the least you need to know, a lot to learn

The Least You Need to The Least You Need to Know, A Lot to LearnKnow, A Lot to Learn

•The Internet is a huge computer network -the world’s largest- and it’s open to the public.

•E-mail may not be glamorous, but it’s the most important tool on the Internet.

•The World Wide Web is not the Internet.•A new system’s appearing on the Internet,

push.•There are tens of thousands of discussion

groups on the Internet- newsgroup, mailing lists, and Web forums.

The Least You Need The Least You Need to Know(Cont’.) to Know(Cont’.)

•Three services- Gopher, FTP, and Telnet- have become submerged in all the fuss about the World Wide Web.

•The Internet is a communication system either with your voice or without your voice.

•The Internet is constantly changing. It’s the nature of the Internet. That’s why you have to learn how to search for thins on the Internet.

The Least You Need The Least You Need to Know(Cont’.) to Know(Cont’.)

•We’ve heard about the dangers of the Internet, so we have to know what it takes to stay safe.

•The Internet is a hardware system, so you’ll need software. We’ll learn where to find all kinds of software.

•There are thousands of reasons to use the Internet. We have to study its applications.

What is the What is the Internet?Internet?

• What’s a computer network? It’s a syste m in which computers are connected so t

hey can share “information”.– Information is anything you can send ov

- -er lines of electronic communication e mail, word processing files, documents,

programs, sounds, music, and anything else that can be electronically encoded.

– There are millions of networks around t he world.

What is the Interne What is the Internet?(Cont’)t?(Cont’)

•What’s the Internet?–The world’s largest computer network.

– It’s open to anyone with the entrance fee, and the entrance fee is constantly dropping.

•There are a whole lot of people out there; the numbers are definitely in the tens of millions.

The History of the The History of the InternetInternet

•Late 1960s, ARPANET was originally designed by the U.S. Department of Defense, Advanced Research Projects Agency(DARPA) to share information and survive a nuclear attack.

• In1989,those networks created for military use were dismantled and replaced by the National Science Foundation, NSFNET

The Internet The Internet ServicesServices

•E-mail–The electronic world’s postal system is very much like the real world’s postal system, except that you can’t send fruit or bombs.

•Discussion groups–Newsgroups–Mailing lists–Web Forums

The Internet Servic The Internet Servic es (Cont’) es (Cont’)

•Chat–You type a message, and it’s instantly transmitted to another person, or to many other people, who can type his response right away.

• Internet Phones– Install a sound card and microphone, get the Internet Phone software, and then talk to people across the Internet.


•FTP, the grand old man of the Internet–The whole purpose of the Internet was to transfer files from one place to another. FTP provides a giant electronic “library” of computer files.

•Archie–Archie is like the library’s card catalog, telling you which file is kept where.


•Gopher, the poor old too–Converts a command-line computer system to a menu system.

•Telnet–Provides a way to log onto a computer that’s connected somewhere out there on the Internet.


•World Wide Web–Containing pictures, sounds, and animation the Web is a giant”hypertext” system in which documents around the world are linked to one another.

•Push Programs–A “scheduled pull” system.–Periodically information is sent to your computer without your direct intervention.

Internet Internet TerminologyTerminology

•Service Provider– ISP (Internet Service Provider)

–The company generally provides access to the Internet.

Internet Terminolo Internet Terminology(Cont’)gy(Cont’)

•Online Service–The company provides all sorts of file libraries, chat services, news services, and so on, within the private areas of the services themselves.

–The online services sometimes provide two types of access telephone numbers. One provides you with a dial-in direct connection to the Internet and access to the online service. The other provides access to the online service only, not to the Internet.


•Protocol–Communication protocols provide a similar set of rules that define how modems, computers and programs can communicate.

•TCP/IP–Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol

–A set of Protocols(Communication rules) that control how data transfers between computers on the Internet.


•Shareware– Software that is given away for free, but which yo

u are supposed to register (for a fee) if you decid e to continue using it.

•Freeware– Software that is given away with no fee required.

•Demoware– Software that is generally free, but is intended to

get you interested in buying the “full” program.


