Chapter II.

The Internet
2.1 Origin and Development Undoubtedly, the Internet is the most genial invention of our modern world. We tend to associate it with its recent usage, as well with miniature mobiles that can be used as minicomputers, but have we ever wondered how did Internet appear? The Internet, in fact, is the global system of interconnected computer networks, a network of networks!, including private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope. It carries an e"tensive range of information resources and services, namely the inter-linked hyperte"t documents of the World Wide Web #WWW$ and the infrastructure to support email. What we know today as the Internet began as a %efense &dvanced 'esearch (ro)ects &gency #%&'(&$ pro)ect in *+,+, which was designed to connect several research databases across the country. The ob)ective was to develop communication protocols which would allow networked computers to communicate transparently across multiple, linked packet networks. This was called the Internetting pro)ect and the system of networks which emerged from the research was known as the -Internet.- It was based on the new concept of open architecture networking. & new protocol had to be designed, in *+./ it was described the transmission control protocol-T0(- which enabled different types of machines on networks all over the world to route and assemble data packets. 1ater, this approach was adopted by other researchers, too. Two ma)or &merican organi2ations have further important role in the development of the Internet3 the 456 # 4ational 5cience 6oundation$ and the 4&5&# 4ational &eronautics and 5pace &dministration$. They made attempts to e"pand Internet access to the entire scientific and academic community. &t first, five supercomputing centres were funded, including five university centres. &s time passed, 456 funded various nonprofit local and regional networks and gradually commercial networks )oined to the e"isting ones.

7owever, until the end of *++*, the advances were almost completely technical, as the goals set by those responsible in its growth were beyond what the hardware was capable of providing. *++* marked the beginning of the transition of the Internet as we know it today, with the allowance of commercial traffic, the development of the first graphic interfaces or the formation of the Internet 5ociety. The rise of commercial Internet services and applications helped to a fast commerciali2ation of it. It was the result of different factors, such as the appearance of the personal computer or the emergence of 8thernet9 local area networks to link personal computers. ???? The concept of the Internet, the technology moved from primarily government and research usage to that of the general public, its control passed to the private sector but with government oversight. The terms Internet and World Wide Web are often used in everyday speech without much distinction. 7owever, the Internet and the World Wide Web are not one and the same. The Internet establishes a global data communications system between computers. In contrast, the Web is one of the services communicated via the Internet, abbreviated as the Web or www. It was developed in *+:+ by Tim ;erners-1ee in 5wit2erland, initially to use networked hyperte"t to facilitate communication among the members of 08'4, being located in different countries. In addition to hyperte"t, the Web began to incorporate graphics, video and sounds. The use of the Web has reached global proportions and has become a defining element of human culture in an ama2ingly short period of time. The early Internet was used by computer e"perts, engineers, scientists and librarians. There were no home or office personal computers and anyone who used it had to learn a very comple" system. &s it was initially funded by the government, it was originally limited to research, education and government uses. 0ommercial uses were prohibited unless they directly served the goals of research. 5tep by step commercial networks gained space , more and more people, companies, organi2ations got connected to the Internet and the initial purpose of this <internetting-pro)ect< was lost. 0ommerciali2ation of the Internet involved not only the development of private network services, but also the development of commercial products implementing the Internet technology.

5tarting in the last century and continuing to our days, the Internet grow beyond its primarily roots to include both a broad user community and increased commercial activity. 2.2 Fields of Usage =any years ago, the Internet was something unknown for most of common people. Today, it is one of the most powerful tools throughout the world. The Internet represents a collection of various services and important resources. In other words, modern man can hardly imagine his life without the Internet. Why it is so important, for what can we use it? The answer is brief3 endless opportunities. The Internet allows fle"ibility and it can be accessed almost anywhere by numerous means. 5ince the internet has become popular, it is being used for many purposes. Through the help of the World Wide Web and websites, the internet has become very useful in many ways for the common man. In the following paragraphs I try to present those main fields where Internet has a significant role. Information3 The Internet is probably most famous for the ability to spread information. %ue to the millions of websites we can find all types of information in different topics. >ears ago only the printed media was available , people need to read the daily newspapers if they wanted to know about the latest news. With the apperance of radio and television humanity had new perspectives, being able to watch far-away events on the T? screen or listen to news, music from all over the world. 7owever, the most revolutionery invention is the Internet. @ne can find out immediately the breaking news, even before they appear on T? or newspapers9 can check the weather forecast9 can obtain useful information about public services, institutions- it is enough one click to open their websites9 &ll in all, from this point of view the Internet serves as a comple" encyclopedia, which can be accessed even from our armchair.

