Internet What is the Internet? The internet is a computer-based worldwide information network. It is composed of a large number of smaller interconnected networks called internets. Unlike the traditional broadcasting media, such as radio and television, the Internet is a decentralized system.
It can publish ideas, and can sell products with a minium overhead cost. The internets from which the Internet is composed are usually public access networks, meaning that the resources of the network can be shared with anyone logging on to, or accessing, the network. How and when did it come about? What organization is responsible for its development? The Internet was originally formed in the United Sates during the 1960's by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA.). Working under contract to the U.S.
Department of Defense, ARPA initially connected computers to various institutions. This original network, the very first computer network, was called ARPANET. Scientist built ARPANET with the intention of creating a network that would still be able to function efficiently if part of the network was damaged. As ARPANET grew in the 1970s, with more and more universities and institutions connecting to it, users found it necessary to establish standards for the way that data was transmitted over the network. In 1989 English computer scientist Timothy Berners-Lee introduced the World Wide Web.
Berners-Lee initially designed the WWW to aid communication between physicists who were working in different parts of the world. As it grew, however, the WWW revolutionized the use of the Internet. During the early 1990s increasingly large numbers of users who were not part of the scientific or academic communities began to use the Internet, due in large part to the ability of the WWW to easily handle multimedia documents. What are its uses today? The internet can be used in many ways. Businesses use the Internet to provide access to complex databases, such as financial databases. Companies can carry out commerce online, including advertising, selling, buying, distributing products, and providing after-sales services.
It is used for voice and video conferencing and other forms of communication that allow people to telecommute, or work from a distance. Media and entertainment companies use the Internet to broadcast audio and video, including live radio and television programs ; to offer online chat, in which people carry on discussions using written text; and to offer online news and weather programs. The use of the internet also benefits scientist and scholars. They use it to perform research, to distribute lecture notes and course materials to students, and to publish papers and articles.
The doors of communications have been open wider with the use of electronic mail. The electronic mail has made communication between companies, coworkers, and other individuals much easier. One of the first uses of the internet was a tool for military and academic purposes. Individuals use the Internet for communication, entertainment, finding information, and to buy and sell goods and services.
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