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The Internet

Introduction

The Internet is a collection of thousands of interconnected computer networks around the world that make it possible to share information almost instantly. There is no single owner of the Internet; the various network sites are owned and maintained by commercial, research, government, and educational institutions, as well as individuals.

It began in 1969, the same year Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, as an experiment by the Defense Department. Called ARPANET, the four computers linked together soon expanded to connect the nation's largest research universities. Today no one even knows how many computers and users are connected to the Internet across the globe. What we do know is that the summer of 1995 marked the year when the Internet, or simply net, had reached a critical mass and became an integral component of our culture.

Today we see television commercials displaying an Internet address to entice users to visit their sites for information and purchases. We surf the net to explore its global resources. The Information Superhighway evokes the image of connecting people beyond our physical freeways and roads. The term cyberspace has been coined to label this place where people and computers meet in a new dimension.

It is easy to spend hours on the Internet. You can communicate through e-mail and chat groups, explore faraway lands as a virtual tourist, find information as you learn, and simply play and have fun with the games that stretch your imagination. Before we delve into the content and procedures of using the net, we need to first understand how the Internet works.

Understanding the Internet

The main connecting links between computers on the Internet are called the infrastructure. The Internet infrastructure consists of numerous fast backbone data links that use various transmission media including fiber optic cables, copper cables, microwave, and satellite. This backbone connects thousands of local area networks (LANs) and millions of computers that are all joined together in a gigantic web of wide area networks (WANs).

Computers on the Internet can have various operating systems such as Windows, DOS, Macintosh, and Unix. Since these different operating systems cannot understand each other, computers on the Internet need a common language for sending, receiving, and decoding data. The term protocol refers to a standard set of rules for computers to talk to each other over a network. The Internet protocol is called TCP/IP, which stands for Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol.

IP Address

Every computer connected to the Internet is called a host. Every host must have a unique address in order to be recognized and available on the Internet. This address is called the IP address (Internet Protocol address). It consists of four numbers separated from each other by a period. Each of the four numbers can have a value from 0 to 255. For example, an IP address might be 38.126.54.250 which points to a specific host somewhere on the Internet.

Domain Names

The exact IP address is required if you want to communicate with that particular host. Since it is hard for humans to remember these numbers, another method of addressing hosts on the Internet was developed called the domain name. A domain name consists of text that is strictly associated with a unique IP address. For example, the domain name microsoft.com points to a specific IP address of a host. Rather than accessing the host using the numbers of the IP address, typing the domain name accomplishes the same connection.

How are IP addresses assigned? Who checks to be certain there are not duplicate domain names? An organization named Internic is responsible for these addresses. Using Internic's conventions, domain name addresses are organized from left to right, with the most specific information first leading to the most general. For example, the domain name biology.science.ucla.edu would be interpreted as follows: The host named biology belongs to the science department at the University of California in Los Angeles, which is an educational institution. Notice there can be no spaces in a domain name and each of the parts is separated by a period. When saying the address out loud the periods are called "dots."

Internic has assigned several top level domains that indicate the type of organization to which the domain belongs. Below is a chart of those predefined organizational codes.

A second method of assigning names has also been developed to accommodate the ever-increasing need for unique domain names. This method refers to the geographic location of the organization. It follows the same convention of moving from specific to general. For example, the domain name chaminade.www indicates an organization called Chaminade located in Chatsworth, in the state of California, in the country of the U.S.A.

Accessing the Internet

We know the Internet is a vast system of interconnected computers using TCP/IP and that each of these computers has in IP address that is also known by its domain name. But, how does a school or a family become connected to the Internet? Basically you need a computer, a modem, a connection to the Internet (phone line and access provider), and communication software. Each of these items is described below.

The first thing you need is a computer with a modem (see Chapter 3 for more details on a modem). The minimum modem requirement is 14.4 baud and higher is recommended. Next you need a telephone line to connect your computer to the phone system that will transmit your data to your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

An ISP is an organization that has fast connections to the Internet. Usually you make a local phone call to your ISP, and at that point, it assigns you a temporary IP address so that you can access the Internet. The ISP charges you for this service. The charges can be based on usage or a flat fee. An example of a usage charge would be $9.95 a month for unlimited access. Examples of ISPs are America Online (AOL), AT&T, RoadRunner, etc.

