An Introduction to the Internet and Internet History
By Michelle Timothy

At the very beginning before designing and creating a web page you need a basic understanding of the internet, Internet history, how it works, what it is, and how it can benefit you. Without getting into too much detail, here are the raw basics.

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Internet History

In the 1960's the US Dept. of Defense began the internet as a military research project. It was started to help Government agencies be able to share information in case of a nuclear attack. A network of computers across the US was created, in the event of an attack the disabled computers would still find a way to get the information through the circuit using another computer in the network that wasn't disabled.

Over the years Scientists and Researchers began to share information using this system called the internet because it was easy, exclusive, fast, and not to mention fun. Then later on Universities joined the network. In the early 1990's businesses, organizations and individuals began to join the network in droves due to the lowering cost and popularity of personal computers.

 

Internet Basics (the Structure)

The internet is a made up of a bunch of computers linking and communicating with each other through phone and cable lines. The majority are businesses and personal computers that connect to gather information and seek entertainment.

In short any computer that is accessible by another computer through this network is 'online'. Each business, organization and government agency has its own network and is responsible for taking care of its own network. These thousands of networks all over the world connected together are called the Internet and the World Wide Web.

There isn't much of a difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web as far as how they operate, only in what information you can find on them. The 2 terms are even sometimes used synonymously. If you want to distinguish between the 2, the Internet came before the WWW. The Internet was just a system that anyone with at least two computers could implement. The system was linking two or more computers through some sort of modem so that they could 'talk' to each other. This was the experiment conducted by the DOD in the 60's and it was very successful. The World Wide Web is a layer of the internet that was meant to be more public and mainstream, it eventually became very commercial. Another way to explain it... the WWW is just a sub domain of the Internet. There are even some web addresses that cannot be accessed unless you type in the WWW.

 

How the Internet works

• Web server- a web server is any computer that stores web pages and makes them available on the WWW for public viewing. Most web servers are large and powerful computers connected to the Internet through powerful and fast, high speed connections. These servers store or 'Host' many thousands of web pages for many different individuals and companies.

 

• Web page- a web page is simply a digital document that is displayed on the web. Web pages display music, text, images, videos and picture/graphics using a programming language called HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language).

 

• Web site- A web site is a collection of web pages linked together and maintained by one company, organization or individual.

 

• URL (Uniform Resource Locator) - A URL is basically an address for your web page on the web. If someone knows your web address (also called domain name) they can access your page using their computer. Each web address/domain name is registered with a 'Domain name registrar' and therefore unique.

 

• Hyperlinks- Hyperlinks are contained in web pages. Essentially they are highlighted, underlined and/or different colored text (and sometimes images) that are imbedded with a web address in the HTML. These hyperlinks (also called 'links') can connect to other web pages anywhere on the web.

 

• Web Browsers- A web browser is a software program that deciphers HTML, JAVASCRIPT, JAVA and many other web languages and scripts. It allows you to view and explore web pages on the web. The most popular browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. There are many other browsers available, most are free.

Internet Connections

There are four types of internet connections;

1. Modem - 16-56kbps
2. ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) - 56kbps- 128kbps
3. Cable - up to 3,000kbps
4. DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) - 1,000 kbps- 6,000kbps

An Internet service provider (ISP) is a company that sells or gives away access to the web. AOL is the most popular ISP but definitely not the only one. Many companies have joined the rush to provide service to the thousands of new computer users flocking to the internet everyday.

Some companies offer internet access only; you will need to have your own browser to navigate the web and you would also need to know where you want to go, what you want to do and how to do it with out much assistance.

If you are not net savvy you may want to go with a commercial online service like AOL that provides an organized interface for your web exploration. Such companies provide you with email accounts, weather, sports, news, entertainment, chat rooms and much more, all in one easy to use interface.