Article DetailsWhat is the internet? |
| Date Added: November 24, 2007 04:12:09 PM |
What is the Internet?
Let's start at the beginning, and since we are talking about communication and information that means starting with a computer.
Some computers are simply stand alone pieces of equipment. They work in isolation, getting on with the jobs that are required of them but they do not meet or talk to anyone else.
Other computers are more sociable. They are connected to each other, and, like members of a large community, they can share things with each other. This sort of computer community is called a network. The Internet is simply a global network of computers all connected to each other through telephone lines. When you use one of these computers to access the Internet you are 'online'. Other types of equipment can also be connected in order to share information and communicate with each other, such as digital television sets and mobile telephones. However, we concentrate on how you can use a computer to get started on the Internet. Getting and sharing information Every computer connected to the Internet is owned or used by people and organisations with information and expertise to share on just about any ' topic you can imagine. Being a member of the Internet 'club' is therefore like being a member of an enormous global library. The Internet equivalent to shelves crammed with millions of books and journals is the World Wide Web (WWW) or the Web for short.
Instead of reading the pages of a book, you simply look at the relevant pages of a Web site (sometimes referred to as 'surfing the Web'). It can also be a lot more exciting because you don't just have words, but can look at pictures and moving images, sometimes accompanied by sound, and you normally get the chance to communicate with the 'authors' of the Web site.
Communicating Something else you can do when you get access to the Internet is send a message almost instantaneously to friends, family and other people all over ~e world. You do this by using email, short for electronic mail, which is short for electronic mail, which is the Internet's version of the postal service. Instead of putting a letter into me postbox and having to wait days for it to be picked up, delivered and a reply to arrive, you simply type a message on the computer keyboard, address it using an email address, and at the press of a key on your keyboard send it immediately to another computer anywhere in the world. Meeting people The most popular aspect of the Internet is that it is interactive. Not only can find information about anything and everything at any time of the day, you can also chat to other people looking for the same sort of things.
email is a great way to swap messages with a person or a chosen group of people, but you can also use the Internet to share opinions and ideas with groups of new people all at once, by joining a message board, chat site, newsgroup or mailing list.
What else? If that’s not enough for you, the Internet can also provide you with new ways to:
Play your favourite card game or board game, against opponents who could be sitting at their computers on the other side of the world;
Research and book holidays, travel and other leisure time activities;
Read the latest news from any part of the world; and Shop for books, food, presents and clothing.
Once have access to the Internet, the whole world is at your fingertips. Instead of reading the pages of a book, you simply look at the relevant pages of a Web site (sometimes referred to as 'surfing the Web'). It can also be a lot more exciting because you don't just have words, but can look at pictures and moving images, sometimes accompanied by sound, and you normally get the chance to communicate with the 'authors' of the Web site. |
