CHAPTER 3

The Internet and World Wide Web

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this chapter, the students should

be able to:
1. Discuss the history of the Internet

2. Identify the ways to access and connect to the

internet

3. Analyze how data travels through the internet

4. Recognize the importance of the World Wide

Web

5. Explain the purpose of the Web browser

6. Describe the types of Web sites

7. Identify the rules of netiquette.

Living in the Information Technology Era The Internet and World Wide Web Page 34
 HISTORY OF THE INTERNET

One of the major reasons business, home, and other users purchase computers is
for Internet access. Through the Internet, society has access to global information
and instant communications. Further, access to the Internet can occur anytime
from a computer anywhere: at home, at work, at school, in a restaurant, on an
airplane, and even at the beach.
The Internet, also called the Net, is a worldwide collection of networks that links
millions of businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, and
individuals. Each of the networks on the Internet provides resources that add to
the abundance of goods, services, and information accessible via the Internet.
The Internet has its roots in a networking project started by the Pentagon's
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), an agency of the US Department of
Defense. ARPA's goal was to build a network that allowed scientists at different
physical locations to share information and work together on military and scientific
projects and could function even if part of the network were disabled or destroyed
by a disaster such as a nuclear attack. That network, called ARPANET, became
functional in September 1969, linking scientific and academic researchers across
the United States.
The original ARPANET consisted of four main computers, one each located at the
University of California at Los Angeles,the University of California at Santa
Barbara the Stanford Research Institute, and the University of Utah. Each
computer served as a host on the network. A host, more commonly known today
as a server, is any computer that provides services and connections to other
computers on a network. Hosts often use high-speed communications to transfer
data and messages over a network. As researchers and others realized the great
benefit of using ARPANET's e-mail to share data and information, ARPANET
underwent phenomenal growth. By 1984, ARPANET had more than 1,000
individual computers linked as hosts.

HOW THE INTERNET WORKS

Data sent over the Internet travels via networks and communications media
owned and operated by many companies.
Internet users may wonder about the jobs that the internet can do. However, there
is only one simple job that the internet does, and it is to move, transfer, or
assign a computerized information from one place to another. This
information can be in the form of text documents, images, audio, video, and
software programs, among others. All this information is known as data. The
internet can handle different kinds of information and assist people to perform

Living in the Information Technology Era The Internet and World Wide Web Page 35
various jobs - from the simple tasks of handling of email, searching on websites,
and sending chat messages to the more sophisticated function of creating
websites and programming possible through various software programs.

Connecting to the Internet

Employees and students often connect to the Internet through a business or
school network. In this case, the computers usually are part of a network that
connects to an Internet access provider through a high-speed connection line
leased from a telephone company. Some homes use dial-up access to connect to
the Internet. Dial-up access takes place when the modem in your computer uses a
standard telephone line to connect to the Internet. This type of access is an easy
and inexpensive way for users to connect to the Internet. A dial-up connection,
however, is slow-speed technology.
Many home and small business users are opting for higher-speed broadband
Internet connections through DSL, cable television networks, radio signals, or
satellite.
• DSL (digital subscriber line) is a technology that provides high-speed
Internet connections using regular copper telephone lines.
• A cable modem allows access to high-speed Internet services through the
cable television network.
• Fixed wireless high-speed Internet connections use a dish-shaped antenna
on your house or business to communicate with a tower location via radio
signals.
• A satellite modem communicates with a satellite dish to provide high-speed
Internet connections via satellite.
In most cases, broadband Internet access is always on. That is, it is connected to
the Internet the entire time the computer is running. With dial-up access, by
contrast, you must establish the connection to the Internet. Usually a modem dials
the telephone number to the Internet access provider.
Mobile users access the Internet using a variety of technologies. Most hotels and
airports provide dial-up or broadband Internet connections. Wireless Internet
access technologies, such as through radio networks, allow mobile users to
connect easily to the Internet with notebook computers, Tablet PCs, PDAs, and
smartphones while away from a telephone, cable, or her wired connection. Many
public locations, such as airports, hotels, schools, shopping malls, and coffee
shops, are hot spots that provide wireless Internet connections to users with
mobile computers or devices.
An ISP (Internet service provider) is a regional or national access provider. A
regional ISP usually provides internet access to a specific geo graphic area. A
national ISP is a business that provides Internet access in cities and towns
nationwide. For dial-up access, some national ISP provide both local and toll-free
telephone numbers.

