Computer On The Internet example essay topic

Chapter Two the Internet With a computer, a cable modem or a modem and a phone line, and the right software, you can enter a vast universe of information and interaction on-line. This on-line universe, known as the Internet, is a huge worldwide network of computers and other networks. What a highway system is to transportation, the Internet is to data. Research tools, documents, files and mailing lists are all readily accessible there. Network services, such as electronic mail, file transfer (FTP), World Wide Web and Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and remote login (TELNET) are offered by any computer that has implemented the full set of TCP / IP protocols (the highway system's driving formats and rules). Basic terminology: Before moving ahead in the vast ocean called the Internet it is a must to know certain terms and protocols used by the Internet...

Network: The word "network" refers to all the wires, special computers, and agreements that allow a set of computers to be connected to one another so that they can exchange information and share resources. This is equivalent to all the roads in the world, whether they are connected to other roads or not. You often refer to doing something "over the network" when one computer uses a network to contact a different computer... Protocol: It's important to understand that whenever you use a network, you are really using two computer programs, one on each end. A protocol is a definition of exactly what computers should do and "say" over a network when trying to accomplish some specific thing. Before computers can cooperate, to send a mail message for instance, a protocol must be created.

Then various computer programs are written based on that protocol. We often say that a protocol "defines" how to do something. So in our 'highway' metaphor, the protocols are the 'rules of the road'; e.g. drive on the right, stop at red lights, etc... Internet address: A name, usually a set of words separated by periods, that "points to" a computer on the Internet... IP Address: IP stands for "Internet Protocol".

When you use an internet address it is translated into an IP number, which one computer on the internet then uses to "find a route" to the remote computer. This is a number used by machines to keep track of where messages get sent. It's more like your lot number on your property tax form. You need to know it, sometimes, when you fill out forms (or when you configure a new Internet application) but for most purposes you want to use your Internet address, which was designed to be more readable by human beings... World Wide Web ( ): A collection of documents and resources created by organizations and individuals all over the world and made available over the internet.

A World Wide Web browser allows you to use these documents and services. A tourist's view of the Internet. Everything on the Internet is "on" the World Wide Web, but people are only interested in the destinations that have something there for them. The University of Wisconsin has a "Home Page" on the Web; you can drive to the University on the Interstate. My home computer can be connected to the Internet, and you can drive over to my place, but most people don't care...

Home Pages: A Web page that describes a person or institution. The roadside attractions ("pages") on the Web are destinations for your trip. This might be Microsoft Corporation (taking a business trip); Wired Magazine (going to Disneyland), or someone's personal home page (going to Grandmother's house)... URL "Universal Resource Locator": A way of "pointing to" something on the World Wide Web so that you can look at it or tell someone else about it. A simple way to write down directions for how to get information from some spot on the web. If you belong to, you can get "strip maps" that show exactly how to get somewhere.

The URL is the same thing: directions for how to get exactly to a place on the web, without worrying about what you pass close by on your way there... "Internet Browser" (usually Mosaic or Netscape): A program that allows you to view and choose between different resources on a network service. Tools for retrieving information from the that can handle sound, pictures, movies. Good menus and lots of tools to help you remember where you " ve been. An air conditioned tour bus for your cross-country trip... Gopher: Gopher is an information service similar to the World Wide Web, but is based on a number of "menus" or lists of documents and resources.

Any document in the gopher system can be looked at with a World Wide Web browser. Text oriented, simpler version of an "Internet Browser". Sometimes can handle pictures and sound, but is much less graphics oriented than an Internet Browser. Your first car (or maybe a bicycle)... FTP ("File Transfer Protocol"): A protocol that defines how a person can move files to and from a different computer over a network. You can send & receive files around the world by this tool, at very high speed.

You FTP data when you want to move a lot of it very fast; when you want to send a package quickly, you Federal Express it or send it via UPS... Telnet: A protocol that defines how a person on one computer can use a different computer, (often a UNIX computer) over a network as if it were in front of them. You can send commands and get responses from computers around the world using this tool. You can telephone people elsewhere, and give them instructions or ask them questions... Domain: Where you " re going, in a very large sense. Just because two people are in the "wisc" domain doesn't mean they know each other, any more than two people who live "in Wisconsin" are likely to know each other.

Internet -its applications: Applications of the Internet or simply the net as we call it are actually infinite and diverse. Internet is useful practically in everything ranging from official business to household peripheral activities. Ask any veteran of the Internet to name its most exciting feature, and the answer is almost invariably the same: Where it is taking us? What the future holds. Those who have worked in this field predict that far greater things and more positive applications than any we presently have are just over the horizon.

First is the Internet's size and capacity. The current 30 million users are but a fraction of the world's population. And the technology is advancing so rapidly that in a few years, laptops and other simple computers will be so inexpensive that tens of millions more users will be on-line. Plans are in the works to make the Internet available through public computer stations, or kiosks, which would soon make accessing the Internet about as easy as making a call at a pay phone. Some would be equipped to service users who didn't even bring their own laptop. To the businessman, it means never being far from files or information.

To shoppers, it means being able to locate merchandise or place orders from anywhere. The Internet can bring entire libraries, if not classrooms, into the home -- for just a few dollars a year. Already "on-line universities" exist, with more to come accredited institutions which facilitate studies home, using texts and information administered over the Internet. Financial transactions will become easier and faster than ever before. Through "digital cash" products coming soon to the market, purchases can be made without giving a credit card number (exposing it to risk of theft). Instead, the purchaser transmits digitally encoded bits of information which are accepted as "money" by other computers, and securely buys merchandise and services, pays bills, and even pays income taxes.

This is just a sampling of what is yet to come. Larry Crocker, involved with the Internet from its earliest days, said, "The network makes it possible to have complex relationships with individuals and groups of people all over the globe. The workplace and even the home may not be the focal point of one's social interactions. Virtual corporations will come into existence on a regular basis". Major advances are on the horizon, and many will usher in significant changes in our lives.