Computer Bytes - No. 53 Ever wonder how the Internet got started and where it's headed? The original network of computers was created in 1969 and controlled by the United States Department of Defense (DOD). The DOD project was called 'Advanced Research Projects Agency Network'. The Internet has come a long way from its scientific, non-business beginning to evolve into a world of commerce, social places; even politicians have made use of its broad application. As we know it today, the Internet connects literally millions of computers around the world in a blending of home and business, media and communications. The Internet has become not only a means of business development but also a social tool with a myriad of applications. The technology to make this happen can be described succinctly as TCP / IP - acronyms for Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol. The TCP part of this duo breaks down packets of information and reassembles them on the other end; while the responsibility of the IP part is to make sure the information packets are sent to the right place. The type of data you are sending will decide which level of the Internet network will be used. For example, email arrives at the mail server via a modem then passes through a router to its end destination. Messages may pass through several different networks before reaching the correct recipient. Basically, TCP / IP are protocols that allow cooperating computers to share information across the network by setting the rules used to send information. A protocol you may have heard about is File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Having an FTP program on your computer allows you to obtain or send files from another computer, as well as, upload or download files from the Internet if you have the website's IP address. Everyday use of the Internet is accomplished through using Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (http) and World Wide Web (www), i.e. http://www. Look familiar? The 'www' part of a .com site refers to its location - in this case the World Wide Web. Documents created in hypertext means that a document can be located on the same computer or on a computer anywhere in the world. In order for the 'http' to work so that you can see a page on your computer, TCP / IP protocol is used to maintain a set of standards for transmitting data. You then use a browser to view the pages. Some browsers are Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Mozilla and Firefox. Not to be confused with Search Engines whose purpose is to help you locate topics on the Internet. Some Search Engines are Google, Yahoo, Alta Vista, MSN and Ask. Over the past few years we have seen the Internet evolve from the Web1 read-only web pages with no input allowed from the viewer to Web 2 where the visitor can interact and share information on pages through the use of blogs, wikis, and various social networking sites. In the works is Web 3. This will be another advance in the use of the Internet through better connection speeds, advances in graphics and artificial intelligence such as language processing. . . even capabilities for machine learning and reasoning. Imagine, if all of this is possible when Web 3 is completed, we will be able to see 3 dimensional graphics and computers will have quasi-human intelligence. Moncrief Web2 Home Page Moncrief Web Design Computer Bytes Index Web Design | Search Engine Optimization | Site Maintenance & Management | Request Information | About Us ~ Sample Sites Send Us an Email | Home Page Copyright 2007-2008. All rights reserved. Computer Bytes articles may not be reprinted, published, quoted, copied, or used in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of David Moncrief.