Living in the Information Technology Era The Internet and World Wide Web Page 36
 HOW DATA TRAVELS THE INTERNET

Much of internet runs on the ordinary public telephone network. However, there is
a big difference between how a telephone call works and how the internet carries
data. For example, friend X gives friend Y a telephone call; the telephone then
opens a direct connection (also known as the circuit) between friend X's home
and friend Y's home. In this scenario, a direct line can be pictured out, running
along miles of cable, from friend X's telephone to friend Y's telephone. As long as
the two friends are over the telephone, that connection or circuit stays open
between the two telephones. This method of linking the telephones together is
called circuit switching.
As time goes by, technologies are improved and developed as well. Most data
that moves over the internet in an entirely different way is called packet switching.
This is a mode of transmission in which the message is broken into smaller parts
(called packets) which are sent independently, and then reassemble at ultimate
destination.
Computers connected to the Internet work together to transfer data and
information around the world using servers and clients. On the Internet, your
computer is a client that can access data, information, and services on a variety of
servers.
The inner structure of the Internet works much like a transportation system. Just
as interstate highways connect major cities and carry the bulk of the automotive
traffic across the country, several main transmission media carry the heaviest
amount of traffic on the Internet. These major carriers of network traffic are known
collectively as the Internet backbone.

THE WORLD WIDE WEB

Although many people use the terms World Wide Web and Internet
interchangeably, the World Wide Web actually is a service of the Internet. While
the Internet was developed in the late 1960s, the World Wide Web emerged
nearly three decades later in the early 1990s. Since then, it has grown
phenomenally to become one of the more widely used Internet services.
The World Wide Web (WWW), or Web, consists of a worldwide collection of
electronic documents. Each electronic document on the Web is called a Web
page, which can contain text, graphics, audio (sound), and video. Additionally,
Web pages usually have built-in connections to other documents.
Some Web pages are static (fixed); others are dynamic (changing). Visitors to a
static Web page all see the same content. With a dynamic Web page, by contrast,

Living in the Information Technology Era The Internet and World Wide Web Page 37
visitors can customize some or all of the viewed content such as desired stock
quotes, weather for a region, or ticket availability for flights.
A Web site is a collection of related Web pages and associated items, such as
documents and pictures, stored on a Web server. A Web server is a computer
that delivers requested Web pages to your computer. The same Web server can
store multiple Web sites.

Internet Addresses
The Internet relies on an addressing system much like the postal service to send
data to a computer at a specific destination. An IP address, short for Internet
Protocol address, is a number that uniquely identifies each computer or device
connected to the Internet. The IP address usually consists of four groups of
numbers, each separated by a period. The number in each group is between 0
and 255. For example, the numbers 216.239.39.99 are an IP address. In general,
the first portion of each IP address identifies the network and the last portion
identifies the specific computer. These all-numeric IP addresses are difficult to
remember and use. Thus, the Internet supports the use of a text name that
represents one or more IP addresses. A domain name is the text version of an IP
address. Example below shows an IP address and its associated domain name.
As with an IP address, the components of a domain name are separated by
periods.
The com portion of the domain name is called the top-level domain. Every domain
name contains a top-level domain, which identifies the type of organization
associated with the domain. Dot-com is the term sometimes used to describe
organizations with a top-level domain of com.

Living in the Information Technology Era The Internet and World Wide Web Page 38
OTHER INTERNET SERVICES
The Web is only one of the many services on the Internet. The Web and other
Internet services have changed the way we communicate. We can send e-mail
messages, have a discussion with experts about the stock market, chat with
someone in another country about genealogy, and talk about homework
assignments with classmates via instant messages. Many times, these
communications take place completely in writing - without the parties ever meeting
each other.
At home, work, and school, people use computers and Internet-enabled mobile
devices so they always have instant access to e-mail, FTP (File Transfer
Protocol), newsgroups and message boards, mailing lists, chat rooms, instant
messaging.
The internet is open to anyone who can access it, If one can use a computer and
if the computer is connected to the internet, he or she is free not only to use the
resources posted by others, but also to create resources of his or her own; that is
the internet user can publish documents on the World Wide Web exchange email
messages with other users, and perform many other task.

