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Internet

allowed remote users to run programs and computers USING THE INTERNET AND
from other sites. Gopher, developed at the University of WORLD WIDE WEB
Minnesota and named after the university’s mascot, Accessing the Internet requires an Internet-capable com-
allowed menu-driven access to data resources on the Inter- puter and a modem to modulate/demodulate outgoing
net. Search engines such as Archie and Wide Area Index and incoming data packets. Modems connect computers
Search gave users the ability to search the Internet’s to the Internet across telephone lines (dial-up) or by opti-
numerous libraries and indexes. By the mid-1980s users at cal or wire cable (broadband or digital subscriber line, also
universities, research laboratories, private companies, and known as DSL). The connection is provided by an Inter-
libraries were empowered by the new networking revolu- net service provider (ISP), such as America Online, Com-
tion. More than 30,000 host computers and modems cast, or RoadRunner. For a monthly fee, these companies
provide access to the Internet, e-mail, a certain amount of
were actively using the Internet.
storage, and search utilities. These Internet providers will
often offer portal sites that provide a Web browser, a chat
THE INTERNET AND THE WORLD service (Internet relay chat—IRC), instant messaging
WIDE WEB (IM), bulletin boards, newsgroups, and forums.
In August 1991, Dr. Tim Berners-Lee (1955– ) of CERN Each application requires a specific software program.
(the European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Many computers are sold with these applications pre-
Switzerland envisioned the concept of a graphical, page- loaded, such as Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, the most
based Internet—the World Wide Web. Although many popular Web browser. E-mail applications such as Eudora
people use the terms Internet and World Wide Web inter- are purchased separately; many e-mail programs, however,
changeably, they refer to two separate, yet related, tech- are now Web-based. This means that users can access their
nologies. The Web is supported by hypertext markup Web-based e-mail program from any computer that is
language (HTML), a programming language used to cre- connected to the Internet. A specific software application
ate graphical Web pages, and hypertext transfer protocol is no longer required because the application runs from
(HTTP), the routing technology used to identify uniform the server rather than from the computer itself.
resource locators (URLs) or Web page addresses. All ISPs require a username and password, which
establishes the user’s identity and gives authorization to
Web pages are retrieved via Internet protocols and
use the Internet service. The Internet service provider has
resources; the Web, however, is merely one of many Inter-
its own higher-order identity on the Internet, known as a
net applications such as FTP, Telnet, and Gopher.
domain. For example, in the following e-mail address:
Berners-Lee developed the Web as a way to simplify read-
ing the location of documents by assigning standard jones@abc.com
names or file paths. In 1992 the first Web browsers, Viola
and Mosaic, were developed. The ease of use and graphic the first part of the address, “jones” identifies the user; this
capabilities (prior Internet data exchanges were primarily is the username. The “@” (pronounced “at”) separates the
text-based) made Web browsers popular outside the aca- username from the domain. In this example, “abc” is the
demic community, and soon the general public found domain name, and “.com” is the extension that identifies
access to the Internet and World Wide Web to be useful. the entity as a commercial provider. Other extensions
include .net for network, .edu for education, .mil for mil-
The Internet and the World Wide Web continue to
itary, .gov for government, and .org for organization.
grow. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that in 2003,
61.8 percent of U.S. households had a computer and 54.7
Affect on Business and Industry. The World Wide Web
percent had Internet access. Home use, however, does not
has created a new industry segment called electronic com-
reflect the number of people who use computers and the
merce (e-commerce). Businesses sell to other businesses
Internet at work, in libraries, at schools, and in commu-
(B2B) and to consumers (B2C) on the Internet using
nity organizations. The Census Bureau found that nearly
secure Web sites. The “dot.com” frenzy came to a head in
60 percent of American adults used the Internet. Over
the late 1990s when the number of online companies
165 countries are connected to the Internet. Yet, no one exceeded demand. Although online commerce declined
nation or group operates or controls the Internet. slightly, it has remained stable since then. Strong e-com-
Although there are entities that oversee the system, “no merce providers are either “pure-play” (having only an
one is in charge.” This allows for a free transfer and flow Internet presence, such as eBay and Amazon.com) or
of information throughout the world. Search engines such “brick-and-click” (having both a physical store as well as
as Google and Yahoo index the Web to help in the organ- an online store, such as Wal-Mart, Sears, and most other
ization and retrieval of information. major retail outlets).

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