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| The Internet
The Internet
Das ist ein Titelblatt
1 INTRODUCTION
In the first part of my speech, I will try to answer the
question “What is the Internet?”. That question is rather
difficult to answer because the Internet is so many things to so many different
people. But what exactly is the Internet ? It`s simply a series of computer
networks linked together around the world, communicating almost all the time
with one another. A single network of computers, is for example, all the
computers linked together within our school building. The Internet consists of
thousands of these networks communicating together, like a big net or web!
University networks connected to government networks connected to business
networks connected to private networks - this is the Internet! These computer
networks are physically linked together with telephone, radio, cable lines or
via satellite. Networks from other continents are interconnected by the large,
intercontinental telephone and fibre optic communication lines that run below
the ocean floor.
2 MISCELLANEOUS
2.1 Size of the Internet
I think the next informative thing about the Internet is
the size. Nobody knows for sure how big the Internet is, or how many networks
are actually linked, but it is estimated that there are approximately thirty to
thirty-eight million people that are ‘on-line,’ with sites on every
continent, including Antarctica! New user sites are continually being added. In
fact, the Internet has grown at an exponential rate since its beginning. It is
the largest network of computers in the world and is growing at about ten
percent per month. That means that at the current rate of growth, the
Internet-users will double just ten months from today.
2.2 History and Property
Now I am going to speak about the history and who owns
the Internet. The Internet was first started as an experiment by the United
States Department of Defence in 1969. The United States military needed a system
for its researchers to communicate and share programs with one another over
their computers. The computer researchers of the US Department of Defence
developed the first long-distance network of computers which was called ARPANET
(Advanced Research Projects Agency - Network). Remote military sites were then
‘connected’ via telephone lines. Universities and scientists soon
saw the advantage of long-distance networking, and began connecting with
ARPANET. Businesses and private individuals then started connecting and
eventually the network became known as the Internet. Today, no individual, no
corporation and no government owns the Internet - it is owned, operated and
maintained by all of those who use it.
3 SERVICES
3.1 Uniform Resource Locator
Before I get into the various TCP/IP-based Internet
services, I want to explain URLs, or Uniform Resource Locators. These constitute
the most common and efficient method of telling people about resources available
via FTP, the World Wide Web, and other Internet services. A URL uniquely
specifies the location of something on the Internet, using three main bits of
information that you need in order to access any given object. First is the URL
scheme, or the type of server making the object available - this could be an
FTP, Gopher, or World Wide Web server. Second comes the address of the resource.
Third and finally, there`s the full path-name or identifier for the object. As
a quick example, URLs (at least those for the Web) generally look something like
this one (which points to the Microsoft Web server): http://www.microsoft.com/
. If it starts with http, use Netscape or some other Web browser to access this
url. After the URL scheme comes a colon (:), which delimits the server type from
what comes next. If two slashes (//) come next, they note that a machine name in
the format of an IP address will follow, such as http://www.microsoft.com/. The
last part of the URL is the specific information. With this information you`re
looking for the path to the directory of the file you desire. Directory names
are separated from the machine name by a slash (/).
3.2 E-Mail
Perhaps the first step that many people have tried when
using the Internet is E-mail. In theory, E-mail is an electronic message from a
sender to a recipient, (or multiple recipients.) Some people say that an email
message is the Internet equivalent of sending a fax. Compared to postal E-mail,
(often called ‘snail-mail’ by Internet users), E-mail is probably
much faster. But there are several problems with E-mail. In theory, messages can
be sent back and forth immediately (usually within a few seconds), regardless of
whether the message is sent to the next building or to the next continent.
Nevertheless E-mail messages may sit in the recipient’s electronic mailbox
for days or weeks until the user checks them. To be able to send an E-mail
message, you must know the E-mail address of the person you want to send the
message to. A person`s E-mail address is constructed from the username they use
to login to their provider and the computer`s Internet host name. By combining
the two with an @ sign between, them you have created that user`s E-mail address
.
3.3 World Wide Web
Now I am going to introduce some services of the
Internet. I think it’s advantageous to start with the widely know service
named WWW (which means World Wide Web). The World Wide Web makes up a very large
percentage of the Internet. Nearly seventy percent of all information searches
are handled through the World Wide Web. Information is quickly found in the
World Wide Web through typing in key words. The key words are searched through
different search engines, such as Infoseek and Lycos, or through search
directories, such as Yahoo and Magellan. These search engines look for key words
in their databases. The search results from the search engine are then listed
and the user can choose from the titles found. WWW is often also simply
mentioned as Web. Web Pages can include texts, pictures, sound-files,
animation`s, videos and so on. With the new language "Java", which is used for
programming Web-pages, there are several more possibilities to design a Webpage.
Most people, who are not as well informed about the Internet as you might be
after this speech, think that the WWW is, besides E-mail, the only service in
the Internet. But there are several other services which I will try to explain
in the following:
3.4 File Transfer Protocol
The second service which can be used is FTP. FTP stands
for File Transfer Protocol, and not surprisingly, it`s only good for
transferring files between machines. In the past, you could only use an FTP
client to access files stored on FTP servers. Today enough additional services
such as Gopher and the World Wide Web, have implemented the FTP protocols so
that you can often FTP files no matter what service you are using. You can even
FTP files via E-mail. If you access a FTP-Server with a regular FTP-Client, you
see the files listed, as they are listed in a normal UNIX System. You can also
navigate by using UNIX-Commands. Or you can use a graphical FTP-Client, which
shows directory-information in Windows-Style.
