Updated: 06/23/2009

Internet - 1

Computers and

The Internet

The device shown above is an abacus -- the first "computer."

An abacus takes no electricity, doesn't have to be booted up, requires no maintenance, does not get viruses, and never crashes.

The rings are flipped back and forth to represent the placement of numbers in a sequence. The abacus dates back hundreds of years and is still the preferred calculator for a few people in some countries.

All computers do the same thing -- compute numbers, albeit a few billion times faster that an abacus. In fact, the Roadrunner computer, put into service in 2008 for the U.S. military, is capable of a petaflop, which is 1.026 quadrillion calculations per second.  In case you are interested, that number can be written as 10^15.

All of today's sophisticated software -- word processors, games, editing systems, e-mail, and even the page you are viewing -- can be reduced to a string of "0" and "1" numbers that a computer "computes." Even CD music and DVD movies consist of nothing more than combinations of these two numbers that are "computed" and then presented to our eyes and ears.

Who Invented the Internet?

Although it has been assumed that the Internet was invented in the United States, there is evidence that the concept actually originated in Geneva, Switzerland.

Even before U.S. scientists started using the technology, scientists in research laboratories in Geneva, had linked computers in different departments together to share their findings. Even so, it was scientists the United States that subsequently developed and popularized the concept.

The World's First Computer -

A 30-Year Secret

It is also widely assumed that the world's first computer was the American Eniac. Actually, Alan Turing, a British Postal employee developed the first computer in England during World War II.

Turing's computer, the Colossus, contained 1,000 vacuum tubes and was a major (although until recently very secret) factor in the outcome of World War II.

The Colossus was developed to decode critical German encrypted messages -- messages that provided information so critical that some historians say that Turning's computer shortened the war by at least two years. One historian feels that one million lives may have been saved as a result of this invention.

Although Turning was by some accounts the most important hero of the war, when it was discovered that he was gay, he was so persecuted that he ended up taking his own life.

The First Personal Computers

The first computers filled entire rooms and required thousands of vacuum tubes. When the transistor was invented, the size of computers suddenly shrunk to a fraction of their original size -- and this development set the stage for personal computers.

The personal computer was introduced in 1975. It was the Altair, the device that Bill Gates of Microsoft, now reputed to be the world's richest man, took an immediate interest in. And the rest, as they say, is history. That history is graphically shown on the right.

The Internet and the worldwide web are based on computers, of course. And, love them or hate them, some basic things are important to understand. But, don't worry, we're not going into a long, technical explanation on how computers work -- just what's necessary to understand and effectively get around the Internet.

Although the terms Internet and the Worldwide Web are commonly used interchangeably, the worldwide web is actually only a part of the Internet. The latter includes Telnet, FTP (file transfer protocol), and other communication languages and approaches.

However, when most people speak of the Internet today they are just focusing on the Worldwide Web, the part of the Internet that displays pages such as the one you are now viewing.

Computer Platforms

Today there are two major computer platforms or operating systems (OSs):  Windows (Microsoft) and Mac (Apple Computer).

Linux, an operating system that is gaining popularity because of cost and security, runs on most machines. However, the downside is that there is a scarcity of programs designed for Linux and it is not considered as user-friendly as the Windows or Mac operating systems.

The various Windows operating systems run on well over 90 percent of the world's personal computers.

However, when it comes to workstations used in professional agencies, the race is much closer, as you can tell from the graph above.

Today's Internet

Despite some increases in speed, and despite the many technological improvements, the basic Internet structure and protocol has remained about the same for decades. (Remember, if you don't know what a term means, you can double-click on it and a definition will come up. Of course this assumes you have an unrestricted connection to the Internet.)

Today, about 30% of people are still using telephone lines to access the Internet -- something, incidentally, that telephone circuits were never designed for. Most Internet users in the U.S. and many other countries have some form of high-speed access.

Unfortunately, after getting an early start, the United States has fallen behind in high speed Internet connections.  Many countries enjoy much faster service: including Canada, Germany, Iceland, Sweden and Japan. 

