WHAT'S THE INTERNET
The term "Internet" refers to a vast global network of computers connected by different types of links (satellite radio, or submarines). This large network allows the sharing of information and has several distinctive features: it is cheap, public, easy to use, it is fashionable and feed many people.
The idea of a network is as old as computing itself. Basically, a network is a set of two or more computers connected together. This allows people to communicate to share certain resources such as printers, files and even databases. Connected, the computers are increasing their efficiency and productivity.
Some define the Internet as the "network of networks" and others as "the information superhighway."
The Internet is a network of networks because it is made of uniting many local networks of computers (or a few computers in a single building or company). Virtually every country in the world have access to the Internet. In some, like the Third World, people only have access to resources and other senior most developed countries, it is not difficult to connect.
On the Internet constantly moving incredible amounts of information. For this reason it is also called the information superhighway. There are 200 million "Inter surfers', ie people who" surf "the Internet worldwide.
One advantage of the Internet is allowing the connection with all types of computers, from the personal to the largest occupied entire rooms. We can even see networked video cameras, robots, machines and soft drinks.
Although used as synonyms, the Internet is not the same as Web and, against what may seem today, the network did not have a home business, but was a national security project developed by the U.S. Army and driven by teachers and students, that became a global event.
Mainly connected to the Internet can make use of various services to share information that were mounted on the physical network:
World Wide Web: or simply the "Web" is the most used online. Basically, the screen displays the user's "pages" with information hosted on remote computers (generically called "sites").
The WWW makes Internet access simple for the general public which gives it an explosive growth. It is relatively easy to tour the site and post information on it, the tools of the WWW grew up over the past three years to be the most popular. -
It allows linking information in one end of another planet in a distant place through something called hyperlink, click on it to us with another document or other document with information on another server.
The text file is stored on a web server which is accessible to other computers connected to that server via the Internet or LAN (local area network). The file can be accessed using Web browsers that do not do anything but make a file transfer and interpretation of HTML tags and links, and show the result on the monitor.
There are two properties of the Web pages that make it unique is that they can use interactive and multimedia objects. Multimedia is the term used to describe text files, audio, animation and video combine to present the information, for example, an encyclopedia or interactive play.
Each partner has a Web page address or URL, for example, the home of Microsoft http://www.microsoft.com/ is a URL is the path to a particular page within the Internet, is used in the same way as for locate a file on a computer, in this case indicates that it is the home which is situated in the Microsoft server that is connected to the WWW.
The number of words in the URL is not fixed. May be two, three, four, and so on. Normally only two. The last word is the domain name in the U.S. type of organization that owns the computer to which we refer:
com companies (Companies).
edu for educational institutions, mostly universities.
org NGO.
gov government entities.
thousand military installations.
In the rest of the countries that subsequently joined the Internet, has established other nomenclature. The last word indicates the country:
. is Spain
. ar Argentina
. jp Japan
. au Australia
. ch Switzerland
. go Ireland
... ...
Therefore, in view only the last word of the domain name, we can find out where is located the computer to which we refer.
Email: to send large files or messages to individuals located in various parts of the world.
He was one of the first applications developed for the Internet and the most widely used. This medium is fast, efficient and easy to administer, becoming the most sophisticated messaging system we know today.
E-mail is easier than writing a letter or fax, operates 365 days 24 hours, unless you drop a server.
If a server crashes, no lost messages sent to that destination, but are retained in the last point until they can follow their way to the recipient's mailbox, it is global as the Internet.
It is cheap because it is cheaper to send an e-mail you a letter by air or make a call or fax, no paper, and it is easy to dismiss Green also allows you to include documents, photos, music and even videos.
Chat: In English, talk. It is a conversation in real time over the Internet among sailors. Chat channels (IRC, Internet relay chat) provide this service, which lets you send messages simultaneously to all who are connected to a chat room, a virtual reunion. These forums have become hugely popular because they allow the network to make friends. It is a new form of communication between people of different countries throughout the world. Have destroyed the boundaries of space and time.
