Internet and World Wide Web

Internet
The term Internet refers to the global interconnection of computer networks for the
purpose of communication and resource sharing.

Computers within an office or building can be connected together using

transmission media such as cables to communicate with one another. Such
interconnection of computers is referred to as networking. Internet enables
millions of peoples of computers from different organizations and people to
communicate and share resources globally.

Intranet
An intranet is a private network inside a company or organization that uses the
same software as the public internet, but it is only for internal use .An intranet may
be on the internet or on the network.
It is mainly used to share private or confidential information across an organization
or a company.

Development of the internet

In 1969, a research body in the USA called advanced Research projects Agency
(ARPA) set up a computer network that connected four universities and was given
the name ARPAnet. This network is viewed as the forerunner of today’s internet.
The aim was to allow sharing of data and information between computers. The
main benefit was that there be fast communication between researchers through
electronic mail (e-mail)

ARPA’s goal was to allow multiple users to send and receive information at the
same time. The network used a special data transmission technique called packet
switching which was later adopted for the internet. A computer would send packet
that contained data, destination address information, error detection control
information and packet sequencing information. By 1973 e-mail was the most
common service on the internet.

By 1987, competitors arose among software and hardware manufacturers as they

came up with new technology to meet internetworking needs after Microsoft
developed its internet explorer. Today, internet has grown and covered the whole
world. Governments, private organizations and individuals are using the internet in

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all daily life to research, send electronic messages and conduct e-learning and e-
business.

Internet connectivity requirements

1. Data terminal equipment/communication device; data terminal are devices
used to process, host and transmit data on a network. Examples are computer
mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs).
2. Transmission media; transmission media are physical or wireless pathways
used to transmit data and information from one point to another. Examples of
transmission media are the telephone lines, radio waves, microwaves and
satellite.
3. Telecommunication lines; a computer is connected to the internet using a
telephone line.
Internet service providers (ISP) are companies that offer internet services to end
users. Examples are Orange, MTN (Mobile telecom network), UTL, Airtel,
smile etc.
4. E-mail software; to access the internet services, a computer must be installed
with an Internet protocol, a browser and e-mail client software. E-mail client is
software that enables the user to receive, compose and send e-mails examples
are Microsoft outlook, Gmail, Yahoo, Eudora etc.
5. Browsers; a browser is a program that lets the user surf or browse the internet.
Examples include Internet explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Netscape, Google chrome,
Opera etc.
Implication of the internet
Using the internet to search for information has some advantages and drawbacks as
included below.
Advantages of the using internet
• Interactive communication; internet offers personal connectivity to friends
through e- mails, chatting, instant messaging, audio and video conferencing,
online telephone calls etc. Internet relay chatting (IRC) is a virtual meeting
place where people from all over the world can meet and talk.
• Resource sharing; data, information, software programs and printers can be
shared and downloaded from the internet.
• Research; internet helps in conducting research using books online,
encyclopedia, audio and video tutorial to answer research questions.
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 Information are linked to different articles in the field of knowledge hence
saving time.
• Entertainment tools for leisure; through on-line games, online chats,
multimedia (audio and video music) and animals’ zoos.etc.
• Online services; internet offers online services like e-business, e-commerce and
e-learning.
• Offers news updates (information Retrieval) for politics, social events, climate
and weather, and sports. These usually in form of live radio, live TV, online
newspapers and magazines, educative short films, etc.
• Telecommuting. Through internet connectivity and interactivity one can now
work from home and communicate with the office through networked
computers and telephone facilities.
Disadvantages of the using internet
• Accessibility to dirty sites; such as pornography by the young students
hence affecting their morals. This has resulted into early premarital sex, drug
and substance abuse. The remedy to this problem is to restrict the known
offensive sites using filter programs such as Cyber Patrol, Cyber sitter, or
Net Nanny.
• Security and privacy violations; Internet has made it easy for criminals to
illegally access organizations and private information, hence posing security
concerns. To improve on security, install a firewall and anti-spyware
program.
• Spread of malicious software; these include viruses like Trojan horse and
worm. These result to frustrations and loss of data. Install internet security
programs and update them regularly.
• High cost implications for both initial and maintenance costs.

