EDCI 4993, Spring 1999
Introduction to the Internet
What Is the Internet? The Internet began in the late 1900s as experiment by the U. S. Department of Defense to see if a non-centralized network could be built to with stand the destruction of one or more of its parts. Unlike previous networks, this new network did not have a single central point. Instead, all sites on the network were interconnected.
Out of this network came a protocol for linking computers together. A protocol is a set of standards for how computers talk to each other. The protocol for the Internet is called "TCP/IP" (Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol). This is the standard that makes it possible for different computers all over the globe to talk to each other. The TCP/IP protocol is the foundation of the Internet.
At first, the Internet was used solely by the government, but soon universities and other institutions connected themselves to the Internet to communicate with one another and collaborate on projects. The Internet grew to connect hundreds of different sites all across the world. Each organization on the Internet was responsible for maintaining its part of the network, so the Internet was not owned or controlled by any one organization.
In the late 1980s, businesses began connecting to the Internet in large numbers. In the following years, the Internet experienced (and is still experiencing) its most explosive growth period, as individuals all over the world began to want personal Internet access. To respond to this demand, access companies sprang up, offering dial-up modern access to the Internet.
The Interact already connects up to 15 million people in the U.S. and millions more around the globe and it's still growing rapidly.
The Internet is like a systems of roads, freeways, and bridges. Although I like to avoid over-hyped terms like "Information Superhighway," it is a decent metaphor for how the Net works. From any road in any city you can get to all most any other road in any other city. From my, computer at my desk., I can send an electronic mail message to someone sitting at a computer in Helsinki, Taipei, or Biloxi. These on ramps are often called--POPs, which stands for "Points of Presence."
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