FTP: in English means "file transfer protocol (file transfer protocol). A protocol is a set of rules and standards that enable computers to exchange information. It is a fast track to upload and download files between two computers connected to the Internet, such as audio, images or programs, and a means to access files that are stored on remote machines (sites). Files on FTP machines are usually stored in a set of directories in a tree, each directory is associated with a different theme.
Newsgroups (discussion groups or news groups). This tool allows sending messages that indicate the sender but not a specific recipient, is used to communicate the members of the community gathered around common interests.
Is a collection of more than 5,000 discussion groups on every topic imaginable.
Newsgroups are the most appropriate to engage in debate on technical issues. It is based on the e-mail service. The messages we send to the newsgroups were made public and anyone may submit a reply. This service is useful to resolve difficult questions whose answers only know a few people.
Telephone Services: They are the latest applications that have appeared on the Internet. Allow us to establish a voice connection between two people connected to the Internet or a phone without paying the cost of international calls. Some of these services include not only voice but also image. This is called Video.
Videoconferencing: The phone will be joined via Internet transmission of live video to create the new concept of "Video."
IM: They are tools that allow users to send messages, chat, see when our acquaintances are online, and other utilities, these services are relatively new, its use is popular among these are the ICQ and AOL Messager.
Internet services have used less, because they become obsolete, or have only very technical applications. Some of these are: Archie, Gopher, X.500, WAIS and Telnet.
The service is an addition to the Archie FTP. Allows you to search the Web for specific files for later download via FTP.
Gopher is the predecessor of the WWW. It is a system for obtaining information that uses the technique of navigation, such as the WWW, but lacks the multimedia elements, this is mostly pictures and sound, which gives impetus to both the WWW. This service is still available on the Internet, but not many people use it.
WAIS and X.500 services are seeking information on people and those people. This service is used in public institutions and universities to locate and researchers to find out which projects are working.
With Telnet can take control of a computer connected to the network, so remote, or remotely. It is useful for working with computers in large companies or institutions, where many users access the same time a powerful central computer.
To understand this division between "Internet" and "Internet services" clarifies the picture. The question then would be: "What is e-mail offering in Hotmail." This type of tools are called webmail (ie, e-mail Web-based) and are a hybrid between email and the Web, but in fact, two services are technically different. What happens is that the Web, for its popularity and ease of use, has become the interface (board operations) of almost all other services. Today, with a browser-the software to explore the Web can also download files via FTP, chat, and access to discussion groups.
What is to be connected to the Internet? The question may seem obvious, but always respond well to dispel doubts. Mainly connected to the Internet can make use of various services to share information that were mounted on the physical network.
What advantages the Internet offers?
There are many advantages that the Internet offers us, we could fill whole pages of goodness, but we will try to cite the main ones.
Global Access: One enters the network through a phone call or a leased line directly to the Internet and access to information does not have an extra cost of communication for which this information is that which can be locally or abroad .
Approach with customers: Through the Internet and email, is arriving in people and information within and outside companies to do that through other technologies in some cases would become impossible (eg Gtes companies, discussion forums etc. .).
Relations through hyperlinks: With a single click of a button passing information to another server in a transparent and graphics.
Compatibilities technology: I can access computers running operating systems like Windows 98/NT graphics or Mac, Unix-like operating systems, DOS and others in a transparent manner and that the network is responsible for solving this compatibility.
To access this global network of just owning a desktop computer and hire some type of connection to a local provider. The most used to connect the phone, but there are other avenues such as cable, digital subscription lines (xDSL, in English) and even wireless connections.
30 years ago, when computers were the size of a refrigerator, the idea of a large network of interconnected computers worldwide was worthy of a science fiction novel. The end of the story is known: the time passed, computers shrinked to the point of fit in the palm of the hand and, like what happened with many of the inventions of Verne, the vast network is transformed into reality and is known as the Internet.
But beyond the services offered, the Internet is also a product of historical events and an ongoing technical development that is worth knowing.