Using Information Technology

Chapter 2

The Internet & the World Wide Web

The Internet & the World Wide WebExploring Cyberspace

2.1 Choosing Your Internet Access Device & Physical Connection: The Quest for Broadband

2.2 Choosing Your Internet Service Provider (ISP)

2.3 Sending & Receiving E-Mail

2.4 The World Wide Web

2.5 The Online Gold Mine: More Internet Resources, Your Personal Cyberspace, E-Commerce, & the E-conomy

2.1 Choosing Your Internet Access Device & Physical Connection:

The Quest for Broadband• Bandwidth - an

expression of how much data can be sent through a communications channel in a given amount of time

• Broadband - very high speed connection

Transmission Directions

• Download - to transmit data from a remote computer to a local computer

• Upload - to transmit data from a local computer to a remote computer

Telephone (Dial-Up) Modem: Low Speed but Inexpensive & Widely

Available• Modem - device

that sends and receives data over telephone lines to and from computers

• Most modems today have a maximum speed of 56 Kbps.

High-Speed Phone Lines: More Expensive but Available in Most

Cities• ISDN - hardware and software that allows

voice, video, and data to be communicated over traditional copper-wire telephone lines

• DSL - also uses regular phone lines but much faster than ISDN

• T1 - a traditional trunk line that carries 24 normal telephone circuits and has a transmission rate of 1.5 Mbps

Communications Media

• Cable Modem: Close Competitor to DSL

• Cable modem - connects a personal computer to a cable-TV system that offers an Internet connection

• Wireless Systems: Satellite & Other Through-the-Air Connections– Satellite– Radio waves between

cellular towers

2.2 Choosing Your Internet Service Provider (ISP)

• ISP - a company that connects you through your communications line to its servers, or central computer, which connect you to the Internet via another company’s network access points

2.3 Sending & Receiving E-MailE-Mail Software & Carriers

• Buy e-mail software

• Get e-mail program as part of other computer software (such as browser)

• Get e-mail software as part of your ISP package

• Get free e-mail services

E-Mail Addresses

Jane_Doe@earthlink.net.uk

•User name: Jane_Doe

•Domain name: earthlink

•Top-level domain: .net

•Two-letter country extension: .uk

Communication Tools

• Instant Messaging

• Instant messaging (IM) - allows any user on a given e-mail system to send a message and have it pop up instantly on the screen of anyone else logged onto that system

• Mailing Lists: E-Mail-Based Discussion Groups

• List-serves - e-mail mailing lists of people who regularly participate in discussion groups

Netiquette: Appropriate Online Behavior

• Consult FAQs

Emoticons

Avoid flaming Don’t SHOUT!

Netiquette: Appropriate Online Behavior

• Avoid sloppiness but avoid criticizing others’ sloppiness

• Don’t send huge file attachments, unless requested

• When replying, quote only the relevant portion!

Spam: Unwanted Junk E-Mail

• Delete without opening the message

• Never reply to a spam message!

• Enlist the help of your ISP or use spam filters

• Fight back

2.4 The World Wide Web

• Q: What makes the Web graphically inviting?

• A: Multimedia

• Q: What makes the Web easily navigable?

• A: Hypertext

HTML & resulting

page

The Web & How It Works

• Website--the domain on the computer

• Site - a computer with a domain name• Example: barnesandnobleuniversity.com

• Website - the location of a web domain name in a computer somewhere on the Internet

The Web & How It Works

• Web pages--the documents on a website

• Web page - a document on the WWW that can include text, pictures, sound, and video

• Example: Barnes & Noble University’s Science & Technology Campus

The Web & How It Works

• Browsers--software for connecting with websites

• Web browser - software that enables users to view web pages and to jump from one page to another

• Best-known browsers:

• Microsoft’s Internet Explorer• Netscape Navigator

The Web & How It Works

• URLs--addresses for web pages

http://www.nps.gov/abli/index.htm

• Protocol : http://

• Domain name: www.nps.gov

• Directory name: abli

• File name: index.htm

Using Your Browser to Get Around the Web

• Home page - the first page you see when you start up your browser

• Getting around:

– Back - takes you back to the previous page

– Forward - takes you to a page you returned from

– Home - takes you to your home page

Using Your Browser to Get Around the Web

• History list - list accessible from browser’s toolbar that allows you to return to a page you have recently visited