3.5 Usenet
The third service is called Usenet. This is split into
over 30000 groups called Newsgroups. In each of them, people can post messages
to the group-topic. Almost everything on Usenet is a discussion of some sort,
although a few groups are devoted to regular information postings, with no
discussion allowed. Of course, you can always ask your question, and you usually
get an answer , even if it`s the sort of question everyone asks. Common
questions are called Frequently Asked Questions, or FAQs, and are collected in
lists and posted regularly for newcomers. If you search for the Newsgoup of
your interest, you will probably find it. For example, there are even some
Newsgroups for collectors of butterflies.
3.6 Internet Relay Chat
IRC is the fourth service, which is a little like the
Usenet - that makes it possible to hold live keyboard conversations with people
around the world. It`s a lot like an international CB radio - it even uses
"channels." Type something on your computer and it`s instantly echoed around
the world to whoever is on the same channel with you. You can join in existing
public group chats or set up your own. You can even create a private channel for
yourself and as few as one or two other people. And just like on a CB radio,
you can give yourself a unique "handle" or nickname. You can access over 20000
channels with different topics. For example, if you are interested in cars, you
can easily connect to the #cars channel and chat with many other people who are
also interested in cars.
3.7 Telnet
Telnet is a the last service and it is not easy to
explain to people who have had no experience with a modem. The best definition
for Telnet, I think, is that Telnet is like a normal ANSI modem-connection
through the Internet. As with a standard modem, Telnet enables your computer to
communicate with another computer somewhere else. As you give your modem a phone
number to dial, you give Telnet an Internet address to connect to. And just like
a modem, you don`t really do anything else within Telnet itself, other than make
the connection. In the vernacular, you say you "Telnet" to that remote computer.
Once that connection is made, you`re using the remote computer over the Internet
just as you were sitting next to it. This process is unique because it enables
me , for example, to Telnet any University in America (which probably runs a
Telnet-Server) and use their Telnet-Server just as I did when I was actually
there, and not 10,000 kms away in Austria.
4 GET STARTED
4.1 How to connect to the Internet
Now I am going to explain how it is possible for you to
connect to the Internet. For you and most people using a microcomputer such as a
PC, a modem generally makes the necessary link to the Internet. Modem stands for
modulator-demodulator, and it enables your computer to monopolise your phone.
The fastest modem in commercial use today can process about 56 kilobits per
second. A few years ago, the fastest modem available could only process 300 bits
of information per second. Nowadays, new connection methods like ISDN
(Integrated Service Digital Network) are upcoming. ISDN lines can process
information at 128 kilobits per second. The ISDN lines would be installed in
place of telephone lines. Satellites are also used to transmit data to
computers. Current satellites can process up to 400 kilobits per second.
4.2 The Future
But even the ISDN lines and satellites may be outdated
before they are widely introduced. Even faster processing is being researched,
using coaxial-based cable TV lines and special cable-data modems. These
experimental modems using coaxial cable TV lines will be able to process
information at over 27 megabits per second on the same cable lines that are
already hooked up to your TV! Even "Telekabel Vienna" is operating to provide
such a cabel-internet service. Most researchers predict that the way to high
speed connections in the future is through cable lines, which are relatively
inexpensive and easily linked with phone and video lines! Video and voice
transmission is also not a future melody, some simple voice- and
video-connections over the Internet are even possible for normal users. Some
feel that even the personal computer will eventually become obsolete - in the
next few decades. Research is being done to replace computers with an
inexpensive terminal and a connection to the Internet. Larry Ellison, CEO (chief
executive officer) of Oracle, and Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems,
believe that the personal computer is not necessary and that a large central
computer with a high speed network system is all that is needed for all computer
transmissions. This would eliminate the need for computer software, upgrades,
and so on, since central computers would contain all the information and
programs necessary for any computer application. The Internet would simply be
installed at main computer sites, and each person could access it by connecting
their special monitor to transmission lines. Recently, a prototype was
introduced that is capable of all Internet capabilities, at the estimated price
of around 300 US dollars!
5 CONCLUSION
Finally, I would like to say that the Internet brings us
closer to the future, and that we must begin to use and expand its potential
whenever possible. In just a few years, the Internet became a mass-medium. The
Internet is now used by 36 million people and every month this number increases
by 2 million. But with this mass of users, the Internet is also getting slower,
because many millions of people are using the Internet at the same time. Because
of this, new connection-methods like cable-account, are needed. Also the
band-witdh of the wires between each servers has to get higher, so that an
acceptable speed is provided. In the future we will be able to use the Internet
for watching TV, listening to music, talking to each other via voicemails and do
many other things which we could not imagine
now.
6 APPENDIX
An account is the access authorization for a
provider.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency was founded in the
USA. Its main purpose was to develop new technologies.
A server who provides computing power and access on data
or programs.
If you click with the mouse on the link, then you will
be connected to another server.
A provider provides access to the
Internet.
7 GLOSSARY
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English
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Deutsch
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almost
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beinahe
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fibre optic communication line
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optische Glasfaserkommunikationsleitung
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host
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Gastgeber, hier: Server der Daten zur Verfügung
stellt
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nickname
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Spitzname
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recipient
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Empfänger
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regardless
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ohne Rücksicht auf
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remote
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entfernt
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resource
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Hilfsquelle
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to delimit
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abgrenzen
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to desire
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verlangen
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to estimate
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schätzen
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unique
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einzigartig
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vernacular
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Fachsprache
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
The following books and texts were
used:
Ray Kastner
The Internet
Andrew Myers
A beginner’s introduction to the
Internet
R. Seidel, D.Haacker, R.Alton-Scheidl
Österreich Online, ein interaktives
Handbuch
Edmund Lindau
Internet 1/96 COMPUTERWELT
Spezial
Some information and some statistical data was from the
World Wide Web.
9 Handout
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