Internet services
1. Electronic mail and fax; an electronic mail is the message transmitted
electronically over the internet. It is simply referred to as e-mail. To send and
receive e-mail you may need a computer and e-mail account or an ordinary fax
machine.
2. Instant messaging; this is a more enhanced messaging service that allows two
or more people to communicate directly. To get the services you must first
register with an instant messenger such as Yahoo! Messenger.
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3. Electronic commerce (e-commerce); many companies are increasing using the
internet to sell and buy goods and services. This new business strategy where
goods and services are sold over the internet is called electronic commerce (e-
commerce). One advantage of e-commerce is that, a company can access
customers all over the world and is not limited by space and time. Hence they
enjoy benefits of reduced operating costs and increased sales like international
vehicle dealers.
4. Electronic learning; lessons and lectures are presented from a central site and
the presentation is transmitted to remote conference terminals or displayed on
the TV screens. The learner can access learning materials made available on the
internet, sit for online examinations and received results through e-learning
platform.
5. Newsgroups; newsgroups are organized group of internet users who wish to
share ideas and interests. Once you join a newsgroup, you can participate in
discussion forum and debates.
6. Chatting; chatting allows two or more people who are simultaneously
connected to the internet to hold a live interactive conversation. Examples
include social media like skype, Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber, Messenger,
Yahoo messenger etc.
7. Searching; search engines are specialized programs that help the user easily
search for information on the internet. Examples are; Google, Bing, Alta vista,
Excite and Yahoo.

E-mail services
E-mail is an electronic message sent from one computer to another. Messages can
be sent and received with attachment such as pictures or formatted document. To
send and receive an e- mail, one must have an e-mail address/e-mail software,
internet connectivity, data terminal equipment, telecommunication line, browser
etc.
An e-mail address determines the destination of the e-mail sent. A typical e-mail
address has five parts.
Jeff.geoff@outlook.com
1. Jeff.geoff is the user name and is usually coined by the user during e-mail
account registration.

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2. @ is a symbol for “at” which separates the user name from the rest of the
address.
3. outlook.com is the name of the host computer in the network i.e. the computer
on which the e-mail account is hosted.
4. The period “.” Is read as dot and is used to separate different parts of the e-mail
address.
5. Com identifies the type of organization offering particular services and is called
the domain, meaning it is a commercial institution.

Composing and sending an e-mail

To compose an e-mail in either Outlook Express, Gmail or Yahoo;
1. Click the compose button.
2. Type the recipient address
3. Type in the subject of the message in the message box.
4. Click the send button.

Carbon copy (Cc); in e-mail, the Cc commands is to enable copies of e-mail to be

sent to a third party while acknowledging other recipients.

Blind Carbon Copy (BCC); Enables copies of e-mail to be sent to a third party
without acknowledging any other recipients.
Concept of Netiquette
Netiquette is a combination of the words network and etiquette, and is defined as a
set of rules for acceptable online conduct and behavior. Similarly, online ethics
focuses on the acceptable use of online resources telephone or video in an online
social environment. It is a social code of network communication. Communicating
with others on internet without creating misunderstanding, therefore
recommendations to safeguard against these misunderstanding have been proposed.

Factors affecting the speed on the internet

Processor speed; the speed of a computer microprocessor affects the speed to
browser and surf information and the internet. A processor of 3.4GHz can load the
browsers faster over the internet. It’s recommended that you use the latest version
of processor or upgrade the processor speed.