0ommunication3 It is probably the most popular use of the Internet. The Internet is a network, a connection and with its help people are connected with each other. It offers many possibilities and new forms of communication- emails, instant messaging, chat rooms, discussion forums, video conferences. 8ven though some people consider that electronic communication can be harmful, compared to face-to-face communication, it has more positive than negative effects. It brings people together from all over the world, geographical distance disappears. We can keep in touch with friends, family members , no matter if we do not live in the same place, same country. In the case of instant messaging or chatting we have the impression that our discussion takes place in the real world as we have an immediate response. 0ommunication is facilitated also at workplaces, most of the companies use certain Internet services, like 5kype or >ahoo =essenger, to be connected with internal or e"ternal colleagues. 5ocial 4etworking3 It is a very nice medium to communicate with friend and family members, but not only. There are lots of social networking websites like 6acebook,Twitter, =y5pace etc. These sites emerged to facilitate social interaction, offering the possibility to share information, photos, files, videos and to chat. 5ometimes social networks are used to meet new people, even to find life-long partners, to date others. 8ducation3 %ue to the e"istence of the Internet, education has changed in the recent years, we can talk about traditional education and modern, online education. The Internet gives the possibility for online libraries, distance education or virtual universities. It is enough to get connected and you can take part in online courses, take e"ams, do assignments and get your diplomaA 8ducational materials are available for all levels, all topics all ages. 5tudents can do their homework or do any research with the help of several websites. The possibilities are endless, )ust we have to be aware of the fact that there are also certain negative aspects what regards education and the use of the Internet. Unfortunately students tend to google! all the time and traditional reading, use of libraries and books seem to have lost their value. >oungsters prefer to search the necessary information on several websites rather than to sit down and read a novel.

8ntertainment3 Time to time we need to rela" and Internet is a great source of entertainment. There is no need going to the cinema or buy e"pensive 0%s. It is enough to connect and with a few clicks you can download the latest music and films, even before they are released to the public. =any people, especially children and youngsters are engaged in online games. 7owever, they should be aware of the fact that virtual games are only fiction and the activities performed there cannot be imitated in real life. @nline gambling can be considered as well a form of entertainment, there are special sites dedicated for the fans of these types of activities. &lmost anyone can find the right kind of entertainment for themselves. &dvertising and e-commerce3 the Internet tends to e"pand more and more, therefore it is obvious that also the business area tries to use all the advantages offered by the 4et. The Internet represents an e"cellent form of promotion to attract customers. 8commerce is the concept used for any type of commercial deals that involves the transfer of information across via internet. 0ompanies can publish all kind of information about products on a low cost, e"pose it to a larger audience than using the traditional forms of advertising #newspapers, television, radio, billboards$9 while customers have the possibility to choose what they want to buy, to compare goods and prices, delivery period, chose the best option for them and all these without leaving their home. The Internet is a very ideal platform not only for product-selling, but also for )ob- hunters. 7undreds of people succeed in finding a good )ob via Internet, there are many websites where you can post your curriculum vitae or where employers post )ob advertisements. %ata transfer3 The Internet is not only a medium where one can find all kinds of information or store information in digital form. It makes possible transferring large amounts of data of various types- multimedia #audio, video,pictures$, documents, computer programs, e-books. 6ile sharing is possible in the form of attachment to electronic mail, sending them through online chat programs or they can be uploaded to a website or 6T( server for easy download by others, it can be put into a -shared locationor onto a file server for instant use by colleagues.

Internet transactions3 some of the most recent innovations are the services provided on the Internet such as online banking, )ob seeking, purchasing tickets, hotel reservations and bills paying. @ften these services are not available off-line and can cost you more, but they offer a great commodity as it is not necessary going anywhere. =aking money3 (eople can make money online by using the Internet for working. 4owadays it is very fashionable to use your home as a workplace. There are lots of options available- designing, freelancing, consultancies, education etc. It is a very comfortable and fle"ible way of earning money either as full )ob or part-time )ob. The above-mentioned services can easily prove that the use of the Internet offers a variety of benefits to everyone who is willing to use it.