Understanding the Internet

If you are not connected to the internet, you are missing out on the greatest communication tool of the 20th century.  The internet is really made up of thousands even millions of computers all sharing information with each other. 

There is a lot of confusion and misinformation about the internet.  The following is an attempt to explain the concepts in order to avoid the confusion. 

First, understand that the Internet has experienced such rapid growth in such a short amount of time, it is almost impossible to keep up with the latest features, definitions and technologies.

Second, realize that despite what they may want you to believe AOL (America On Line) is not the Internet, nor is AOL the only way to get on the internet.  They've just packaged it and brought it to you easily and affordable that many people think AOL is the Internet.

Let me set the record straight:  Al Gore did not invent the Internet.  The internet itself was the outcome of a research project funded by the US government. This initial research project (ARPANET)  was intended to link various government agencies and research institutions (universities) in order to share information. The beginnings of this project date back to 1958 as the  United States' response to Sputnik.  Actual work and research has progressed in various stages ever since.

A more detailed history of the internet and the World Wide Web can be found at the following locations, or just search for history of the internet on your web browser:

• A Brief History of the Internet

• PBS's Life on the Internet.  

Modern Day Internet Activities:

The internet offers many different features. Some of the more common features are electronic mail or e-mail and the World Wide Web. More features and functions are added daily by taking advantage of the underlying capability of the system.

The most important thing to understand in using your internet is that you do have a choice.  I'll explain more on this as the discussion continues.

In order to access the two basic features described above, you will need:

• A connection to the internet, 

• an internet browser program to view web pages 

• an email program to send and receive email

Connection to the internet has traditionally been via a modem connected to your computer and to a phone line.  Connection is offered by various Internet Service Providers such as Earthlink, CompuServe, AOL, Mindspring, ATT WorldNet, Pacific Bell, GTE, Prodigy  and various regional and smaller companies that offer a range of services. 

Newer, faster and alternative types of connections come out daily as speed and convenience has increased.  Cable modems and wireless (cellular telephone) connections are now becoming standard.

Any normal house line can be used. These are considered analog phone lines. Business lines, multi-line phones, PBX systems and phones with extension numbers are considered digital phone lines and cannot be used without additional equipment.  In fact, digital phone lines can actually cause damage to your modem and should not be used. 

A browser program is needed to actually view information stored on web pages that make up the majority of the World Wide Web.

The two most popular browsers today are Internet Explorer from Microsoft and Netscape Communicator from Netscape Communications.  Other browser programs exist and have been used in the past.  Many of these are no longer used as the two major players are Microsoft and Netscape.

Internet Explorer is installed with Windows 95, 98 and Me.  Netscape Communicator is available for free and can be downloaded from Netscape's web site.

If you are connected to the internet, you can use either Internet Explorer or Netscape Communicator.  You can alternate between these programs.  Most web pages are compatible with both, however, some web pages will look different depending on which program you use.  There are a number of web pages that require the use of one program over the other.  These pages usually indicate this information when loading. 

An e-mail program is needed to send and receive electronic mail. There are several types of e-mail programs:

• Standard POP3 email programs

• Proprietary email programs

• Web based email 

POP stands for post-office protocol with POP3 identifying the version.

The more common POP3 mail programs are:

• Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express

• Netscape Communicator

• Eudora and Eudora Light

Most computers with a connection to the internet can use any of the standard POP3 type of mail programs.  In fact, your computer could have all three of these programs installed and in use on one computer.  It can get to be a little confusing managing mail from three different programs, but it can be done. Different family members using the same computer could each use one or more of the various programs.  

Each program has its advantages and disadvantages and the choice comes down to how easy or difficult you feel the various programs are to use. 

Mail messages are traditionally stored (saved) on your computer after they are sent or received.  Different Internet Service Providers have different policies and procedures for storing mail messages on their companies mail servers.

One disadvantage of POP3 mail is that the older messages can only be saved on one computer.  If you are not using that specific computer, your older messages are not available for review should you need them.

Proprietary email programs use there own email system and usually require specific software and settings to be used. 

America On Line's is an example of a proprietary mail system.  You must be an AOL member to use AOL mail. AOL mail is stored (saved) on AOL's computer. The advantage to this is that older email messages can be accessed from any computer that can use AOL mail. 

AOL does limit the total number of messages and the amount of time that they can be kept on AOL's computers.  After a certain amount of time or a certain number of messages are stored, the messages may be deleted.

Web based email uses the internet to provide an email processing service. Any computer that has access to the internet can use a web-based mail service.  Mail messages can be stored on the service provider's computer.  There are many free web based mail services offered by an assortment of providers.  Hotmail, Yahoo, are two well know providers, but I have recently seen radio and TV stations offering this free service to their listeners and viewers.

Your email address usually consists of a name followed by @serviceprovidername.  Examples would be

• Elliottla@earthlink.net  (Earthlink being the provider)

• Elliott123@aol.com  (AOL being the email provider)

• Elliott456@hotmail.com (hotmail being the provider)

The disadvantage to any of these is not being able to use a good name to identify you.  As more and more people connect to the internet, the availability of a good usable name has decreased.  Elliott123, Elliott456 or Elliottla are examples of poor names but the only ones available at each of the providers. 

Most of the larger internet service providers also offer web hosting and domain email.  Web hosting allows you to establish a web site on the world wide web and also to use your domain name as part of your email address.

Advantages and disadvantages in email services:

Techinfo@pcmaestro.com and Elliott@pcmaestro.com represent better email addresses than elliott123@aol.com.  In fact, each of my family members can have their own email address that is unique enough to truly represent them.  Web hosting and emailname@yourdomain.com  will cost extra.  The advantage is that your address stays with you.  If you choose to change to a different internet provider, you probably will get a different email name each time.