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Memory; the memory capacity of the RAM tends to affect the speed of surfing
information on the internet. The greater the RAM between 2GB to 8GB the
faster the internet. Hard disk; a highly fragmented hard disk can act to slow to
web surfing. It is good to defragment and optimize the hard disk to increase on
the windows virtual memory.
Bandwidth: the maximum amount of data that a transmission medium can carry at
one time.
Faster internet uses bandwidth of 1Gbps. If the bandwidth is 512kbps the internet is
slower. Internet access number; the number of people connected to the internet of
the same network also slower the speed of the internet. Hence it is faster to use the
internet overnight because many people would not be connected on the internet at
that particular time.
Internet traffic; heavy web traffic tend to increase throughout the day and peak
around early evening since most of the people are connected to the internet.
Downloading software and multimedia movies can also slower the speed of the
internet.
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web (www) can be viewed as a vast virtual space on the internet
where information is made available. To access the internet services, a computer
must be installed with a web browser, e-mail client and internet protocol.

Web browsers
A web browser is a program that lets the user surf or browses the internet.
Examples of web browser include Microsoft internet explorer, Mozilla Firefox,
Google chrome, opera, and Netscape navigator.

Search engines
Search engines are web based programs that allows the user to easily search and
retrieve information on the internet. Examples are; Google, Bing, Alta vista, excite,
Ask Jeeves and Yahoo.

How to search information on the internet

• Open a web browser i.e. Mozilla fire fox, Google chrome
• Identify a search engine
• Enter keywords in the search text box. Be precise and exact
• Use quotation marks to identify the keywords
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• The search results is displayed in the links, identify the links that contains the
information you want.

Choosing search terms and syntax

• Enter keyword in the search box and be precise and exact.
• Use multiple operators like AND, NOT if a search engine allows.
• Use spacing, symbols and punctuation in your search syntax like +, “”. To be
specific to the information in the results

Websites
A website is a group of related web pages or other resources located on a web
server. The first page on a website is called a home page.

Types of a website
The types of websites depend on the organization offering particular services. The
table below shows the domain and the type of website.

Domain Type
.edu Educational institution

.gov Government institution

.org Non-profit making

organization
.mil Military organization

.co& .com Commercial institution

.net An institution or organization providin networking

services g
.ac An academic institution

The letter extension are sometime added to the domain name to show where the
site is located e.g. www.cranehighschool.ac.ug

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The domain .ug, meaning cranehighschool is an academic institution located in
Uganda. Other letter extension include .uk (United Kingdom), .us (United
States), .ke (Kenya), .tz (Tanzania), .jp (Japan), .au (Australia) etc.

Web portals- offers specialized services such as searching, e-mail, sports updates,
financial, news and links to selected websites.
A Blog- a website that contains personal information which can easily be updated.
Some blogs acts as resume, diary and may be used for business, advocacy and
campaign purposes.
Multimedia- it is a site that contain photos, movies, music, web TV and internet
radio. They are meant for entertainment. Components of multimedia are text,
sound, graphics, animations and video.

To make the information available on the website, special languages of the web
such as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Extensible Hypertext markup
language (XHTML), XML (Extensible Markup Language), Hypertext Preprocessor
(PHP) are used to prepare documents on the web pages.

Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

The uniform Resource Locator (URL), simply referred to as the web address,
connects the user to a particular website. The URL has two basic parts.
1. Protocol- it is a set of rule that governs how two computers can send and
receive data on the network. For the internet, the protocol used is the
Transmission Control Protocol and internet protocol.
• Transmission Control Protocol (TCP): it governs how data is transferred
in the form messages from one computer to another over the internet.
• Internet Protocol (IP): determines the addressing system on the internet or
a set of standards that control communication over internet. IP address is the
number assigned to network and computer connected on the internet to
enable sending and receiving of data.
• File Transfer Protocol (FTP): it is a method of transferring files between
two internet sites. FTP is the means of accessing repositories of materials
from the internet sites by sending and receiving files.

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 • Hypertext transfer Protocol (HTTP): it is a set of rules for exchanging
files (text, graphic images, sound, video and other multimedia files) on the
World Wide Web.
2. Domain name- name of the web server where the resource is located.

Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks refer to links used to navigate from one web page to another.

