000 machines connected to the Internet. In 1987 there were 10,000, and by 1989 there were 100,000. Before the Web became popular, there were other ways to retrieve information from the Internet. 'Archie' and 'WAIS' (Wide Area Information Systems) were ways to search for specific files from all the files held on a single computer. Gopher was the next step - it organised files in hierarchical menus, making navigation a matter of browsing through a menu system. However there was no way of using it for searching

VERONICA (Very Easy Rodent Oriented Net-Wide Index to Computerised Archives) was a database that held Gopher entries, making it possible to search them. By 1993 VERONICA, in combination with Gopher, was the most successful way of using the Internet. While the Internet was a powerful tool for experienced computer users, the hostile looking interface made it inaccessible for most home users. The idea for the World Wide Web (WWW) came from CERN - (the European Laboratory for Particle Physics). They needed a way to keep track of their information and documentation so that it could be easily accessed and updated. The 'inventor' of the Web - Tim Berners-Lee - had previously worked with hypertext and recognised its appropriateness for this project. The system was implemented by 1992.

Several different ways of viewing World Wide Web documents were devised, but it wasn't until Marc Andreesen of NCSA (National Centre for Supercomputing Applications) developed a program called 'Mosaic' in 1993 that the WWW was shaped into what we know it as today. Mosaic was the first graphical Web browser - it allowed text, graphics, sounds and other multimedia to be viewed in one document. This revolutionised the Web and brought its potential to the attention of the rest of the world.

Language of the Internet

The Net, The Information Superhighway: The Internet The Web, WWW, W3, W3: The World Wide Web Web Page: A single Web document. Everything you can see in your browser window at one time (including what you can see by scrolling) makes up one Web page. Browser, Web Browser: The piece of software that runs on your computer and allows you to view Web pages. The most common browsers are Netscape, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Web Site: A set of Web pages that are logically connected. They usually have a consistent look and feel, and are all related to the same theme.

Home Page: The starting, introductory or welcome page for a Web site. A person's own home page is a Web page that describes all about them. Link, Hot Link, Hyper Link: A part of a Web page that can be clicked to get somewhere else. Links usually turn up a different colour and/or underlined in your Web browser. Broken Link: A link that references a page that no longer exists. If you click on a broken link you will get some kind of "Page not found - Error 404" message. Hypertext: Text that can contain links. HTML: Stands for HyperText Markup Language. This is the language that all Web pages are written in.

URL: Stands for Uniform Resource Locator. This is the address of a Web page for example http://english.unitecnology.ac.nz/resources/resourc es/tutorial/introduction/language.html

http://
This indicates it's a web page address. It is quite common to leave this part off. In modern browsers, the http:// will automatically get prefixed to addresses you type in.

www.domainn ame.com
This part is called the 'host name'. It indicates what computer the page resides on.

/path/to/
This part specifies the 'path' to the actual page you want to look at. Each '/' separates the name of the directories (or folders).

file.html
This is the actual name of the file, or page you are looking at. Most pages have a suffix of .html or .htm.

Webserver, Web Server: A Webserver is a computer which holds a number of Web pages, and 'serves' them out to computers that request them. There is nothing very special about the actual computer - it's just an ordinary computer (though usually a fairly powerful one) running special software. Surf: "Surfing the Web" means casually using the Web - not really having any direction, just clicking the links that look interesting to find yourself in weird and interesting places. Cyber: Virtual - not real but existing only in the context of the Internet. Cyberspace: A conceptual place that doesn't actually physically exist - but you can roam around in it, visit places, meet other people there, chat to them, go shopping ... Cyberspace is a real world metaphor for the Internet.

Snail Mail: Traditional mail using paper, pen, envelope and stamp. Remote: Not on your own computer or on a computer directly connected with yours, but far away out in the Internet somewhere. Local: On your own computer, or on a computer connected closely with yours (a local network). Download: Download a file means transferring that file from a remote computer to your own computer. Technically, you are downloading a Web page (and all the elements, such as pictures contained on it) every time you view it, but the word is simply used to describe saving a file permanently on your own computer. Upload: opposite of download. It refers to the act of moving data from one computer to another usually to a server or remote computer.

Shareware: Software that you can use for free on a trial basis. It can often be downloaded from the Web. ISP: Stands for Internet Service Provider. They are companies who provide you with Internet access. Usually you use your telephone connected to a modem to dial up and connect your computer to your ISP. E-Anything: You can prefix the letter E to any activity to make it mean doing that activity over the Internet. "E-learning" and "E-commerce" are common examples of this. This practice has evolved from the word "Email" (in which the E stands for Electronic). "E" seems to have taken over from "Cyber" as the prefix.

Reasons why people use the Internet

To find general information about a subject To access information not easily available elsewhere To correspond with faraway friends To meet people To discuss their interests with like-minded people To have fun To learn To read the news To find software To buy things, etc.

Why do people put things on the Web

To

advertise a product To sell a product To make money To share their knowledge with the world