BTT 1O - 02 Aisha Syed - Chapter 1 Notes

The Changing World of Modern Information Technology

The Internet - How Did the Internet Develop?

  • The Internet is a large wide area network connecting computers and networks globally.

  • It allows millions of users to connect via telephone lines, cable lines, and satellites.

  • The Internet originated in the 1960s with the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPANet).

  • ARPANet linked mainframe computers to create a communication network.

  • Objectives of ARPANet:

    • Create a communication system that could survive a nuclear attack or natural disaster.

    • Provide communication links to users in remote locations.

  • In 1983, ARPANet split into two parts:

    • ARPANet

    • MILNet: Used by defense agencies and the military.

  • ARPANet continued as a research and development network and became an international communication tool for academia.

  • NSFNet:

    • In the mid-1980s, ARPANet's backbone speed was insufficient for the academic and research community's demands.

    • The National Science Foundation created NSFNet, a new high-speed network.

    • Two main objectives of NSFNet:

      • Interconnect supercomputing centers to share resources.

      • Provide academic and research centers access to each other for information exchange.

  • ARPANet and NSFNet were linked, but NSFNet had a faster backbone.

  • By the early 1990s, NSFNet fully replaced ARPANet.

  • Internetworking: The process of linking networks, which is where the Internet got its name.

  • The term "Internet" was officially adopted in 1983.

Growing Demand and Telecommunication Companies

  • In the late 1980s and early 1990s, as more people purchased computers, there was a growing demand for “anytime, anywhere” network access.

  • NSFNet was restricted to academic users and did not serve business individuals.

  • Telecommunication companies (e.g., Bell Canada, AT&T, Nortel) built high-speed backbones and new networks.

  • These networks used the same protocols as NSFNet.

  • TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) became the accepted means of communication across networks.

  • TCP/IP was available for free, allowing business and personal users to set up internet accounts with telecommunications companies and ISPs (Internet Service Providers).

The World Wide Web (WWW)

  • What is the World Wide Web and How Did It Evolve?

  • The invention of DNS, widespread adoption of TCP/IP, and the development of the World Wide Web led to rapid growth and new uses for the Internet.

  • Who developed the WWW? When? Where? Alternate name?

    • Tim Berners-Lee invented the WWW in 1989 while working at CERN laboratory.

    • WWW stands for World Wide Web, also known as the Web.

  • What is the WWW made of?

    • The WWW is a global collection of interconnected documents and resources.

    • These are linked by hyperlinks and URLs.

  • What Web authoring language is used to create hypertext documents?

    • HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is used.

  • What is HTTP?

    • HTTP stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol.

  • How do you view Web pages on the Internet?

    • You need a web browser, a software application to access and view websites.

  • Hypertext documents contain hyperlinks. What are they?

    • Clickable references that allow users to navigate to other sections within the same document or to different documents.

  • How do you know that there is a hyperlink on the document?

    • Hyperlinks are typically blue, underlined text.

    • The color changes (often to light blue) when you hover your mouse over it.

  • What are URLs? What do they begin with? Why?

    • URLs (Uniform Resource Locators), also known as web addresses, are unique identifiers to locate resources on the mmInternet.

    • URLs start with a protocol and domain name to tell web browsers how and where to retrieve the resource.

  • How are the Internet and the World Wide Web Different?

    • Internet: A global network of interconnected computer networks.

    • World Wide Web: A specific service that runs on top of the Internet.

Anatomy of a Web Site Address

  • A Web site address is a universal (or uniform) resource locator (URL).

  • Structure:

    • Transfer Protocol: http:// (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)

    • Host Name (optional): www (short for World Wide Web; could be www2, www3, web, or something else, or nothing)

    • Domain Name: mywebaddress.com

      • Second-Level Domain: The organization’s name as registered by the owner.

      • Top-Level Domain: Describes the type of domain.

        • Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD): .com, .org, .net

        • Country Code Top-Level Domains (ccTLD): .ca, .uk, .au

    • Path and File Name (optional): /people/jane.html

Infrastructure for Modern Information Technology

  • Information technologies require an infrastructure (a structural foundation) to function.

  • Cities require infrastructures like roads, sewers, and power/water supplies.

  • Five major communications industries converge to create a combined infrastructure:

    • Traditional media

    • Home electronics

    • Information packages and distributors

    • Computer industry

    • Telecommunications

  • Advances in cable television, computers, and telecommunication technologies support rapid information processing and management over long distances.

  • Two main backbones for sharing information today:

    1. Communication satellites orbiting the earth.

    2. Fiber optics.

  • The telecommunications industry includes:

    • Land telephones

    • Cellular telephones

    • Pagers/mobiles

    • AM/FM bands

    • Cable networks

    • Broadcast networks

    • Computer networks

    • Communications satellites

    • The internet

    • The WWW

What Next? - How Is Information Technology Changing?

  • What can one predict with certainty about the future of information technology?

    • Technology will continue to evolve and integrate into various aspects of our lives.

  • What does futurist Richard Worzel predict within the next 20 years?

    • We will wear our computers, similar to wearing watches.

  • What does futurist Neil Gershenfeld believe?

    • Our clothing will one day be networked to computers, enabling it to send and receive information about our bodies and activities.

  • What does futurist Ray Kurzwell predict?

    • By 2099, we will be able to download information from the human mind into computers.

  • What are your predictions about the future of information technology?

    • That AI might takeover the entire world.