Basics of the Internet

What is the Internet? Where did it come from? How do I get on it? These are questions that many people ask. The information provided here will explain the basics of what the Internet is, where it came from, how it evolved, what it is today, and how to use it.

What is the Internet?

The concept of the Internet is very simple; the implementation of it is the complicated part. A collection of computers from around the world in business, government agencies, universities, local municipalities, and private homes make up the Internet. The original purpose of the Internet, the exchange of information, has rapidly become much more complex than that.

Using the Internet for advertising, promotions, and other commerce-related purposes, many businesses, world wide and locally have prospered through the use of the Internet. Several local businesses that are hosted on our site have brought to our attention profit increases of as much as 80% over their non-Internet related business efforts.

The entertainment value on the Internet is immeasurable. Your favorite magazines, newspapers, television shows, and even live radio can be found on the Internet. Huge databases on everything from obscure, rarely scene movies, to your local high school sports teams can be accessed with a click of the mouse button for your convenience.

While all of these wonderful innovations in the Internet make the experience much more enjoyable and profitable, there is still the underlying use of academics. Today there is more information available for academic and learning purposes than most people ever imagined. From navigating your way through the halls of the Smithsonian Institute to sitting in on live broadcast seminar from one of the worlds most prominent universities, the possibilities are endless.

World Wide Web (WWW)

Simply put, the World Wide Web is a way to share resources with many people at the same time, even if some of those resources are located at opposite ends of the world. If you think of it as a research paper that lets each footnote take you right to the original source, then you've got the basic idea.

What began as a research tool has blossomed into something unexpected and much more fun. With the introduction of Mosaic and other graphical web browsers, the web has become a communications tool for a much wider audience.

Web pages can include text information, pictures, sounds, video, FTP links for downloading software, and much more. You can create living documents that are updated weekly, daily, or even hourly to give web surfers a different experience every time they visit your pages. As the technology develops, even more amazing applications will be possible.