BROWSING THE WEB

Web browser, or browser, is application A software that allows users to access

and view Web pages. To browse the Web, you need a computer that is connected
to the Internet and that has a Web browser. The more widely used Web browsers
for personal computers are Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox, Opera,
and Safari.
With an Internet connection established, you start a Web browser. The browser
retrieves and displays a starting Web page, sometimes called the browser's
home page. For a computer or mobile device to display a Web page, the page
must be downloaded. Downloading is the process of a computer receiving
information, such as a Web page, from a server on the Internet. While a browser
down loads a Web page, it typically displays an animated logo or icon in the top-
right corner of the browser window. The animation stops when the download is
complete.
Depending on the speed of your Internet connection and the amount of graphics
involved, a Web page download can take from a few seconds to several minutes.
To speed up the display of Web pages, most Web browsers allow users to turn off
the graphics and other multimedia elements.
Web Addresses
A Web page has a unique address, called a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or
Web address, For example, the home page for The Weather Channel Web site

Living in the Information Technology Era The Internet and World Wide Web Page 39
has http://www.weather.com as its Web address. A Web browser retrieves a
Web page using its Web address.
The World Wide Web (WWW) is referred to as the collection of public websites
that are connected to the internet worldwide, together with the client computers
which include personal computers, laptops, iPads, and cellular phones that
access its content.
Web Technologies
The www is considered to be one of the applications in the internet and computer
networks. This is based on three fundamental technologies that are said to be part
of the www development:
Hypertext markup language (HTML) - is a standard markup language used for
creating web pages. HTML is classified as the set of markup symbols or codes
appended in a file intended for presentation on a World Wide Web browser page.
Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) - is classified as the set of standards
allowing users of the World Wide Web to interchange information seen on web
pages. Port 80 is the standard port for HTTP connections.
Web servers and web browsers - is a software application for recovering,
presenting, and navigating information resources on the World Wide Web. There
are different browser applications that are currently used in the WWW such as
Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and
more.

Searching for Information on the Web

A website is maintained by its owner, called a web administrator. The owner can
modify the website content as well as add new information in it. However, no
single organization controls additions, deletions, and changes to all websites. This
means there is no single repository for all the websites found on the internet.
Several companies, however, maintain organized directories of websites to help
people find information about specific topics (Shelly, Cashma, &Vermaat, 2011).
If you enter a phrase with spaces between the words in the search text, most
search engines return links to pages that include t of the words. There are several
techniques that can be used to improve web searches such as:
• Using specific words and placing the most important terms first in the
search text or phrase
• Using quotation marks to create exact phrases-this helps the search engine
find what it is looking for by using the exact sequence of words
• Listing all possible spellings, for example, organization and organisation
In addition to searching for web pages, many search engines allow searching for
images, news articles, and various reports in different formats.

Living in the Information Technology Era The Internet and World Wide Web Page 40
 TYPES OF WEB SITES
Eleven types of Web sites are portal, news, informational,
business/marketing, educational, entertainment, advocacy, blog, wiki,
content aggregator, and personal. Many Web sites fall in more than one of
these categories.

news, sports and weather, free Web

publishing services; reference tools such as
yellow pages, stock quotes, and maps,
shopping malls and auctions, and e-mail and
other forms of online communications.
Companies often create their own portals for
use by employees, vendors, and customers.
Many portals have Web communities. A Web
community is a Web site that joins a specific
group of people with similar interests or
relationships. These communities may offer
online photo albums, chat rooms, and other
Portal - A portal is a services to facilitate communications among
Web site that offers a members. A wireless portal is a portal
variety of Internet designed for Internet enabled mobile
services from a single, devices. Wireless portals attempt to provide
convenient location. all information a wireless user might require.
Most portals offer the These portals offer services geared to the
following free services: mobile user such as search engines, news,
search engine and/or stock quotes, weather, maps, e-mail,
subject directory; calendar, instant messaging, and shopping.

News
A news Web site contains
newsworthy material including
stories and articles relating, to
current events, life, money, sports,
and the weather. Many magazines
and newspapers sponsor Web sites
that provide summaries of printed
articles, as well as articles not
included in the printed versions.
Newspapers and television and
radio stations are some of the
media that maintain news Web
sites.

Living in the Information Technology Era The Internet and World Wide Web Page 41
 Informational
An informational Web site contains
factual information. An
informational Web sites providing
information such as census data,
tax codes, and the congressional
budget. Other organizations
provide information such as public
transportation schedules and
published research findings.

Business / Marketing
A business/marketing Web site
contains content that promotes or
sells products or services. Nearly
every business has a
business/marketing Web site.
Example Dell Inc., General Motors
Corporation, Kraft Foods Inc., and
Walt Disney Company all have
business/marketing Web sites. Many
of these companies also allow you to
purchase their products or services
online.

Educational
An educational Web site offers
exciting, challenging avenues
for formal and informal teaching
and learning. On the Web, you
can learn how airplanes fly or
how to cook a meal. For a more
structured learning experience,
companies provide online
training to employees; and
colleges offer online classes and
degrees.

