How the Internet Works



The rate the information will travel will depend on the speed of the modem you are using and the speed of the modem of the computer that houses the web site. Speed is also determined by the amount of traffic on the internet and a on the site you are trying to access. The information you get from a web site does not travel together. It comes to you in parts called packets. The information does not travel directly from the computer that hosts the web site to your computer. It goes through many computers before it gets to you. These are called routers.  Routers monitor the flow of the packets. The router sends the packet to the next router until it reaches your computer   The information will not always travel the most direct route. It will find the fastest route to you. If one computer is busy or slow, then the information will find one that is fast and not busy so that the packet can get to your computer. If you are having problems receiving information you can run a program called Ping that sends packets of information to a web site. This information is tracked and the Ping software will tell you which site is down or holding up your information.

How the internet works from how stuff works.com
How web servers work from how stuff works.com


Getting Connected to the Internet

Of course you will need a computer, a modem and a web browser. A person that wants to start surfing the Internet will also need to sign up with a internet provider. The provider can be one that is housed locally, like Goodnet or Internetnow, or nationally like Netcom or Sprintnet, or a Commercial Online Service like America Online or Prodigy. These service providers will give the person access to all the different aspects of the Internet. Some businesses are their own Internet providers. Some libraries sponsor freenets.

Freenet: A free, public network that makes the Internet accessible to the community. Usually restricted to telnet. Usually run by volunteers. Good source of information about the community is serves.  The first freenet was in Cleveland in 1986.

Aztec is Phoenix's freenet.http://aztec.asu.edu/

The first commercial provider of Internet dial-up access was started in 1990 by The World.

Commercial Online Services like AOL started offering Internet Access in 1995.

Places like Netzero provide access for free but they have a lot of advertising on them. Also not many freenets are free any more. Most have now gone to a monthly charge or have a limit on the number of hours you can use for free. For more information on free isp's read Free ISP's. and go to freedomlist.

How to choose an Internet Service Provider
Things an Internet Service Provider should provide.
Access with a free dial-up number
One flat monthly fee for everything
An Isdn or fast (33.5 or faster) and reliable connection
Full internet access to all resources and internet plugins (e-mail, newsgroups, chat, etc.)
The capability of creating and hosting your own web home page
Technical support
Does the company have a good reputation?
Does the company have a chance of being taken over?
How many users can they accommodate going online at one time?

Shop around. Find out what hardware and software you will need Also (of course) how much the service costs and whether they provide access to everything on the net. If you do not want to use everything then use an online service provider like AOL.

Places to search for internet providers
Yahoo's list of access providers in Phoenix http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Business_to_Business/Communications_and_Networking/Internet_and_World_Wide_Web/Network_Service_Providers/Internet_Service_Providers__ISPs_/By_Region/U_S__States/Arizona/Complete_List/
The List

Also, look in the Yellow Pages. Read "Making the Connection" from Internet Basics from PC Novice and "Connect: First Step" from FamilyPC Magazine.

Information you will need to get from your ISP.
news, pop, and smtp server addresses
local access #
IP address
DNS address
ID and Password (don't give this out to anyone. Make sure you have an alternate in case your desired ID is taken).

After you get this information you can run the set-up program for your dial-up connection and answer questions. Then you are on your way to the Internet!

Log-on: to connect to the Internet.

Log-off: to disconnect from the Internet.

Now you are ready to "Surf (explore) the 'net". This phrase was coined by Jean Armour Polly in 1992.

Sprint Broadband, Qwest, and AT&T offer dsl connections to the Internet.

You can also access the internet in other ways.

First of all you can use a cable modem instead of a phone modem on your computer. Cox@home offers this service.  They are a lot faster than regular phone modems.

You don't even need a computer.  Webtv offers service over cable lines to your tv.

Net appliances are a flat monitor and a keyboard that accesses the internet.  These are great for people who want to access the internet but don't want a full computer. You pay for the appliance and a regular fee for the internet service.

Sega's Dreamcast and eventually Sony's Playstation have cable modems in them so that they  can access the internet on the TV.

People can chat, send receive e-mail , pictures and movies, and have internet access through their handheld computers like palmpilots, through pagers, and through cellular phones via bluetooth and wireless fidelity (Wi fi).  Access is provided by the cellular or pager company.  Also people can use Wireless Fidelity with laptops at places with hotspots. More on that plus help finding hotspots here.

For more information on this read The new Net: As you like it, Look Ma No Wires and Skip the PC and Go Online Via Web Terminals.

There are also ways to network computers at home so they can share the internet. More on that here.

 

 

Rules of the Road

Just like anything else there are rules of conduct or etiquette on the Internet. These rules are called Netiquette. Visit Virginia Shea's excellent web site on netiquette http://www.albion.com./netiquette/.

Read "Mind Your Manners Online" from Internet Basics from PC Novice and "Your First Time Online" Computing Basics from PC Novice for more Rules of the Road.

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