The Internet & the WebScott Korosic

What is the Internet?

The internet, also called the Net, is a global computer network made up of thousands of privately and publicly owned computers and networks that grew and interlinked, over time, into one giant network.

In other words, the Internet is a network of networks.

Today, the Internet is composed of more than 750 million hosts. Hosts are computers that have two-way access to other computers.

How the Internet Works

The Internet backbone is the main high-speed routes through which data travels.

These routes are maintained by network service providers (NSPs) such as AT&T, NCI, Sprint, BBN, and UUNET.

Connecting these two is something called a router.

Accessing the Internet

Internet access providers are companies or businesses that provide access use the internet free, for a fixed monthly charge, or for an itemized per use fee.

Internet service providers (ISP) are companies that traditionally provide access to the Internet and no additional services.

An online service provider (OSP) is a for-profit firm that provides a proprietary network and offers special services that are available only to subscribers.

Accessing the Internet Cont’d

A wireless Internet service provider can be a local or national company that provides wireless Internet access to computers and other mobile devices, such as notebooks and smart phones

Connection Options

Dial-up access – A dial-up connection does not require and special hardware and it uses your existing phone jack and dial-up modem configurations. Speed is not a high priority.

Digital subscriber line (DSL) – A DSL connection offers faster access speeds than dial-up, while making use of ordinary phone lines with the addition of a special external modem. Doesn’t extend more than a few miles from a telephone switching station or central office.

Connection Options Cont’d

Cable Access – Many cable TV companies provide permanent online connections and offer high-speed Internet access, comparable to DSL speeds.

Satellite Access – The use of an antenna and electronics to transmit and receive data, along with a connection to a small, unobtrusive dish.

Fiber-optic service – Fiber-optic lines running directly to the home provide users with an incredibly fast Internet connection, easily surpassing other methods. Fiber-optic service is rapidly becoming a challenger to DSL and cable providers. No modem is needed, but fiber-optic cable may have to be run to and within your home.

Difference between the Internet & the Web

As stated earlier, the Internet is a network of hardware (computers, cables, and routers) through which any computer can directly access other computers and exchange data.

The World Wide Web (or Web or WWW) is a portion of the Internet that contains billions of documents. The Web uses the Internet as its transport mechanism to distribute its collection of documents, called Web pages.

Content on the Web

The documents of the Web are called Web pages. Each page is a document or information resource created using the established standards and made viewable to a user through a Web browser.

A Web browser is a program on your computer that displays a Web document by interpreting the HTML or XHTML format.

A Web site is a collection of related Web pages.

The Hypertext Concept

Hypertext is a system in which objects (text, pictures, music, and programs) can be creatively linked to each other.

This works by means of hyperlinks, elements in an electronic document that act as the connector to another place in the same document or to an entirely different document.

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is a language that uses a tag system of code to create Web pages. Extensible Hypertext Markup Language(XHTML) on the other hand is a language designed to reduce the complexity of HTML

Problems with the Web’s Content

Not every link works. There’s no guarantee that the Web page’s author will keep the page updated or active.

No individual or organization validates information posted on the Web.

Basic Web pages are not expensive to create or host. This has lead to the proliferation of Web content or information overload.

Parts of a URL

Internet Protocol address (IP address) – assigned to every host, computer, server, device and application. It’s a numerical identification and logical address that is assigned to devices participating in a computer network

Protocol – the first part of a complete URL specifies the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), the Internet standard that supports the exchange of information on the web. (http://)

Domain Name – The second part of a complete URL specifies the Web site’s domain name, which correlates to the Web server’s IP address. The domain name has 2 parts: a host name and a top-level domain name. For example, www.google.com is the complete domain and the .com part is the top-level domain.

Parts of a URL Cont’d

Path – This is the part of the URL that comes after the top-level domain names. The path specifies the location of the document on the server, containing the document’s location on the computer.

Resource/Filename – This is the last part of a complete URL and it gives the file name of the resource you’re accessing. A resource is a file, such as an HTML file, a sound file, a video file, or a graphics file.

Different Ways to Surf the Web

Type a URL in the Address bar.

Click a tab in the browsing window.

Click a hyperlink.

Use the History list.

Make use of Favorites or Bookmarks feature.

Downloading and Uploading

With downloading, a document or file is transferred from another computer to your computer. Your computer is the destination and the other computer is the source. An example of this is downloading music on iTunes.

With uploading, you transfer files from your computer to another computer. The opposite of downloading. An example of this is uploading a video to youtube.

Sharing Information

Wikis – A wiki is a simple Web page on which any visitor can post text or images, read previous posts, change posted information, and track earlier changes

Blogs – A blog is the Internet equivalent of a journal or diary. Bloggers post their thoughts and opinions, along with photos or links to interesting Web sites.

Podcast – A podcast is a way of sharing your information through an audio or video format.

Search Engines

Search engines make use of databases of the web pages they’ve indexed. To add pages to their databases, search engines make use of computer programs referred to as spiders, to roam the World Wide Web via the internet, visit sites and databases, and keep the search engines database of Web pages up to date.

Specialized search engines are used when trying to find information such as names and addresses, job advertisements, quotations, or newspaper articles.

Communicating Through the Web

One of the earliest ways of communicating through the Web is through the use of e-mail. It’s just like normal mail but from computer to computer.

Another way is through instant messaging. This is a faster way of communicating as you get the messages almost instantaneously.

Now, you can communicate through video chat, such as skyping. This gives you a live view of the other person and would be the same as talking to someone face-to-face.

E-Commerce

E-Commerce is the use of networks or the internet to carry out business of any type.

Business-to-Business E-Commerce is when a business uses the internet to provide another business with the materials, services, and/or supplies it needs.

Consumer-to-Consumer E-Commerce is the online exchange of goods, services, or information between individual consumers. (Ex: Ebay or amazon)

Business-to-Consumer E-Commerce is when a business uses the internet to supply consumers with services, information, or products. (Ex: Nike)

What is Web 2.0?

Before talking about Web 2.0, we will talk about what Web 1.0 is. Web 1.0 was the precursor to the type of Web experience we now are able to create.

Web 1.0 sites are static, aren’t interactive, and their applications are proprietary.

Web 2.0 is the upgraded presentation and usefulness for the World Wide Web and the name Web 2.0 was coined by Tim O’Reilly.

Web 2.0 includes such applications as blogs and vlogs, wikis, podcasts and vodcasts, social networking, photosharing, communication, collaboration, and content sharing.