Living in the Information Technology Era The Internet and World Wide Web Page 42
 Popular entertainment Web
sites offer music, videos,
sports, games, ongoing
Web episodes, sweep
stakes, chats, and more.
Sophisticated entertainment
Web sites often partner with
other technologies. For
example, you can cast your
vote about a topic on a
Entertainment An entertainment television show.
Web site offers an interactive and
engaging environment.

Advocacy An Web site contains content Blog short for Weblog, is an

that describes a cause, opinion, or idea. informal Web site consisting
The purpose of an advocacy Web site is of time-stamped articles, or
to convince the reader of the validity of posts, in a diary or journal
the cause, opinion, or idea. These Web format, usually listed in
sites usually present views of a particular reverse chronological order.
group or association. Sponsors of Blogs reflect the interests,
advocacy Web sites include the opinions, and personalities of
Democratic National Committee, the the author, called the
Republican National Committee, the blogger, and Home users
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to also use blogs to share
Animals, and the Society to Protect aspects of their personal life
Human Rights. with family, friends, and
others.

Living in the Information Technology Era The Internet and World Wide Web Page 43
 Most wikis are open to
modification by the
general public. Wikis
usually collect recent
edits on a Web page so
someone can review
them for accuracy. The
difference between a
wiki and a blog is that
users cannot modify
Wiki A wiki is a collaborative Web site that original posts made by
allows users to add to modify, or delete the blogger.
the Web site content via their Web
browser.

Examples of distributed
content include news,
music, video,and
pictures. Subscribers
select content in which
they are interested.
Whenever this content
changes, it is
downloaded
Content Aggregator automatically (pushed)
A content aggregator is a business that to the subscriber's
gathers and organizes Web content and computer or mobile
then distributes, or feeds, the content to device.
subscribers for free or a fee

Living in the Information Technology Era The Internet and World Wide Web Page 44
.

Personal
A private individual or
family not usually
associated with any
organization may maintain
a personal web site or just
a single web page. Some
simply want to share life
experiences with the
world.

Evaluating a Web Site

Do not assume that information presented on the Web is correct or accurate. Any
person, company, or organization can publish a Web page on the Internet. No one
oversees the content of these Web pages. Lists guidelines for assessing the value
of a Web site or Web page before relying on its content.

Guidelines for evaluating the value of a web site

Evaluation Criteria Reliable Web Sites
A reputable institution should support
Affiliation the Web site without bias in the
information
The Web site should be written at an
Audience
appropriate level.
The Web site should list the author and
Authority
the appropriate credentials.
The Web site should be well organized
Content
and the links should work.
Currency The information on the Web page
should be current.
The pages at the Web site should
Design
download quickly and be visually
pleasing and easy to navigate.
The Web site should contain little
Objectivity
advertising and be free of
preconceptions.

Living in the Information Technology Era The Internet and World Wide Web Page 45
 NETIQUETTE

There really are some behavior problems on the Internet. But there are behavior
problems in any aspect of society, from the playground to the boardroom. Those
who abuse the 'Net are, relatively speaking, small in number. One solution is a
proposed ratings system, with software for parental control of the types of sites or
newsgroups accessed.
Meanwhile, the community of Internet users has made serious efforts to monitor
behavior on the 'Net. One consistent effort is netiquette, which refers to
appropriate behavior in network communications. For example, users are
admonished not to type in caps (IT'S LIKE SHOUT ING). Netiquette rules are
published on several sites and in every book about the Internet. Users who stray
may be subjected to flaming, in which angry e-mail is directed to someone on the
'Net who has done something egregious, such as the mass advertising mentioned
earlier.
NETIQUETTE

Netiquette, which is short for

Internet etiquette, is the code of
acceptable behaviors users should
follow while on the Internet; that is,
it is the conduct expected of
individuals while online Netiquette
includes rules for all aspects of the
Internet, including the World Wide
Web, e-mail, FTP, newsgroups and
message boards, chat rooms, and
instant messaging.

