Assignment #3 : The Internet
The internet is a system of networks that connect computers around the world together (Thefreedictionary.com). The computers that connected to the internet can transfer an email or any files among them. However, there are some similar terms that we usually confuse, the Intranet and the Ethernet, which I will describe later. Anyway, the internet was introduced about several ten years ago, now it becomes the significant thing for communication around the world. In this article, I will show you the origin of the internet and then talk about why people use the internet.
The idea of the internet came from a comic science-fiction story in 1946 named ‘A Logic Named Joe’ by Murray Leinster. Ten years after the comic published, the scientist studied about the network. In this case, the term network refers to a computer network. It is a group of computers connected to each other and each of them can share data and information (Wikipedia.com). Next, in 1969, the scientist succeeded in develops the connection between two networks, UCLA and SRI International. That is the first prototype of today’s internet called ARPANET. After that, the scientist improved a protocol to control the communication in the internet. It is a convention that controls the connection, communication, and data transfer in the internet (Wikipedia.com). Since the protocol was used, we can say that it is today’s internet, but we cannot see it! Until the web browser was developed in 1989 that is the first time we saw a face of the internet.
According to the Internet World Star website there are approximately 1,463,632,361 people worldwide use the internet. There are some reasons why so many people use the internet. The first reason is we can communicate with other people around the world in real-time and low price. It is much cheaper than using telephone and much faster than using airmail. The second reason is it easy to do the business on the internet. We can sell or buy any products we want on the internet without leaving home at all. Moreover, many e-commerce companies develop their website as their online retailer such as Amazon.com, and eBay.com. And we can pay for product by using money transfer service. For example, PayPal.com allows users to pay or transfer money through the internet. We can search everything we want to know on the internet is the third reason. Most of students search the information for their research on the internet. A story about almost everything are public provide on the internet because everyone are free to add the new information all the time and it’s automatically share through the internet. It is more convenience and easier than seeking for a particular book in the library. Next, the internet is another way to find and make a new friend is the fourth reason. Many people have friends via the chat application such as ICQ, Yahoo Messenger, or MSN. Lastly, the internet is very easy to use; we need only a computer and a telephone wire and then we can use the internet!
Anyway, as I mentioned above, there are some similar terms people usually confuse, the Intranet and the Ethernet. The Intranet is a private network that uses the internet technologies to share the data safely. We can say that it is a private limited area internet, allow only people who have the right to access, share, and download the data. The Intranet usually use in a company or office or school. In contrast, the Ethernet is not a kind of the internet or communication network. It is a technology for build the network. The name comes from the physical concept of the ether. It defines a number of wiring and signaling standards for the Physical Layer of the OSI networking model (Wikipedia.com).
In conclusion, from one computer to a small network, and many small networks connected to a huge network known as the internet. The internet makes the world smaller and makes life easier. We can find almost everything on the internet even buying product or finding girl friend or boy friend!
