Internet and its origin
What is the Internet ?
The Internet is a worldwide system of interconnected computer networks that use the TCP/IP set of network protocols to reach billions of users. The Internet began as a U.S Department of Defense network to link scientists and university professors around the world.
A network of networks, today, the Internet serves as a global data communications system that links millions of private, public, academic and business networks via an international telecommunications backbone that consists of various electronic and optical networking technologies.
Origin of Internet :
The first workable prototype of the Internet came in the late 1960s with the creation of ARPANET, or the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. Originally funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, ARPANET used packet switching to allow multiple computers to communicate on a single network. The technology continued to grow in the 1970s after scientists Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf developed Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol, or TCP/IP, a communications model that set standards for how data could be transmitted between multiple networks. ARPANET adopted TCP/IP on January 1, 1983, and from there researchers began to assemble the “network of networks” that became the modern Internet.
Access to Internet
How to access the internet?
There are four ingredients needed to access the Internet (1) an ISP, (2) a modem, (3) a Web browser and (4) an email program.
- The Internet Service Provider (ISP) - Your access to the Internet is through an Internet service provider (ISP), which can be a large company such as America Online or MSN, or any of hundreds of smaller ISPs throughout the country. You are offered unlimited access for a fixed rate per month.
- The Modem - Depending on the kind of service you have, you will need a unit of hardware called a "modem" for connection. Slow-speed dial-up telephone access uses an analog modem, which may already be installed in your computer. If not, one can be plugged into the USB port. If you sign up for cable or DSL service, which is from 40 to 100 times faster than telephone dial-up, your provider may send you the appropriate modem, or you can purchase it at your local electronics store. Quite simply, opt for the high-speed service if you can. Dial-up modems are an exercise in extreme patience.
- Browsing the Web - A Windows PC comes with the Internet Explorer Web browser. The Mac comes with Safari. Windows and Mac users quite often choose a different browser such as Firefox (www.mozilla.org) or Chrome (www.google.com/chrome), which offer additional features and are not as subject to attack by hackers. The first time you hook up to a new ISP, you may need their assistance to configure the dial-up or networking software in your computer. After that, all you do is launch the browser to "surf the Web."
- Sending Email - Although email can be sent and received using your Web browser (see email interfaces), your computer may come with a dedicated email program like the ones found in smartphones. For example, the Mac comes with Mail, while Windows has renamed its free program many times: Outlook Express, Windows Mail, Windows Live Mail and Mail. However, many users prefer Eudora, Thunderbird and other email clients. The first time you connect to a new ISP, you may need help in configuring your email program to use their mail servers. From then on, you launch the mail program as you would any other application.
- Switching ISPs - If you only browse the Web, there is little lost in starting with one ISP and switching to another. However, switching your email address is not like switching your street address. The U.S. Postal Service will forward your letters for a while, but if you close your account with an ISP, they may not be as accommodating. It would be a good idea to find out, if you plan on heavily promoting your email address.
- Get Your Own Domain Name - There are two ways around this problem. First is to register your own domain name and use an ISP that supports third-party names. For example, had Alan Freedman, editor of this encyclopedia, wanted to secure the alanfreedman.com domain name, his email address could have been alan@alanfreedman.com. If you have your own domain name and switch ISPs, you keep your email address because it belongs to you.
- Use an Alternate Email Provider - A second way to keep your email address is to establish an account with an Internet email provider that you stay with no matter which ISP you use for Internet access. There are sites on and off the Web that provide free email and email forwarding.
A web browser (commonly referred to as a browser) is a software application for accessing information on the World Wide Web. Each individual web page, image, and video is identified by a distinct URL, enabling browsers to retrieve and display them on the user's device.
A web browser is not the same thing as a search engine, though the two are often confused. For a user, a search engine is just a website, such as google.com, that stores searchable data about other websites. But to connect to and display websites on their device, a user needs to have a web browser installed.
The most popular web browsers are Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Edge.
Internet Communications
Internet communication is referred to as the sharing of information, ideas, or simply words over the World Wide Web, or the Internet. The Internet consists of a worldwide string of connected networks that exchanges data through packet switching using the standardized Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP). Unlike before, people can stay at home and be connected to his or her family, friends, and even colleagues from anywhere around the world.
Types of Internet Communication :
With the advent of high-speed internet connections, the internet has created more ways of instant communications that provide a vast option of information sharing.
Social Media Sites – This is a no-brainer. Almost everyone with access to the web has a social media account. Whether it be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or what have you, a single post can connect you to a friend or loved one through means of “liking”, “sharing”, or “commenting”.
Instant Messaging – Instant message, or IM, is sending a real-time message from one user to another. Examples are Yahoo! Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, or the millennial-crush Snapchat.
E-mail – Electronic mail, is the techy version of the traditional mail. This is more likely to be performed when engaging with a person officially, be it conducting a business, heeding for certain requests, or just simply saying “Hi”.
Chat Rooms – Before the rise of Social Media, chat rooms were the golden boys of the internet. It’s the equivalent of partying and getting to know each other where people come together to communicate in the same “room”.
Forum – Forums are specifically directed to people who have questions or want to start an idea or thought through group discussions. Each post is classified as a thread and is normally monitored by a mod, or moderator, who can either edit or remove unnecessary posts that are irrelevant to the discussion at hand.
Blog – Consider this as your pre-internet, journal or diary. Before, a journal zooms in on one person’s life story. Now, a blog is used for more than life-sharing – people do blogs to earn money by promoting products, information-sharing, giving tutorial, and even making political statements. People can comment and subscribe to their blogs if they like the contents.
Internet Conference – Internet conference can be divided into two parts – audio and video. In audio conferencing, people are exchanging dialogues via microphones and speakers. This is the equivalent of a phone call but is more flexible considering phone calls charge higher when it’s beyond local, while audio conference applications such as Skype, can do so charge-free. The other means to do internet conferences is video conferencing. It is practically the same as audio conferencing but with both parties seeing each other through a web camera. Applications like Skype, ezTalks and many more provide both audio and video conferences in their services, which are good for both long-distance family talks and business ventures.