Golden Rule: Treat others as you would like them to treat you.
1. In e-mail, newsgroups, and chat rooms:
• Keep messages brief. Use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Be careful when using sarcasm and humor, as it might be
misinterpreted.
• Be polite. Avoid offensive language.
• Read the message before you send it.
• Use meaningful subject lines.
• Avoid sending or posting flames, which are abusive or insulting
messages. Do not participate in flame wars, which are exchanges of
flames

Living in the Information Technology Era The Internet and World Wide Web Page 46
 • Avoid sending spam, which is the Internet's version of junk mail. Spam
is an unsolicited e-mail message or newsgroup posting sent to many
recipients or newsgroups at once.
• Do not use all capital letters, which is the equivalent of SHOUTING!
• Use emoticons to express emotion. Popular emoticons include
:) Smile :(Frown :I Indifference
:\Undecided :0 Surprised
• Use abbreviations and acronyms for phrases:
BTW by the way
FYI for your information
FWIW for what it's worth
IMHO in my humble opinion
TTFN ta ta for now
TYVM thank you very much
• Clearly identify a spoiler, which is a message that reveals a solution to a
game or ending to a movie or program

2. Read the FAQ (frequently asked questions), if one exists. Many

newsgroups and Web pages have an FAQ

3. Do not assume material is accurate Of up-to-date.

Be forgiving of other's mistakes.

4. Never read someone's private e-mail.

Some people consider some home pages useless. In fact, there is a site called
Useless Pages that maintains a listing of pages the site manager deems useless.
The Internet is full of misinformation. Just because something is on the Internet
does not mean it is true. If someone steps up to announce that the government
uses black helicopters to spy on us or that tapes sound better if you soak them in
water first, you need not accept such information as fact. It's not that people
intend to be wrong, it's just that they sometimes are. If you are doing serious
research on the Internet, be sure to back it up with other sources, especially non-
Internet sources.
The Internet is interesting and even fun. Perhaps the best aspect of the Internet is
that even a novice computer user can learn how to move from site to site on the
Internet with relative ease.

Living in the Information Technology Era The Internet and World Wide Web Page 47
 CHAPTER 3

DATE: ____________ YEAR AND SECTION: ___________

NAME: ________________________________________ _________
Lastname Firstname MI Gender

TASK ACTIVITY
Read and answer the question below.
1. College can be a rewarding experience, both personally and professionally.
Some people, however, do not have the opportunity, time, or money to
attend a traditional college. Many schools address this problem with online
classes, also called Internet courses. Online classes allow students to
learn. whenever and wherever they can access a course's Web page, often
for less cost than traditional tuitions. A student might be able to complete
an entire degree program without ever physically, attending a class. Many
online classes present material using captivating simulations, real-life case
studies, and interactive tools. And, online classes seem to work - one
research report found that online students learn as well as or better than
their classroom-based counterparts, Yet, even the best online classes
some of the most important features of the bricks-and-mortar campus
experience, such as casual talks with professors, informal study groups in
the room, or enthusiastic discussions in the campus.
a. Is the Internet as Good as the Classroom?
b. What are the most important advantages and disadvantages of
online classes?
c. What type of course is best, and least, suited for online classes?
Why?

2. The Internet has had a tremendous impact on business. For some

businesses, that influence has not been positive. For example, surveys
suggest that as a growing number of people order products online,
traditional brick and mortar businesses are seeing fewer customers.

a. What effect has the Internet had?

b. How can the business compete with the Internet?
c. How has the Internet changed business in positive ways?

Living in the Information Technology Era The Internet and World Wide Web Page 48
 3. Who Is Responsible for Identity Theft? Using e-mail and other techniques
on the Internet, scam artists are employing a technique known as phishing
to try to steal your personal information, such as credit card numbers,
banking information, and passwords. For example, an e-mail message may
appear to be a request from your credit card company to verify your Social
Security number and online banking password. Instead, the information
you submit ends up in the hands of the scammer, who then uses the
information to access your accounts, apply for credit in your name, or sell
and trade the information with other criminals. Sadly, the result often is
identity theft. Consumer advocates often blame credit card companies and
credit bureaus for lax security standards. Meanwhile, the companies blame
consumers for being too gullible and forthcoming with private information.
Both sides blame the government for poor privacy laws and light
punishments for identity thieves. But while the arguments go on, law
enforcement agencies bear the brunt of the problem by spending hundreds
of millions of money responding to complaints and finding and processing
the criminals.

a. Do we have a law Internet identity theft? Who is responsible for Internet

identity theft? Why?

b. Should laws be changed to stop it or should consumers change

behavior?

c. What is an appropriate punishment for identity thieves? Given the

international nature of the Internet, how can foreign identity thieves be
handled?

Chapter Review
1. What is an IP address?

2. What are the components of a Web address?

3. What is the purpose of a Web Browser?

4. How can you search for Information on the Web?

5. How can you access and connect the Internet?

6. What are the Rules of Netiquette?

Living in the Information Technology Era The Internet and World Wide Web Page 49