•HTML– HyperText Markup Language– The basic coding system used to create Web documents

•Hypertext– A system in which documents contain links that

allow readers to move between areas of the do cument, following subjects of interest in a vari

ety of different paths. With most browsers you use the mouse to click a link to follow the link.


•LAN–Local Area Network–A computer network that covers only a small area (often a single office or building)


•bps– bits per second– A measure of the speed of data trans

mission; the number of bits of data t hat can be transmitted each second.

•bit– Abit is either 0 or1 .– 8bit= 1character


•Analog Signal–A signal that varies in a continuous manner, such as music or the voice tones carried over telephone lines.

•Digital Signal–An electrical signal which takes on only certain values (0 or 1) and is not continuous.


•Client–A program or computer that is serviced by another program or computer.

•Server–A program or computer that services another program or computer.


• IP Address–Dot Address–A 32-bit address that defines the location of a host on the Internet

–Such addresses are normally shown as 4 bytes, each one separated by a period (for example, 192.156.196.1)

•Domain Name–A name given to a host computer on the Internet.


•URL–Universal Resource Locator

–A Web address


•Website– A collection of Web documents abou

t a particular subject on a host.• Home Page

– The Web document your browser dis plays when you start the program.

– A sort of “main page” at a Website.• Web Page

– Each web document


• Web Browser– A program that lets you read HTML doc

uments and navigate around the Web.• Web Server

– A computer system that makes Web do cuments available to Web browser.

• Web Master– The person who takes care that Website.

Internet Internet ConnectionsConnections

•Permanent Connections–A connection to the Internet using a leased line.

– If you have a permanent connection, your computer connects directly to a TCP/IP network that is part of the Internet.

–A company can lease a single line and then allow multiple employees to use it to access the Internet.

Internet Connectio Internet Connections(Cont’)ns(Cont’)

•Dial-In Direct Connections–PPP(Point-to-Point Protocol), SLIP(Serial Line Internet Protocol), or CSLIP(Compressed SLIP) connections

–You must have a modem, and you have to dial a telephone number given to you by the service provider or online service.


•Dial-In Terminal Connections–A Shell Account–You also have to dial into the service provider’s computer.

–When the connection is made, your computer simply becomes a terminal of the service provider’s computer.


•Mail Connections–A mail connection enables you to send and receive Internet e-mail and, perhaps, to read the Internet newsgroup.

–But you can do nothing more.

Equipment You Will Equipment You Will NeedNeed

• - A Pentium based PC– The faster the better, the more RA

M the better.– At least 16M of memory and 200M f

ree hard disk space.– Providing a nice graphical software.

– At least a 486 PC computer

Equipment You Will Equipment You WillNeed(Cont’)Need(Cont’)

•A color monitor running at least 800*600 resolution

•A sound card with external speakers•Either the Windows 95, 98 or NT

operating system•A standard telephone line•An account with an Internet Service

Provider•Appropriate Internet software


• A modem– A modem takes the digital signals from y

our computer and converts them to the a nalog signals that your phone line uses.

– An External VS. An Internal– The faster the better– Most service providers have 33600 bps c

onnections these days


• A modem(Cont’)– 2There are currently rival techniques use

m mmmmm m mmmm m mmmmmm mm mm m m m mm5 6 eed, andnot al l ser vi ce pr ovi der s can use bot hmmmmmmmm

– mmmmmmmm mmmm mmm mmmmmmmm mmmmmmm mmm mmmmmmmm mm mmm mmm“56”, 56 336ernet will go at the slower . K rate

– 56It may not transfer at K speed across s omephone l i nes.

The Best Internet The Best Internet Service ProviderService Provider

•A service that you think is good might prove to be a lousy choice for someone else.

•Basically, what you need to do is pick a service provider that is cheap, helpful, and has a reliable and fast connection to the Internet and easy-to-install software.

Getting on the NetGetting on the Net• Install Modem• Install a connection though

Dial-Up Networking•Connect to the Internet

Service Provider

the least you need to know, a lot to learn

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