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History
The Internet began as a military network called ARPANet. It was designed
as a communication system that could withstand nuclear attacks or other
major calamities. The government agencies that created ARPANet wanted a
widespread network that allows any functional computers to fully communicate
even if other computers connected to the same network had stopped working
or lost their connection.
The Internet today still maintains this absolutely indispensable characteristic
of being able to maintain communications between widespread computers,
even if any of the computers are not functioning. However, it is no longer
on a national scale. The Internet now maintains perpetual functionality
on a global scale.
The Internet is no longer the exclusive realm of technical geeks and
students. Even as you read this, the life of the average person is being
affected in many positive ways by the "Information Superhighway." Additionally,
E-commerce is now having a significant and positive impact on the world
economy, signifying that it is indeed here to stay. News and other information
can now circulate the globe in seconds. The Internet as we know it today
can be a priceless source of information for the average citizen.
Internet Basics
The Internet places an amazing and diverse offering of resources at
the fingertips of the online community.
Whenever you make use of resources on the Internet, your Internet software
communicates with remote servers all over the world, each of which has
its own unique address.
Internet Resources
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Web Pages:
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Web pages are somewhat similar to magazine pages in that they have pictures
and text. Web pages differ from magazine pages in that the content of the
pages can be "active" with interactivity, motion, and sound.
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Electronic Mail:
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E-mail is short for electronic mail. Electronic mail is extremely useful
because documents, photos, and more can be sent around the globe in a matter
of seconds. This is much more convenient than the traditional postal system
(snail mail) which can take days if not weeks.
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Internet Chat:
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There are many simple-to-use programs available on the Internet that allow
people to talk to each other by typing into a dialog or message window.
In order to chat with someone you must both be using the same program and
be online at the same time. Unlike e-mail, chat is in real time. This means
that messages are received immediately by each person instead of being
stored in a virtual mailbox. Chat is great for anyone who wants to talk
in real time, over long distances.
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Newsgroups:
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Newsgroups are virtual, electronic bulletin boards that have a wide range
of discussion topics. In order to use newsgroups, you need a special program
that is somewhat similar to an e-mail program. These programs are usually
included with most popular e-mail programs. To participate in ongoing Newsgroup
discussions, a news group program is used to type and post messages similar
to e-mail messages. Any one Internet user in the world can see your messages
on these bulletin boards and post responses to your messages.
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Safety
The Internet can be extremely useful and beneficial; unfortunately,
the Internet also has a dark side. If not careful, people can easily stumble
onto the dark side of the Internet and maybe even find themselves in danger.
Common sense must be used on the Internet, just as it is in other situations.
In an everyday face-to-face situation, you would not give personal information
to any business or establishment that appears strange, shadowy, or lacking
legitimacy. That same rule applies on the Internet.
On the Internet, there are no laws against selling or promoting offensive
material that anyone, including children, can easily stumble onto. Therefore,
it is extremely wise to supervise children when they are using the Internet.
At times, you may want to download files from the Internet. It is possible
to get computer viruses from files downloaded from the Internet. So, before
downloading, you need to have virus software installed on your computer.
Most major computer retailers sell virus software.
Since new computer viruses are always being discovered and most proliferate
through the Internet, be sure to keep your virus software updated per the
manufacturer's instructions.
Back to Online Support.
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