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294 Part Two Information Technology Infrastructure

Internet Services
A client computer connecting to the Internet has access to a variety of
services. These services include e-mail, chatting and instant messaging, elec-
tronic discussion groups, Telnet, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), and the
Web. Table 7.3 provides a brief description of these services.
Each Internet service is implemented by one or more software programs. All
of the services may run on a single server computer, or different services may
be allocated to different machines. Figure 7.8 illustrates one way that these
services can be arranged in a multitiered client/server architecture.
E-mail enables messages to be exchanged from computer to computer, with
capabilities for routing messages to multiple recipients, forwarding messages,
and attaching text documents or multimedia files to messages. Most e-mail
today is sent through the Internet. The cost of e-mail is far lower than equiv-
alent voice, postal, or overnight delivery costs, making the Internet a very
inexpensive and rapid communications medium. Most e-mail messages arrive
anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds.
Nearly 90 percent of U.S. workplaces have employees communicating
interactively using chat or instant messaging tools. Chatting enables two or
more people who are simultaneously connected to the Internet to hold live,
interactive conversations. Chat systems now support voice and video chat as
well as written conversations. Many online retail businesses offer chat services
on their Web sites to attract visitors, to encourage repeat purchases, and to
improve customer service.
Instant messaging is a type of chat service that enables participants to
create their own private chat channels. The instant messaging system alerts
the user whenever someone on his or her private list is online so that the user
can initiate a chat session with other individuals. Instant messaging systems for
consumers include Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, and Windows Messenger.
Companies concerned with security use proprietary communications and
messaging systems such as IBM Sametime.
Newsgroups are worldwide discussion groups posted on Internet electronic
bulletin boards on which people share information and ideas on a defined topic,
such as radiology or rock bands. Anyone can post messages on these bulletin
boards for others to read. Many thousands of groups exist that discuss almost all
conceivable topics.
Employee use of e-mail, instant messaging, and the Internet is supposed
to increase worker productivity, but the accompanying Interactive Session on

TABLE 7.3 MAJOR INTERNET SERVICES

CAPABILITY FUNCTIONS SUPPORTED
E-mail Person-to-person messaging; document sharing
Chatting and instant messaging Interactive conversations

Newsgroups Discussion groups on electronic bulletin boards
Telnet Logging on to one computer system and doing work on another
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Transferring files from computer to computer
World Wide Web Retrieving, formatting, and displaying information (including text,
audio, graphics, and video) using hypertext links

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