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Everything you always wanted to know about the Internet and
were
afraid to ask
In recent years, the Internet has
been the subject of a mass frenzy and hype. Yet
there are many people who are still not sure what it is, what
it can be used for, how to get on it and how to make the best
use of it. The purpose of this article is to help you answer
these questions in a straightforward manner.
What
exactly is the Internet?
In its most basic physical form,
the Internet is simply a global network of computers,
connected together by high-speed telephone and
telecommunication links, which span the whole world. It
originally grew out of academic and government research
establishments (especially the American Department of Defense)
ant their need for global high-speed secure computer
communications. However it has long since burst way beyond
these horizons and into mainstream commercial technology.
Today there are probably over 3 million computers on the
Internet and an estimated 30 million users. Universities,
government agencies, non-profit organizations and business are
all part of the Internet. All the computers on the Internet
use a common protocol (TCP/IP) to communicate with
one another. This allows computers running different operating
systems to all be part of the network.
Yes but why all the hype?
What the Internet does is to provide users, for the first
time, with a consistent means to accessing a variety of media
in a simplified fashion. Using commonly available software, the
Internet has changed the way people view and creates information and has infect created
the first true
global network. And because of the
amount of information that is now becoming available and the
numbers of users connected, it is thought that the Internet
has the potential to revolutionize not only education and
science, which is where Internet originated, but also other
elements of society such as commerce, politics, literature,
entertainment, etc.
Who owns the Internet?
Nobody "owns" the Internet although there are
companies that help manage different parts of the networks
that tie everything together, there is no single governing
body that controls what happens on the Internet. The networks
within different countries are funded and managed locally
according to local policies.
So what exactly can I do on the Internet?
In its present-day form, the Internet (or simply the 'net)
comprises of several parts. However in its simplest terms
there are two things that you can do on the Internet. They
are:
- Communicate
- Access Information
1. Communications
The most common use of the Internet is electronic mail
(email). Just as with regular postal mail, a user can send
text, pictures, spreadsheets, accounting reports sounds or
movies in an electronic envelope to any other person on the
Internet anywhere in the world. The
difference is that the user will need to convert all of these
items into electronic form and will need to know the 'Internet
address' of the person who is to receive the information.
The two great things about email are the speed at which
delivery takes place (almost immediately) and the relatively
low cost (you pay no more to send the message across the
street or across the world). You pay only for the connect time
necessary to transmit the message.
2. Access to Information
With thousands of systems connected on the Internet; there are
literally millions of computer files that are available to the
general public. These files may be text files, graphics files,
sound files, full motion video files or software program
files. You can find information
there ranging from how to extract essential oils from herbs to
getting the latest NASA information on the current space
missions. You can read newspapers online; check the
card catalogue of the local library; read the latest
Presidential press release, check the weather forecast; read
to book; check the latest movie reviews or order flowers,
music tapes or books from online electronic stores.
How does it do this?
The most useful part of the Internet is the so-called World
Wide Web (WWW). The WWW is the
single development most responsible for the sudden surge in
popularity of the Net. It does not really have any
physical form, but in effect provides a standard means of
placing or publishing information on the Net and of reading
information off the Net. It does this with the use of a
computer language designed specifically for WWW called
Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML). In order for
you to effectively use the Net, you do not need to know
anything about HTML, other then the way in which it allows
information to be published and examined.
WWW published information (called
Web pages) physically its on large powerful
computers called servers, which are permanently attached to
the Internet and thereby accessible to whoever wanted to read
them. They can contain text
picture, sound, video clips and animation. The
really amazing thing is that web pages can contain links to
other Web pages in the form of a unique address (known as a
URL or Unique Resource Locator), and clicking on these links
would take you to a new web page which can be located either
on the same computer or on another machine on the other side
of the world.
Anything on the Internet using WWW
and Hyper Text Technology is then
simple a few simple clicks away. The amazing part of the whole
process is that a
single HTML page can be linked to dozens of other WWW pages
that exist on other computer systems anywhere in the world.
And as I have said a page can be simply a block of text, or it
can includes graphics, sound clips as well as full motion
video and, anything on this page can be linked to another page
of information. A user can therefore "surf"
the Internet all over the world without any more effort than
clicking a mouse button! This ease
of use is driving more information on the Internet to Web
serves.
How do I get on the Internet?
That depends. You must
first decide if you whether you wish to only access
information on the Internet or if you also want to act as a
server. To set up a server, you will need to acquire the
necessary computer hardware and software. You also need to
arrange the communications link that will connect your system
to the rest of the net and pay the appropriate fees. You
then need to be able to get the whole thing up and running and
recognized by the rest of the world. The cost of this is not
insignificant and needs a firm
understanding of the
opportunities and the risks. Alternatively, to become a user
you simply need to contact an Internet provider and open an
account. The costs vary based on
usage but can range from approximately pound 20 per month for
a dial up account to 200 pound per month for a dedicated line.
What opportunities exist for business on the Internet?
The Internet offers many things to business users. The
Internet can be an effective medium for business
communications. Services such as
Gopher and the World Wide Web are excellent ways to distribute
information about your product or service. E-mail is a great
too for communicating with business contacts and customers.
The can have very high market new customers can be found and
existing customers can be better supported. Many businesses
are having success actually selling products over the
Internet.
These opportunities are not
without challenges. In order to best take advantage
of the opportunities; any organization has to develop their
own Internet business plan. This plan will lay out their
strategies to achieve the goals that they set out for
themselves. Entirely new business will exist in the next five
years. This business will be
created by business people that have the vision to see where
the most successful opportunities lie.
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