Chapter Two: The Internet and World Wide Web Summary

The Internet

  • Worldwide collection of networks linking millions of entities (businesses, government, individuals).

Evolution of the Internet

  • Originated as ARPANET in September 1969.

    • Goals: Information sharing among scientists, disaster resilience.

  • 1984: Over 1,000 computers linked; today, over 550 million hosts.

  • World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) oversees standards; no single authority controls the Internet.

Connecting to the Internet

  • Home/small businesses typically connect via high-speed broadband.

  • Types of broadband services:

    • Cable Internet (cable modem).

    • DSL (telephone lines).

    • FTTP (fiber-optic).

    • Fixed Wireless (radio signals).

    • Wi-Fi (wireless radio signals).

Access Providers

  • Access providers offer Internet access, can be free or fee-based.

  • ISPs: Regional (local areas) vs. National (wider service).

IP Addresses and Domain Names

  • IP address: Unique identifier for devices on the Internet.

  • Domain name: Text version of an IP address; translated by DNS servers.

The World Wide Web

  • A collection of electronic documents (Web pages).

  • Web server delivers Web pages; Web 2.0 allows interaction.

  • Web browsers (e.g., Google, Safari) access Web pages.

  • Home page: First page displayed; URLs uniquely identify web pages.

Search Engines

  • Programs for finding websites, pages, images, etc.

  • Some browsers feature Instant Search to streamline searching.

Types of Websites

  • Categories: Educational, Informational, Entertainment, Social networks, Advocacy, News, Business.

Web Content Evaluation

  • Need for accuracy; no oversight on content.

Multimedia on the Web

  • Combines text, graphics, animation, audio, video, virtual reality.

  • Formats for graphics: BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF.

Web Publishing

  • Development: Plan, Design, Create, Deploy, Maintain.

E-Commerce

  • Business transactions over electronic networks; types include B2B, B2C, C2C.

Other Internet Services

  • Email: Transmission of messages/files; allows creating, sending, receiving, managing.

  • Mailing list: Group of email addresses; subscribe/unsubscribe.

  • Instant messaging (IM) for real-time communication; chat rooms for group interaction.

  • VoIP (Voice over IP) for voice communication over the Internet.

  • FTP (File Transfer Protocol): Uploading/downloading files; involves FTP servers.