Discovering the Internet Assignment

Greetings Everyone,

How often do we get online and start surfing the web without taking a moment to really think about the Internet and the World Wide Web? What actually is the Internet? What can we actually do on the Internet? Where did the Internet come from? Or, how do we connect to the Internet? These questions are what I am studying for this post.


Defining the Internet

The Internet as we know it is simply a network of networks. It is the largest network in the world. The Internet is the physical connection between computers that allows the sharing of data and resources. The Internet is also made of the protocols that allow the communication between computers. This protocol is the TCP/IP protocol or the Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol. According to Gary B. Shelly and Jennifer T. Campbell who authored "Discovering The Internet Complete, Fourth Edition", the Internet is defined as:

... a global network of computers that allows individual and business computer users around the world to share information and other resources and to conduct business transactions.

Simply put, the Internet is all of the Hardware and protocols that enable all of us to enjoy the "Information Age".

So knowing exactly what the Internet is, how about what we can use it for?

How the Internet is Used

We use the Internet for a wide variety of activities. We can browse the World Wide Web over the Internet. The World Wide Web or "Web" for short is all of the documents that are made up of text, photos, audio clips, and video and are called webpages. A collection of these webpages that are related to one another is called a website. Websites are connect by links to other sites and content within itself. We are able to search the web for information and other resources that we are interested in.

We can communicate over the Internet through e-mail, Instant Messaging, chat sessions, social networking, and other medias. In addition to communication, we can also download and upload files using the FTP or File Transfer Protocol, we can access other computers, and we can conduct online business such as online shopping.

After knowing what the Internet is and how we can use it, what about finding out where it came from?

History of the Internet

When we think about the Internet we generally think that the Internet jsut started in the early 1990's but it really started 3 decades prior. In 1958, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency or DARPA was created. DARPA planned to create a large network that would become known as ARPANET or Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. In 1965, a network connection was made between a computer in Massachusetts to a computer in California which proved 2 important things. First it proved that it is possible to run programs and share data from a remote connection over a long distance. Secondly it showed a need for a "Backbone" to be created that is faster than the phone lines.

After the proof of concept was successful, three computers were connected to form the first Internet. One computer resided at UCLA, the second at Stanford Research Institute, and the third at BBN which is a company in Cambridge Massachusetts. In 1969, packets of data were being sent over the new network and the University of California Santa Barbara as well as the University of Utah connected to join in the data sharing. And the Internet was born!

So how do we now connect to the Internet?

Connecting to the Internet

To connect to the Internet we need to subscribe to an Internet service Provider or ISP. We can connect with the ISP through several different medias such as Dial-up which connects using an RJ11 jack or the standard phone line and is the slowest connection used today. We can also use a Digital Subscriber Line or DSL which also uses the phone line but needs a special modem which allows a high speed connection. We can also connect by cable using a cable modem and the coaxial cable which is supplied by your cable television company. Like cable we can also use Fiber Optics or FioS which connects using a specialized modem and fiber cable. There also is wireless connections which we are becoming more accustomed to through our smart phones and laptops.

The Internet is truly amazing and has changed the way we connect as a society for ever! So, did you ever stop to think about what this Internet was really all about? Let me know what you think.