Concept of Cloud computing

Cloud Computing is the internet-based storage for files, applications, and

infrastructure. The cost savings in implementing a cloud system is substantial and
the pricing for use of cloud computing can easily be scaled up or down as
determined by necessity. Such as Box, Dropbox, Microsoft, Apple or Amazon
there are growing legal issues that must be addressed by all parties involved with
the cloud contract. Data security is one of the major concerns with cloud
computing. Even though the encryption and security power increases at an
exponential rate, the threat of hackers still looms in many companies’ minds.
Experts say that within four years, security systems for cloud computing will be
perfected and stronger.

Uses of Cloud Computing

• Rapid Service
• Secure Service
• Satisfying User Experience
• Lower Costs
• Multi-User Access
• Development Platform
• Infinite Storage

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What is an input and output (IO) device?

An input/output (I/O) device is any hardware used by a human operator or other

systems to communicate with a computer. As the name suggests, input/output devices
are capable of sending data (output) to a computer and receiving data from a computer
(input).

Input devices allow users to interact with a computer by providing data or commands.
Some common input devices include keyboards, mice, microphones, webcams, and
scanners.

Output devices allow users to see, hear, or otherwise perceive the results of the
computer's processing. Some common output devices include monitors, printers,
speakers, and headphones.

I/O devices are essential for the operation of any computer system. They allow users
to interact with the computer and provide the computer with the data it needs to
function.

Input Devices

This part of the computer encapsulates devices with the help of which the user feeds
data to the computer. It creates an interface between the user and the computer. The
input devices transform the information into a form acceptable to the computer.

An input device in a computer is any piece of hardware that sends data to the
computer, allowing you to interact with and control it. The data may be in the form of
text, commands, images, audio, or video.

Output Devices
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This part of the computer encapsulates devices with the help of which the user
receives the information from the computer. Output devices transform the output from
the computer into a form understandable by the users.

An output device is any piece of hardware that receives data from the computer.
Usually, this data is used to display information to the user in some form.

Through this article Input and Output Devices, we shall review the various input and
output devices which can be attached to a computer, along with their functions.

Input Devices of Computer

A piece of hardware/equipment that enables the user to enter data into a computer is
called an input device. Some of the commonly used input units used in a computer
system are as follows:

1. Keyboard
2. Mouse
3. Joystick
4. Light pen
5. Track Ball
6. Scanner
7. Graphic Tablet
8. Microphone
9. Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)
10.Optical Character Reader (OCR)
11.Barcode Reader
12.Optical Mark Reader (OMR)

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Keyboard

The keyboard is the most basic and very commonly used input device which helps to
input data to the computer. The layout of the buttons in a normally used keyboard is
similar to the traditional typewriter, but there are a few additional keys provided by
different manufacturers for performing additional functions.

Normally available keyboards in the market were of two sizes 84 keys and 101/102
keys, but now keyboards with 104 keys or 108 keys are also possible for Windows
and Internet.

Mouse

It is the most commonly used pointing device. It is a very famous cursor-control

device and the earlier versions of it were built over a small palm-size box with a round
ball at its base, which tracks the movement of the mouse and feeds digital signals to
the CPU when the mouse buttons are pressed. Currently, the mouse has a sensor at the
bottom to detect cursor position.

Basic versions if it has two buttons called the left and the right-click button and a
wheel is present between the buttons to provide a scroll function. The movement of
the mouse on a flat surface is used to control the position of the cursor on the display,
but it cannot be used to feed text into the system directly.
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Advantages

1. Easy to use
2. Not very expensive
3. The cursor movement is faster than the arrow keys of the keyboard.

Joystick

Just like a mouse, a Joystick is also a pointing device, which is used to travel the
cursor position on a display. It is a perpendicular stick having a spherical ball at both
lower and upper ends. The spherical ball connected at the circuit having sensors
moves in a socket. The joystick controller can be traversed in all directions.

The functionality of the joystick is just like a mouse. Its applications are generally in
Computer-Aided Designing (CAD) and playing computer games.

Light Pen

Just like a pen, a light pen is a digital pointing device. This device is used to select an
item displayed in the menu or to draw anything on the display. It contains a photocell
and an optical sensor placed in a small tube at the tip.

