An Internet Tutorial

by Jonathan Leger
jleger@cp-tel.net

CHATPER I : The InterWHAT???
An annotated history of the internet.

How it all Began

If you remember F-Troop and My Three Sons, you might have been around when the internet was first born. Back then it went by a different name, ARPANET, and you wouldn't find any bookstores claiming 2 million titles on it, either.

ARPANET was a military project developed by the United States Department of Defense. The idea was that this network would continue functioning in the event that some naughty foreign enemy began discharging atomic weapons all over the planet (a slight side-step from the Yahoo pager medium).

In 1985 the National Science Foundation decided that education had its place in the network scene and so developed NSFNET, a network based on ARPANET that was used for research and for education communication (still not quite on the level of the famed Knowledge Adventure site, though).

Needless to say, NSFNET grew--fast. Soon enough the telephone guys got involved. MCI and Sprint began to build their own networks that linked to NSFNET, which made the NSF realize that it was all getting too commercial for them, and they decided to hang it up (no pun intended!).

Powered now by commercial vehicles, the World Wide Web was born, and it didn't take long for the retail industry to see what a valuable tool it could be. "Imagine thousands or millions of people being able to see our ads!" they screamed as they tried not to drool in their cups of $65 a lb gourmet coffee. So to make a long story short: here we are. The internet and the world wide web have become one in the same in most people's minds. After-all, it was the WWW that made the internet user- friendly enough for the average joe to be able to navigate it.

Now, in case all of this seems a little foggy, I'll explain the way it all works, which should help turn on the low-beams.

How Does it All Work?

Internet
inter - With each other, together.
net - Network, any complex arrangement of electrical circuits.

Any time you call Aunt Bee in Florida from Phoenix, Arizona, you are using a network. When you were a kid and you tied two plastic cups together with a piece of twine, you were using a simple network.

You see, a network is simply two or more things that communicate with each other. In the case of the phone or the plastic cups, the communication was people talking. The internet is not much different. Only instead of humans that are talking to each other, now it's computers that are talking to each other, passing data back and forth like you and Aunt Bee pass gossip about Uncle Charlie back and forth.

I'm sure you've heard the irriating noise that your computer makes when you connect to the internet; the series of high pitch beeps and squeals that make you want to gag your PC. Think of these noises as the words that you and Aunt Bee use when talking to each other. The modem, or the device that is used to pass the information over the phone lines, can be thought of as your telephone.

Well your computer has to call up your internet service provider (ISP), whether it be America Online, Compuserve, WebAmerica or a local access provider or telephone company. When you type an address into your browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, most likely), the ISP (which is like the operator) 'calls' that address (which is like a phone number) and connects your computer to that one.

Let me give you a fictitous 'conversation' that illustrates how the computers communicate.

Your Computer: [dials the ISP]
ISP: "Hello?"
Your Computer: "Hi ISP, this is Aunt Bee, I need the phone number for my big brother, Www.microsoft.com"
ISP: "Okay, hang on a minute" [looks up the number] "The number is 131.107.1.240. Would you like me to dial it for you?"
Your Computer: "Sure. Thanks ISP."
ISP: [transfers the call]
Microsoft: "Hello?"
Your Computer: "Hi Microsoft, I'd like to see your home page."
Microsoft: "Okay. It says 'Welcome to Microsoft' and has a picture called..."

Does that clear things up a little? If you think of your computer as yourself, your ISP as the operator, and think of all of the web sites and e-mail addresses that you visit or write to as phone numbers, then it's not so confusing after-all. We're all just a bunch of Aunt Bees and Uncle Charlies that make regular phone calls to each other.

Click Here To Go Back To The Main Menu | Click Here To Read The Next Chapter

Click here to get it!

My internet tutorial is an excellent start for learning your way around the internet. But, to really become a cyber-pro, you'll want to get The Internet For Dummies. I highly recommend it. Here's what others are saying about it: A reader from Ontario. Canada , March 30, 1999 "Interesting. Informative. Entertaining. Educational. In my view, it should be required reading for every tyro cybernaut. Great job." A reader from U.S. , March 6, 1999 "I think this book is fantastic! I like things explained in plain English, and it's funny too. I got started and online the first day." The Internet For Dummies. Click here to get it now!

Comments or suggestions about this chapter? Please send them to me at jleger@cp-tel.net.