Finally, you need communication software that supports TCP/IP and allows you to communicate through your ISP over the Internet. The most common software used today for Internet access are called web browsers. Examples of web browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer, and Firefox. Some ISPs might offer their own web browser included as a part of their service.

The Waiting Game

Once connected to the Internet, there is nothing more frustrating than endless waiting while the site is being accessed and the screen is being displayed. One way to improve the speed is to examine the method of cabling your computer uses to access the ISP. The key terms to understand are Kbps and Mbps. We measure the speed of data transmission in bits per second. One thousand bits per second is abbreviated Kbps (kilo bits per second) while one million bits per second is abbreviated as Mbps (mega bits per second). (You can refer to Chapter 5 for details on bits. Just remember that a bit is the smallest unit of information the computer can understand. It takes eight bits to form a byte. One byte represents one character.)

Using an analog phone line typically transmits 54 Kbps. You can also use DSL or Cable connections at much higher speeds. Other faster connections are available for higher cost such as a T1 line transmitting 1.544 Mbps, or a T3 line allowing 45 Mbps.

Computers that are part of a local area network may have access to the Internet via a direct LAN to ISP connection. In that case the workstations do not need individual modems or phone lines. Instead the entire LAN can use T1 lines to connect to the ISP. The device required to accomplish this is called a router. In fact, all ISPs use a router to connect you to the Internet. For schools this is very important. Rather than having every computer with its own phone line and modem, a router on the network manages the requests and allows many workstations simultaneous Internet access.

Internet Services

With all these technical items out of the way you are ready to connect to the Internet and begin the adventure. You will find many different things to do on the Internet. Each service may have a specialized server and software required for that specific activity. Below is an overview of the most common Internet services including e-mail, World Wide Web.

E-mail

The most popular use of the Internet is e-mail, which is short for electronic mail. Users can quickly communicate with one another from any place on the globe and at any time of the day. An advantage of email is the low cost since you do not have to pay long-distance phone charges. The traditional post office is humorously referred to as snail mail with the increasing use of quick e-mail. If you are not available to pick up an e-mail message immediately, the message is held in the email server until you request it.

Nearly all e-mail programs have the same basic features including reading the e-mail sent to you; saving, printing, and replying to it; composing new messages and sending them; attaching files, sound, and pictures to them; and keeping an address book to make it easier to send messages to people you write to often.

In order to send mail electronically you need to know the e-mail address. Most e-mail addresses can be typed in upper or lowercase letters, however lowercase is more common. There are three parts of an e-mail address. The first part is the user's name. The user's name is often the first letter of the first name, followed by the last name. Some people use their imaginations and create user names that are descriptive (called handles). Examples of e-mail user names are PGrammatis, ideal01, and mrcyber.

The second part of an e-mail address is the @ sign which means "at." The @ symbol is made by typing the number "2" while pressing the SHIFT key. This symbol always separates the user name from the final part of an e-mail address-the domain name of the user's mail server or ISP. For example, if I use America Online as my ISP and my name is Patti Grammatis, then my e-mail address could be:
PGrammatis@aol.com
An e-mail address such as:
PGrammatis@chaminade.chatsworth.ca.us
indicates the user's name is P Grammatis on a host located at Chaminade in Chatsworth, California in the U.S.A.

World Wide Web

The World Wide Web, also known as the web or WWW, is the newest and most exciting development on the Internet. On a web server a document can contain text, colorful graphics, sound, video, and animation. The WWW is known for being user-friendly since everything you want is only a mouse click away.

An organization or individual may create a document that is located on a web server. This main document is called a home page. A collection of items relating to this home page is called a World Wide Web site, or simply web site. The home page usually contains links to other sites with related information. These links to other sites are called hyperlinks. For example, you might be reading about history and see a reference to Abe Lincoln in blue and underlined indicating it is a hyperlink. Clicking on Abe Lincoln will take you to a different site that has information about him on it. To return to your original site when you are done reading about Abe, just click on the Back icon. You will notice the hyperlink has changed to a different color once you visit it.

Servers on the web use the HyperText Transfer Protocol (http) in order for hosts to communicate. This protocol is always noted at the beginning of a web site address as "http://" which is pronounced "h t t p colon slash slash."

