The Internet: Information Superhighway

The internet has come a long way, and is now one of the most common tools in our daily lives. But what exactly is the internet and how did it started?

What is the Internet?

The internet basically is a network of computers. It is composed of millions of small network of computers combined to make a massive network infrastructure that is able to communicate with each separate computer. Information travels the internet via different languages known as protocols and can be sent or received by any computer connected to it.

How Did the Internet Start?

The internet was actually, at first, a network of radars developed by ARPA (Advanced Research Project Agency) and was used for an entirely different purpose than what it is now. The head of IPTO, an institution put up by ARPA, J.C.R. Licklider saw the benefits of a nationwide network, and this is where the first idea of the internet was developed. The first successful live communication by ARPANET (the former name of the Internet) was on early October 1969, and it was between University Of California and Stanford Research Institute. The very first common protocol used on the ARPANET was the Network Control Program, and it was on 1983 that TCP/IP, the most used protocol today was developed.

In 1990, ARPANET was replaced by NSFNET, a network of schools and was joined by CSNET and EU, also a network of schools in North America and European Research Facilities respectively. With the help of these different organizations and with the popularity of the World Wide Web, a platform on top of the internet network, the US government decided to give the management to independent organizations since 1995.

What are the Uses of the Internet?

The Internet of today has become the main source to find and give out information. With it, many types of communication and applications have become accessible to almost all the people using the web.

E-mail- It is the most common form of communication today. It lets you send electronic mail to another person via SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), replacing the contemporary snail mail (via post office). You need to have your email address though in order to use this function. You can get free email addresses from various websites like Yahoo and Google.

Browsing/Research - Almost anything under the sun can be found in the internet. There are many search engines/websites to help you find what topic you need.

E-commerce – A new addition to the ever-growing applications for the internet is e-commerce. It takes entrepreneurship to a new level, may it be a multinational company or a small home-based business. Online selling has now become worldwide and can be available to a wide range of customers. Users can now buy or sell items directly from their own homes, opening up doors for new options in the business industry.

Chat/blogging – Chatting has become one of the most popular communications in the internet. You can communicate to your friends or meet new ones even from across the globe. Blogging is sort of an electronic diary, letting other users of the internet read your opinions or articles on any topic that you so desire.

VOIP – A new form of application, VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) may someday replace conventional telephones. It lets you have a voice conversation like a normal telephone would but with added features. You can send and receive files while talking on the VOIP phone via the internet.