Internet and its Services

In this blog we will learn about following;

• Internet and its history
• some common services provided by Internet
• Internet technology

Introduction

Internet is simply define as the largest computer network. It connects millions of computer around the world.There are many ways to define internet and how you choose to answer is really a matter of how you use it. To some people, it is a source of entertainment, to others it is a research tool, yet to some others, it is a gold mine of money-making opportunities.The most general answer, however, describes Internet as a `network of networks'.

The internet is called ‘network of networks’ because all the smaller networks of organizations are linked together into the one giant network called the internet.

Internet is the global collection of high powered computers that are connected to each other with network cables, telephone lines, microwave dishes, satellites etc.The internet is an information superhighway and has logically connected the world into a cyber village.

Internet simply known as 'the Net', is worldwide system of computer network in which user at any one computer can get information from any other computer.

The cheapest way to surf the internet is to get a connection from your local Internet Service Provider(ISP). Computer can be connected to the internet by using telephone line or other communication media or a normal modem or ADSL(Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) modem.

The full form of INTERNET is Interconnected network of the web servers worldwide. It is also known as World Wide Web. In simple terms the web.

Different organization like ISOC (Internet Society), W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), IAB (Internet Architecture Board), IEFT (Internet Engineering Task Force), IRTF (Internet Research Task Force), IESG (Internet Engineering Steering Group) and INIC (Internet Network information Centre) gives directive and guideline for the proper use of internet.These are the organisation that controls the internet.

History of Internet

Internet was first formed by advanced Research Project Agency(ARPA) of US government in 1969 and it was first known as ARPANet.

ARPA is the branch of Department of Defense(DOD) of US, which was actually a first computer network in the world.

Objective of ARPA was to create network that would allow user in one computer to talk to another user in another computer.

ARPA collaborate with military research, business agencies, government laboratories and different University.

Another factor in the rapid growth of this network was the development of TCP/IP, which was the first protocol developed by ARPANet.

Afterward ARPANET changed into Defense Advanced Research Project Agency net(DARPANET).

In mid of 1980, DOD stopped funding for ARPANET and another agency 'National Science Foundation' has joined ARPANET. NSF developed another network called 'NSFNet' which linked five regional areas and allowed researchers across the US to access data.

Meanwhile several another network were developed by different organization.

Later ARPANET, NSFnet, universities and other US institutions connected among each other to form a single network.

The network connection among these organization was called internet.

After the development of Word Wide Web(WWW) in 1990s, the Internet really became popular and opened for general public by 1995.

Services of the Internet

Now a days Internet is public, cooperative and self-sustaining facility accessible to billions of people world wide. Some important services provided by internet are discussed below:

WWW: WWW stands for world wide web. It is information system on Internet which allows document to be connected to other document by hyperlinks,enabling the user to search for information by moving from one document to another. It is most famous services of Internet. WWW is huge collection of pages of information linked to each other around the globe on various topic. It allows user to exchange and shared data through the Internet protocol known as HTTP.

Internet Relay Chat(IRC) is a system for chatting that is involves a set of rules(protocol) and conventions. It is one of the services provided by internet that allows the people to communicate with each other live or in real time through text and different emoji.Chatting is similar to conference call .Rather than talking we used keyboard for typing.

Video Conference is a live two way transmission of audio and video signal between specialized devices or computer at two or more locations via satellite over network. It is most popular and widely use service of internet through which the people at different location can face to face communicate with each other in real time. It uses same technology of IRC including text and pictures. It provides transmission of static images and text between two locations.

Internet Telephony is the science or technology of integrating telephone services into computer network. It allows user to make voice communication via internet. It is one of the cheapest and reliable communication services provided by the internet. Internet telephony software essentially provides free telephone calls anywhere in the world.

E-commerce is the system of buying and selling of products and services by businesses and consumers through an electronic medium without using any paper documentation. It is one of the most important service of Internet through which we can buy and sell goods. It is business done through internet. 3 category of it are B2B(Business to business) , B2C(Business to consumer and consumer to consumer(C2C). www.daraz.com.np, www.rojeko.com,https://www.gyapu.com/,www.sastodeals.com, www.hamrobazar.com,https://cheers.com.np/ etc are example of e-commerce websites of Nepal.