When the light pen tip is travelled on the display, its photocell sensing element
calculates the screen location and sends the digital signal to the CPU.

Track Ball

The trackball is another type of input device similar to the mouse. It is most helpful
with a notebook or laptop computer, instead of a mouse. It consists of a ball on the top
which is half inserted and connected to the sensors. By moving fingers on the ball, the
cursor can be moved.

Because the whole device is not moved to move the cursor, a trackball requires less
space as compared to the mouse. This device comes in different shapes like a ball, a
square, or a button.

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Scanner

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A scanner is another input device, which works very much like a photocopy machine.
It can be used when some information on paper is to be transferred to the hard disk of
the computer in digital format for further manipulation.

The scanner captures high-resolution images from the source which are then converted
into a digital format that can be saved on the disk and shared digitally. These digital
images can be edited before they are printed.

Digitizer

A digitizer is also an input device that is used to convert analog information into
digital form. Using a digitizer, the signal from the television or camera can be
transformed into a series of numbers that could be saved in a computer hard drive.
They can be helpful with the computer to create a picture of whatever the camera has
been pointed at.

Digitizer is also called Tablet or Graphics Tablet because it transforms graphics and
pictorial data into binary inputs to the system. A special kind of graphic tablet as a
digitizer is used for fine works of drawing and image-related applications.

Microphone

A microphone or mic is a very common input device used to input sound that is then
stored in a digital form. Nowadays microphones are used in almost every industry and
devices related to sound recording or transmission.

The microphone is used for different applications like adding sound to a multimedia
presentation or for mixing music, voice calling and recording, video conferencing, and
more.

Learn more about Generations of computer, here.

Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR)

The MICR input device is commonly seen in banks as there are a huge amount of
cheques to be processed every day. The important details like the bank’s code number
and cheque number are printed on the cheques with specially designed ink based on
the particles of magnetic material that is readable by the sensors of the machine.

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This method of reading is recognized as Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR).
The main benefits of using MICR are that it is comparatively fast and less prone to
errors.

Optical Character Reader (OCR)

It is an input device that is used to read a printed text similar to the scanner, but the
method of reading and the type of output generated is different. The format to be fed
to the OCR is predefined and can’t be used as an ordinary scanner.

OCR, unlike a scanner, scans the text optically, character by character, converts them
into a machine-readable digital code instead of creating high-resolution images, and
stores the text on the system memory.

Bar Code Readers

Bar Code Reader is an input device used to read special format barcoded data (data in
the form of light and dark lines). Barcoded data is commonly used to create price tags,
in labelling goods, numbering the books, etc. It can be a handheld scanner or can be
embedded in a stationary scanner on the table top.

A flash of light from the device strikes the surface of the object and reflects the
sensors present behind the source of light to collect the input. Bar Code Reader can
only scan a bar code image, converts it into an alphanumeric value, which is then
transferred to the computer that the bar code reader is connected to.

Optical Mark Readers (OMR)

OMR is a special type of input machine. This sort of optical scanner is used to identify
the type of mark made by pen or pencil. It is used where one out of a predefined
alternative is to be selected and marked.

The format to be fed to the OMR is predefined and can’t be used as an ordinary
scanner.

It is specially used for automation of the answer sheet analysis of examinations having
multiple-choice questions.

Webcam

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A Webcam is a camera that is combined with a computer. Unlike a digital camera,
they cannot function independently and should be connected to the computer/laptop
for operation. It functions as an input device that can take pictures and is mostly used
for video streaming and video conferencing or chatting.

Biometric Devices

Biometrics relates to a method in which a person is identified through his/her

biological features such as fingerprints, facial structure, eye cornea, etc. It is done by
using biometric devices, which can be of different types based on their scanning
features and abilities, such as Face Scanner, Hand Scanner, Fingerprint Scanner,
Retina or Iris Scanner, Voice Scanner, etc.

Output Devices

A piece of hardware/equipment that presents the result of the entered input, once it is
processed, is called an output device. Several output devices display output in various
ways such as images, text, hard copies, and audio/video.