Every document on the web, is located by a unique address called a URL, which stands for Universal Resource Locator. URLs are case sensitive, which means that uppercase letters are considered to be different from lowercase letters. For example, Chaminade is not the same thing as chaminade so be careful when typing in a URL address. URL addresses usually begin with www. The next part of the address contains the domain name where the web site is located followed by a slash (/). Finally, the exact name of the page on the site is listed. For example, the Chaminade College Preparatory home page URL is:

www.chaminade.chatsworth.ca.us/home.htm

When entering the URL in your web browser (Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, etc.) you need to begin with "http://" followed by the complete address. The following line would connect you to the index of Chaminade's web site:

http://www.chaminade.chatsworth.ca.us/index.htm

How do you find interesting addresses on the web? Friends might pass a cool site address, or your ISP might select and feature some of the hottest sites. Site links from within a site you have visited might lead you to an interesting place, or you may find a site through television, newspapers, or magazines. But what about finding information on a specific topic for a report that is due the next day? The solution is a search engine. A search engine is a free service available through the web that helps you locate web sites.

A search engine "crawls" through the web daily visiting web sites and storing those pages in a gigantic catalog. When a user enters a few keywords into the search engine, the program looks through its catalog and finds web sites that match the keywords. Most search engines then display the ten most relevant matches and give you the option to see the rest. Every search engine determines what is relevant using different criteria. Some use the frequency of visitations to the site, while others check for the number of times your keywords are mentioned in certain parts of a web site document. Below is a chart of some of the most common search engines and their URL.

Search Engine	Universal Resource Locator (URL)
Google	http://www.google.com
Yahoo!	http://www.yahoo.com

Documents on the web are written in HyperText Markup Language (HTML). Basic HTML is fairly easy to learn. It uses a series of tags that change how text is displayed. Programs such as Microsoft Word (with the Internet Assistant program installed) convert your word processed documents into HTML documents for display on the web.

The web has sparked many new developments in the computer industry. One of them is Java. Java is a new computer programming language developed by Sun Microsystems and is based on the C++ programming language. Java enables programmers to write programs called applets (small applications) that can be downloaded automatically from a web server onto a host computer and execute their functions on the host. This development has tremendous potential because it will enable a host to run Java programs or view any type of file without having the program installed on the host's hard drive. In effect, applets allow you to run programs from the Internet.

Other Services

The Internet has many other services available. Telnet is an Internet service that allows you to log in to distant hosts and work as if it were your own computer. FTP is a service for File Transfer Protocol that allows you to transfer files to your machine (called downloading). Use FTP to download software, graphics, historical documents, song lyrics, etc. Archie is a program used to find files on FTP servers. Gopher is a menu-driven program that allows you to look for information around the Internet. You can look through the items available on a gopher host and click to read them. Veronica is a program that allows you to search Gopher menus anywhere on the Internet using keywords. WAIS (pronounced waste without the "t") is a Wide Area Information Service to search and retrieve indexed information on the Internet. A WAIS search looks not only in the title and description, but throughout the file for your specified information.

Netiquette

As a traveler on the Internet you will soon find that although English is the primary language, the culture of this electronic community may be unfamiliar. In a foreign country such as Greece or Japan, we would naturally spend time learning about the customs and language of the country to make certain we do not unwillingly offend people or make a fool of ourselves. When we have proper "etiquette" we behave in a way that is acceptable to that society. For example, in America etiquette dictates that we say "Excuse me" after accidentally bumping into someone. While traveling on the Internet those prescribed social behaviors and manners are called netiquette.

As a newbie (new user) to the Internet, learning netiquette ensures clear communication and helps you to become a member of the global electronic community. Netiquette is not internationally enforced law; instead consider netiquette as a guideline that is based on the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. Following these common sense netiquette rules will prevent needless misunderstandings and hours of wasted online time.