Newsgroups are discussion groups that focus on a particular topic such as politics, health, computer, etc. The interested people on the particular field write the information or articles. Then these articles are posted to the newsgroup so that other people can read them. All the interested people can read or comment on articles posted on newsgroup.

File Transfer Protocol is the internet tool that allows the user to transfer the file from one computer to another computer. It helps to upload and download the files.

 Uploading refers to copying files or documents, programs or data from the user computer to the internet server.Downloading refers to the copying files or document or program or data from the internet server to the user computer.

A telnet is a program that allows a user to log in to a remote computer on internet as a user on that system. It is simplest tools or facility of internet that allows user to use a remote computer through internet.

E-mail (Electronic mail) is one of the most popular services provided by the internet which exchanges messages between the computers through a network. It is the soft copy service of the internet.  E-mail can be sent using a computer with modem, e-mail program and internet facility. 

E.g. xyz@gmail.com Any four sites that provide e-mail services are: a) www.yahoomail.com b) www.hotmail.com c) www.gmail.com d) www.outlook.com

 Advantages of E-mail

a) It allows to send and receive message across the world at very low cost.

b) E-mail is faster, cheaper, more reliable than traditional mail.

c) The image, sound, video and documents can be attached to e-mail message. d) Email can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

Disadvantages of e-mail

i) Minor mistakes in e-mail address may deliver the mail to wrong address.

ii) Since it passes through a vast electronic network, it may be seized in between.

Common terms on internet

Web Browser or simply browser is a software application to view web page on internet. It allows user to retrieve, upload or download files on FTP servers. Simply it is a software required for browsing and surfing content on WWW. Information on webpage is displayed on user's computer. Google chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Apple Safari, Mozilla Firefox, opera mini, UC Browser etc are some common example of web browser software.

Home Page is a first page of website which gives detailed information on its owner and provides links to its other parts. It is the initial page that appears when a website opens upon the Internet. It is also known as index page.

Webpage is a document on WWW that contains information in specific topic using text, graphics, sounds, animated pictures, hyperlinks etc. It is electronic document or soft copy, collection of related information found on Internet. Web is also known as HTML document.

Website is a collection of web pages that can be published by an organization or individual.  It contains home page and other sub pages

Web Server is a remote computer that store all the files and folder of web sites. It serves and delivers web pages to user's computer. Webpages uses HTTP protocol to access page from web server.

Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is unique internet address through which we can visit different website through web browser. URLs are used to address and access individual web pages and Internet services.

Domain Name System(DNS) is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services or any resource connected to the Internet or private network. It is mainly used for converting domain name into IP address on Internet or on LAN using TCP/IP.DNS automatically converts website name typed in web browser address bar into IP address of the hosting site of web server. We can find DNS by nslookup command in command prompt. for example the domain name www.google.com is translated into 172.217.27.206.

Internet Service Provider (ISP) is company or organization that provides Internet facility to the users. The internet can be connected using Integrated service Digital Network(ISDN), cable line and satellite connection. Nepal Telecom,Subisu cable network, Ncell, Web surfer, World link, Mercantile,Board link, classic tect, via net etc are some common ISP of Nepal.

Search engine is computer program or script  that searches documents, especially on the web, for a specified word or words and provides a list of document in which they are found. It allows the users to search information based on keyword or combinations of keywords in different subjects and topics. www.google.com, www.bing.com, www.yahoo.com, www.duckduckgo.com etc are some of the example of search engines.

An intranet is a private computer network that uses the internet protocol to securely share any part of information of an organization. It is owned by a single organization or company. It can only be used by the employees of the owned organization

Extranet is a computer network that allows controlled access from outside for specific business or educational purposes.It is actually an Intranet that is partially accessible to authorized outsiders. It can be viewed as part of company's Intranet that is extended to users outside the company or branch of organization via internet. Sharing data and information among the branches of any organization is example of extranet.

Advantages of internet[SLC 2065]

a)Internet has an endless knowledge supply which anyone can access that too free of cost.

b)Selling and buying has become so easy with the use of internet and it has helped millions to sell and buy their goods online.

c)Internet has given us E-Mail which is fast, secure and reliable mode of communication.

d)It makes easy to transfer the file or information.

Disadvantages of internet

a)Increasing virus threats not only steals your sensitive data but also damages your computer.

b)People using too much of internet get disconnected from the real world.

c)Pornography that can get in the hands of young children too easily.

d)Addiction to online games affects health leading to obesity and serious health issues.