Ah! The Internet…

Ah! The internet… to surf or not to surf – that is the question…

–         WHAT?! There is No “question” about it! Whether we like it or not we are “family” thru the Internet! Entire businesses, college courses, electronic café’s, and soooo much more transpires DAILY –  heck – HOURLY -  via the “Net”  -

–         Many young people almost “live” the Internet…. But Facebook, Twitter, Y-Mail, Gmail. Google, iTunes, Pandora, MapQuest, VAST amounts of information, and MEGA gaming applications keep people of ALL ages engaged (arguably addicted…) for hours each day.

From Google Images - WWW

             

So how did this Internet - Web all start?

I think it would be easiest to start at the beginning…                                           

Spurred by the successful launch of Sputnik, the US’s competitive juices, along with its fear of nuclear attack, stepped up its technological efforts. For national security, the need to connect the 10,000 assorted computers was accelerated. Possible nuclear interference in the ionosphere would render the often used long range radio waves ineffective. A different means of actual “connection” was needed.

In February 1958, The Department of Defense created the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Their hope was to increase the speed of knowledge transfer and to circumvent duplicated research. ARPANET was the result.

Three other sectors helped evolve the Internet – the Rand Corporation military network, the commercial network of the National Physical Laboratory in England, and the French scientific network of Cyclades.

Limited funding was the impetus for Cyclades in France, collaborating communication between many networks. A decentralized and distributed “network among networks” – the Internet - was born. This is still its backbone today. They also developed the protocol that allowed each computer to act as are sender/receiver thus further expanding the network.

Now, universal protocol – Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol – provides a common “language” to allow all computers to communicate with each other via an Internet Service Provider.  These ISPs can be phone lines, cable lines, satellites, and fixed or mobile connections.

This YouTube video - How the Internet Works in 5 Minutes - is a perfect, concise explanation of present day Internet.  

Today, businesses and individuals use the Internet in ways the Department of Defense perhaps never dreamed of. Businesses advertise and perform buying/selling transactions. Colleges teach as well as recruit. Individuals communicate, listen to music, conduct banking, find spouses, and many just play all with the touch of a button and the click of a mouse.

Want even MORE info? Here’s some cool links from the textbook’s website: http://oc.course.com/sc/internet3e/index.cfm?action=source:

Net History

Brief History of the Internet

Hobbes' Internet Timeline

History of the Internet

The World Wide Web: Past, Present and Future