Netiquette Guidelines

1. Be brief and to the point. Online communication is expected to be concise.
2. DO NOT WRITE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. It is difficult to read. Some people interpret several words in all capital letters as SHOUTING. Most users mix upper and lower case letters, while some never capitalize.
3. Most browsers do not accommodate bold or underlining of words. In order to show emphasis, set off the words with asterisks (*). For example, "Yesterday I *really* wanted to send you a message." or "I was *very* happy about our conversation."
4. Never give out personal information such as your home phone number or address to strangers online. People can easily pretend to be someone other than who they are with the help of the faceless Internet. Would you consider giving out your phone number to someone you met on a street corner? Also remember that thousands of people might read your message in a newsgroup or chat room. Your ISP (such as America Online) will not ask you for personal information once you are registered.
5. Never give your password to anyone. Be skeptical of people online who ask you for it and report them to a moderator (if one is available). If your ISP requires a password (such as AOL) it will not ask you for your password once you have signed in. Refuse any request. It is a good idea to change your password frequently and to use words that are not found in a dictionary.
6. Give proper credit to online resources just as you would any source. Use quotes and footnotes for materials gathered through the net. Copyright laws apply the same to online as offline materials. Besides, how would it feel if you saw someone else taking credit for a music segment you composed, or a visual graphic you created, or a story that you wrote?
7. Do not automatically believe everything you read over the net. Trust reputable, professional, published sources rather than an unknown online "authority."
8. When responding to e-mail briefly restate the theme of the previous message. Do not redistribute private e-mail sent to you without asking the originator's permission. Set your computer system's date and time correctly so that your e-mail messages are correctly stamped.
9. You can close e-mail with your personal signature. A signature usually includes the sender's name, e-mail address, and URL if appropriate. Some signatures also include the sender's favorite famous quotation or a picture composed of keyboard characters. Signatures should be between three and five lines. Below is an example of how a signature might appear:

   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
   Patti Grammatis - Chaminade College Preparatory Middle School
   ~-] Namaste-The light within me honors the light within you [-~
   PGrammatis@aol.com
   http://www.chaminade.org
   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

10. Follow the thread, or theme, of a newsgroup or chat discussion before you dive in with your own posting (message). Notice what topics they write about and their tone. Learn the customs of that particular group. If you want to begin a new topic remember the group may have just finished that subject twenty minutes earlier. When posting paraphrase the statement in your response. This ensures that everyone knows to what you are responding.
11. Check out the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of any new area you visit before posting your own question. A moderator or systems operator (SysOp) keeps the FAQ section up-to-date with answers to those questions that newbies might ask.
12. Treat every message as though you were sending a copy to your parents, teacher, and principal. Ask yourself "How will I explain this message to the police?" when your unintentional threat is pursued. Ask yourself if you are proud of the message or if you are just sending out junk mail.
13. Be careful that you are not expecting the reader to see your face to understand that you are not serious. Others may get offended not realizing that you were joking and you may find yourself flamed. Flaming messages are emotionally charged and usually written because the reader was upset by your comments. Occasional flaming is to be expected, but flame wars, or a continued exchange of abusive comments, wastes time and disk space. Phrase your opinions carefully and apologize when a genuine misunderstanding has occurred (particularly if your message was unclear). It is best to ignore someone else's flame rather than adding fuel to the fire.

Smileys and Emoticons

In a face-to-face conversation, if I am smiling or winking as I say "I saw a great movie" you will realize that I am only joking and being sarcastic. If I were to write the same message in an e-mail or newsgroup it would be difficult to correctly understand my meaning without those visual clues. Emoticons (from emotional icon) were developed to personalize electronic communication by presenting your emotions using pictures.

Also known as smileys, emoticons are made from ordinary keyboard characters that create an image when you tilt your head sideways to the left. For example, typing the colon, hyphen, and right parenthesis creates a smiling face that indicates you are happy like this: :-) The colon, hyphen, and left parenthesis express the opposite emotion-sadness-like this: :-( Using the example above, in order to express that I am winking in my e-mail message I would write "I saw a great movie ;-)" and the reader would understand that I am just kidding. Below are some of the most common emoticons used to make electronic communication more meaningful and humorous.

Acronyms

In addition to emoticons, another custom of online communication is the acronym. An acronym is an abbreviation for a phrase. Acronyms are usually formed by using the first letter of each word of the phrase. For example, rather than typing "Be right back" if you are chatting with a friend, you might type "BRB" and your friend automatically understands that you will be away from the keyboard for a moment before returning. Acronyms allow you to save time typing, shorten data transmittal time, and reduce storage space. Below are some of the most common acronyms used to make electronic communication more concise.

Excerpt from Computer Intelligent Agents Manual
Last revision August 19, 1997
© Copyright Yannis & Patti Grammatis 1997
All rights reserved