• Bookmarks or favorites - your favorite URLs stored in a list to permit frequent visits without retyping the URLs

• Simultaneous viewing of two pages via File menu’s “New” item

Using Your Browser to Get Around the Web

• Interactivity--hyperlinks, radio buttons, and fill-in text boxes

• Radio buttons - little circles located in front of various options; selecting an option with the mouse places a dot in the corresponding circle

Radio buttons and textbox

Web Portals: Starting Points for Finding Information

• Web portal - website that groups together in one convenient location popular features such as search tools, e-mail, electronic commerce, and discussion groups

Web Portals: Starting Points for Finding Information

• After logging on, you can:– Check the

home page for general info

– Use the directories to find a topic

– Use keyword to search for a topic

Four Types of Search Engines

• Human-organized search sites

• Computer-created search sites

• Hybrid search sites

• Metasearch sites

Multimedia on the Web

• Plug-in - a program that adds a specific feature to a browser, allowing it to play or view certain files

• Developing multimedia– Applets written in Java– ActiveX– JavaScript

Multimedia on the Web

•Text and images

•Animation

•Video – Download and view– Streaming video

•Audio– Download and listen– Streaming audio

Push Technology & Webcasting

• Push technology - software that automatically downloads information to your computer

• Webcasting - customized text, video, and audio sent to you automatically on a regular basis

The Internet Telephone & Videophone

• Internet telephony - using the Net to make phone calls, either one-to-one or for audioconferencing

2.5 The Online Gold Mine: More Internet Resources, Your

Personal Cyberspace, E-Commerce, & the E-conomy

• Other Internet resources:– FTP (File Transfer Protocol)--for copying all

the free files you want – Telnet--to connect to remote computers

Other Internet Resources

• Newsgroups--for online typed discussions on specific topics

• Real-time chat--typed discussions among online participants

Your Personal Cyberspace

• Relationships--online matchmaking

• Education--the rise of distance learning

• Health--patient self-education

• Entertainment--amusing yourself

E-Commerce

• E-tailing--retail commerce online

• Auctions--linking individual buyers and sellers

• Online finance--trading, banking, and e-money

• Online job hunting

• B2B commerce

Concept Check

• What is the term for using the Net to make phone calls, either one-to-one or for audioconferencing?

• Internet telephony

Concept Check

• Which program allows you to connect to remote computers on the Internet using a username and a password?

• Telnet

Concept Check

• Which type of search site sends your query to several other different search tools and compiles the results?

• Metasearch site

Concept Check

• What is the method whereby you can connect to a remote computer and transfer files from it to your own microcomputer’s hard disk?

• FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

Concept Check

• Which language consists of tags, and is used to create web pages?

• Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

Concept Check

• What are the four components of a URL?

1.The web protocol

2.The name of the web server

3.The directory on that server

4.The file within that directory

Concept Check

• What is the name given to online education programs?

• Distance learning

Concept Check

• What is the term for writing an online message that uses derogatory, obscene, or inappropriate language?

• Flaming

Concept Check

• What is the term for keyboard-produced pictorial representations of expressions?

• Emoticons

Concept Check

• What is meant by “Gbps?”

• One gigabit per second--one billion bits per second.

Concept Check

• What is “netiquette?”

• Network etiquette--guides to appropriate online behavior

Concept Check

• What is the term for an independently controllable section of a Web page?

• A frame

Concept Check

• What is the term for a Website such as Yahoo! that groups together popular features such as search tools, e-mail, electronic commerce, and discussion groups?

• Portal

Concept Check

• What is broadband?

• Very high speed connection

Concept Check

• What is the term for the transmission of data from a remote computer to a local computer?

• Download

Concept Check

• What is the first component of a URL?

• The protocol (for example, “http”)

Concept Check

• What method of interaction with a Web page consists of little circles in front of user-selectable options?

• Radio buttons

Concept Check

• What type of program adds a specific feature to a browser, allowing it to play or view certain files?

• Plug-in

Concept Check

• What is the term for unsolicited e-mail in the form of advertising or chain letters?

• Spam

Concept Check

• What does RTC stand for?

• Real-time chat, a typed discussion among online users