The Internet at Home and in the Workplace

The Internet at Home and in the Workplace Chapter 8

Brief History of the Internet • In the 60’s the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency created a network throughout the country called ARPANET • 1972 Email capabilities are introduced • In 1986, the NSF connected its network called NSFnet to ARPANET and the internet was born • In 1995 commercial carriers such as Sprint took over the control of the internet backbone

Then the World Wide Web • Tim Berners-Lee came up with the idea of linking information like a spider web, thus the name web • CERN site, Berners-Lee’s lab, is considered the birthplace of the World Wide Web • Collections of links or hyperlinks many times are in a different color and underlined • Clicking on a link appears that the computer is “moving” to that site but actually the pages are coming to the computer requesting them

Enter the Browser • Marc Andreessen created the first graphical browser as a college student • Added a GUI and allowed people to view pictures over the web as well as links • Named his first browser Mosaic, which later developed into Netscape browsers • Today the most common browser is Microsoft’s Internet Explorer

How the Internet Works • The internet is actually a giant network of networked computers • Each message sent over the internet is divided into packets and is sent towards is destination in uniform sized packets • TCP/IP or Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol handles the addressing of the message and chooses the delivery route

Internet Service Providers • The ISP provides the server and the software to connect to the internet • Online services such as AOL provide internet service as well as other “members-only” services • Many ISP in Stephenville including Tarleton and one month’s service will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $20/month

Using a Browser • The browser is generally divided into three parts: • Control Panel • Display window • Status line • When you start the browser generally it will display the home page or the main page of the creator of the browser or of your ISP • The home page can be changed in the browser

Browser Functions and Features • Menus • Pull-down menus • Buttons such as back and forward allow you to navigate on the web as well as perform other functions such as printing • Just below the toolbar you will see the URL window

URLs • URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator and is the address of a particular web page • Example http://www.tarleton.edu • The http stands for hypertext transfer protocol and is the set of rules for sending graphical web pages • The next part is the domain name, in this case www.tarleton.edu • The .edu is called the top-level domain and it signifies the purpose of a site (.edu is educational, .com is commercial, etc.) • URLs can be bookmarked or added to a list of favorites so you can choose a site off your list without typing the URL

Plug-ins • Programs that work in conjunction with a browser to add more functionality • Many times for audio and video • Some examples include Adobe Acrobat Reader, Flash Player, and more

Web Page Programs • Web pages used to be static, meaning things didn’t change often and were not interactive • As the web grew, programming capabilities grew so that databases could be used and more functionality could be delivered to the end user • Javascript and VBscript are simple languages that run in the browser • Other programs such as Java Applets and Active X controls are embedded in the browser and run when the page loads

Wireless Internet Access • Newer technology called WAP allows people to surf the web from their wireless devices • Includes cell phones, PDAs, and more • WAP protocol is a set of rules that allows a web server to convert its content into a format appropriate for smaller, simpler devices

Searching the Internet • Software located at its own site that allows users to enter their own search term • Search engines keep their own databases of web site information that have been collected by spiders • Spiders (also bots or crawlers) are pieces software that visit websites and index them automatically • Metasearch engines combine the power of more than one search engine by searching the search engine • Examples of search engines include Google, Altavista, and Excite

Other items on the web • Directories, such as those found at Yahoo! Are categorical listings of web sites that have been indexed by humans • Has higher precision (most of your hits are about the subject you requested) but has lower number of site returned

Usenet or Newsroups • A loose network of computers that allow postin and reading messages on a certain topic • Require newsreader software • Generally has an FAQ section, or frequently asked questions which spell out the rules of good behavior, also called netiquette. • Sometimes heated arguments or inappropriate postings, called flaming, will lead to flame wars. • To stop this sometimes a list will be moderated and the moderator will scan postings first and not allow flames to be posted

FTP • Stands for file transfer protocol • Set of rules between computers that allows the transfer of programs • FTP servers host many programs that users can download to their own computer • Most of this is down on an anonymous FTP server but sometimes a username and password is required

Telnet • One of the older internet technologies that allows users to login to a remote compute and appear as if they were sitting at that computer • Usually requires a login • Most web browsers support telnet

E-mail • Electronic mail is the most used feature of the internet • Requires a mail server to collect and distribute email messages in a mailbox • Email addresses usually consist of a username, the @ character, and the domain of the email provider • Email client software allows users to check their email on their computer and allow filtering of incoming messages to reduce the amount of spam, or unwanted email

E-commerce or Electronic Commerce • Three main types: • B2B-Business to business • Use internet exchanges to provide markets between business for their goods and services • B2C-Business to consumer • Two types: • Pure Play means they sell only on the internet (Amazon) • Bricks and clicks means they sell both on the internet and froma traditional store (Gap) • C2C-consumer to consumer • Auctions such as eBay are examples of consumer to consumer e-commerce

Issues with E-commerce • Security issues around credit card information. Adding SSL technology (secure socket layer) is software that protects data during its travel across the internet • Taxation over the internet continues to concern lawmakers who are losing a lot of sales tax as buyers have greater access to out of state sellers

Internet E-Commerce Laws • Internet Tax Freedom Act • No state and local tax on internet services • No tax on out-of-state business • Created a study of internet commerce to gather more information for Congress • Calls on foreign governments to not tax the internet as well • Internet Discrimination Act passed in 2000 extends these provisions through 2005

Portals and Advertising • Portal is a personalized gateway to the internet that many times provides additional services such as email and weather or financial information • Allows users to set their own preferences and see information important to them • My Yahoo! Is an example • Many times supported by advertising from the portal providers affilliates

More on advertising • Banner ads usually appear at the top of the page you are looking at • Pop up ads which come in two varieties launch new windows with advertisements • Pop-over ad displays the new window on top of your browser • Pop-under ads display the new window under your browser and are generally seen after you close your internet browser • Context sensitive ads are ads that are placed on site with similar material such as advertisements for Sports Illustrated magazine on ESPN

Intranets • A private internet set up for specified users, usually to provide business information to employees • Very inexpensive to set up using TCP/IP • Most of the time and money is spent deciding and providing content • When a company provides access to its intranet to select customers or suppliers, this is called creating an extranet

Virtual Private Networks (VPN) • Provides technology to use the internet as a channel for private data communication • Tunneling or encapsulation transfers data between two similar networks over an intermediate network • Uses PPTP or Point to Point Tunneling Protocol • Allows employees at home to access their information on their computer at work as well as information on the company intranet

The Internet at Home and in the Workplace