Speed is critical, for example, in viewing such things as movies and news clips. 

Internet Use, Education, Race, and Age

Regular use of the Internet is related to education and race.

Note in the graph on the left that while only about 22% of people without a high school education use the Internet, while 90% of people with a college education do.

Age is also strongly related. In some cases grade school youths are much more comfortable with computers and the Internet than many of their elder brothers and sisters who are in college.

Note from the graph on the right that Internet use almost doubles according to race. Again, this has definite implications for personal and professional success.

Although some families still consider the Internet a luxury, savvy users and businesses now see it as a necessity in their lives and businesses.

Almost all U.S. libraries now have Internet connections.  The number of colleges and universities that require computers as part of their general curriculum continues to grow and many college dormitories are now wired for high speed Internet access.

Thousands of college classes depend on the Internet for reading materials and course research.  The number of complete courses on the Internet now totals several hundred-thousand. Several institutions grant degrees solely on the basis of Internet coursework.

Another indication of the popularity of the Internet is that millions of people no longer make out checks, address envelopes, and lick stamps to pay their bills -- they simply do it all by mouse clicks.  

Some banks exist only on the Internet, which often means that the money they save on offices, facilities, etc., can not only be passed on to users in the form lower fees, but these institutions can also pay higher interest rates on accounts.

Although Internet advertising trails the other media in total revenue, as you can see on the right, it is showing the most rapid growth.

Advertising on the Internet has a controversial history. Many purists originally felt that the Internet should be free of advertising clutter and influence. (The same views were originally lodged against broadcast advertising.)

Of course without advertising these media would not have developed as rapidly and as impressively as they did.

The Internet in Education

Research dating back to the 1980s shows that students can do just as well, and often better, with well-designed Internet courses as they can in a typical classroom.

By "well designed" we are talking about interactive elements and the ability to correspond with the instructors and classmates by e-mail, Internet chat rooms, and instant messaging. (The Resources file will guide you to sites for these options.)

Although a full-size screen on a desktop or laptop computer is always best, students are now reviewing the materials on this site on their cell phones, PDAs, iPhones, and BlackBerry-type devices. 

The, article, "Will Colleges Become Obsolete?" traces some developments in the area of Internet education.

The Future of Internet Education

Most innovations are driven by economics.  Corporations have found that rather than tying up personnel repeatedly training new batches of employees, computer courses -- generally on the company's web site -- are the most cost-effective approach to instruction.

Although schools sometimes lag behind in innovations, again economics seem to be dictating change. Today, there are many "colleges" and even law schools that exist entirely on the Internet.

Because of the economic downturn that started in 2008, many schools (and students) are finding it difficult to afford textbooks.  This has meant that more and more are turning to free Internet cybertexts, such as the one you are now reading.

Instant Messaging

Although thousands of people are familiar with the AOL, MSN or Yahoo versions of real-time chat or instant messaging programs, one of the first was ICQ.  The ICQ interface, which is similar to many of these social networking services, is shown below. The text you type is shown in one window and the real-time reply from the person you are "talking to" comes up in the other window.

Emoticons (shown below) can be added to your messages to spice things up -- a step up from the ;- ) versions you type from your keyboard.

There is a great variety of add-on software for most of the basic Internet chat software that will allow you to hit a key to enter complete phrases, add emoticons, etc. You can check out the shareware and freeware options at sites such as ZDnet.com, download.com, tucows.com, and Jumbo.com.

A problem arises when you have different friends using different services, each of which use different software. This can be solved with a program such as Trillian, which can be downloaded free here.

More recently, Twitter has become the most popular form of exchanging short messages. This is a hybrid between blogging and text messaging. Limited to about 140 characters of text, this is a way to give your friends a minute-by-minute account of what you are doing -- which, granted, may be much more than your friends want to know!  Again, the Resources file has many more options for social networking.

In the next section we'll look at some of the internal workings of computers - especially things that govern speed and efficiency.

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