Some of the commonly used input units used in a computer system are as follows:

1. Monitor/Display Screen
2. Printer
3. Speakers/Headphones
4. Projector
5. Plotter
6. Braille Reader

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Monitors

Monitors or Visual Display Unit (VDU), are the primary output devices of a computer
system. It generates images from tiny dots, termed pixels that are arranged in a well-
defined rectangular form. The depth and sharpness of the image depend upon the
number and size of the pixels.

Printers

A printer is a very commonly practiced output device, which is used to print

information on paper. There are two types of printers:

1. Impact Printers
2. Non-Impact Printers

Projector

A projector is an optical output device that can take images produced by a computer
and project or present them onto a screen or surface called a projector. In the older
version of projectors, images were created by shining the light through a small
transparent lens on the projector; however, the new version of projectors uses laser
technology for the same. Projectors are most commonly used in offices, classrooms,
auditoriums, theatres to watch presentations, videos, or pictures generated from a
computer or laptop.

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Speakers

Computer speakers are the most popular output devices used with a computer to listen
to sound. These speakers receive audio as input either in analog or digital form and
generate sound as an output. With the advancement of technology, speakers are now
available with wireless and Bluetooth facilities as well.

Headphones

The headphones or earphones or headsets are hardware output tools that are either
plugged into the computer or can be wireless. They offer the same function as a
speaker, the only difference is the frequency of sound. With speakers, the sound can
be detected over a larger distance while utilizing headphones, the sound is only
audible to the individual using them. Headphones are available in multiple shapes and
sizes.

Plotters

A plotter is a computer output device that is primarily used to produce high-quality

drawings, designs, and graphics. It is different from other printers as it uses one or
more pens or markers to draw continuous lines on paper or other suitable materials,
rather than using dots or pixels to create images.

Braille reader

A Braille reader is a computer output device designed for individuals with visual
impairments, specifically those who read Braille. It enables them to access digital
information by converting text into Braille characters that can be read by touch.

Difference between Input and Output Devices

Criteria Input Devices Output Devices

Input devices are used to
Output devices are used to extract or
provide data and control signals
Function retrieve data from the computer,
to an information processing
usually after some processing.
system like a computer.
Data flows from the device to Data flows from the computer to the
Data Flow
the computer. device.
Types Keyboard, Mouse, Scanner, Monitor, Printer, Speakers,
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 Microphone, Webcam, etc. Headphones, Projector, etc.
A keyboard is used to input text A printer is used to output text or
Use Example
into a computer. images from a computer onto paper.
They allow users to input data They allow the computer to present
Interaction into the computer for the result of this processing to the
processing. user.
They usually process data to some
They usually do not need to
extent before presenting it; for
Processing process data themselves; they
example, a printer processes text and
Requirement simply capture user input and
graphics data to produce physical
send it to the computer.
prints.
Some output devices can operate
Input devices require active
without continuous user involvement;
User user involvement; without user
for example, a printer can complete a
Involvement input, they do not generally
print job while the user does other
send data to the computer.
tasks.

Input and Output Devices FAQs

What keys can be seen on a keyboard?

Typing Keys, Numeric Keypad, Function Keys, Control keys, and Special Purpose
Keys are available on the keyboard.

What is input to the computer?

Simply one can understand Input is data that a computer takes, on the other hand, the
output is data that a computer transfers. Computers only work with digital
information.

What do OCR and OMR stand for?

OCR stands for Optical Character Reader and OMR stands for Optical Mark Readers.

What kind of device is a speaker?

Speaker is an output device.

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What is the importance of an output device?

Computer output devices obtain information from the computer and transmit data that
has been processed by the computer to the user. Output devices provide data in
multiple forms, like audio, visual, and hard copy media.

List some of the names of input and output devices?

Input devices: Keyboard, Mouse, Joystick, Light pen, Track Ball, Scanner, Graphic
Tablet, Microphone, Magnetic Ink Card Reader (MICR), Optical Character Reader
(OCR) and more.

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