by john york
1/4/97
It would be helpful to provide a brief
historical summary of the Internet before jumping into the different means of
accessing "The Net".
The Internet was developed primarily by Vinton
Cerf, an American computer scientist, in 1973 as a part of a United States
Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency project managed by
American Engineer, Robert Kahn. In 1984,
the project was turned over to the private sector and to government research
and scientific agencies for further development. In 1993, the Internet was turned over to the
public and by early 1995 access was available in over 180 countries and there
were over 30 million users. It is
expected that 100 million computers will be connected to the public Internet by
the year 2000.
The
public Internet can be accessed in several different ways: through a LAN, by a host, terminal access or
gateway access. A LAN is a Local Access
Network where there are a group of computers and other devices that are spread
over a relatively limited area and connected by a communications link. This also allows you to communicate with any
other computer on the network. If you access
by a host, it is usually done through a LAN or with telephone lines and modems
combined with Internet software on a personal computer. Terminal access is usually done by a
telephone line and a modem and it is used with terminal-emulation software on a
personal computer. This also allows you
to interact with another computer that is an Internet host (explained
later). Gateway access is similar to
terminal access, but it is provided through on-line or similar services or
other networks such as Bitnet, Fidonets, or UUCP nets that allow users to
minimally exchange e-mail with the Internet.
The Internet is made by using different kinds
of electronic transport media including optical fiber, telephone lines,
satellite systems, and LAN's. Most
computers that are connected to the Internet are called hosts. The function of hosts is to interface users
(PC's) to other hosts in the Internet.
Other devices that are called routers which route data, usually in data
"packets" to other computers. Networks
and computers that are part of the global Internet have unique registered addresses
and get access from Internet service providers.
There are many different services that the
Internet provides.
The World Wide
Web (WWW) allows you to create and use point-and-click hypermedia
presentations. Documents are joined
across the Internet to form a wide variety of information that can be browsed
easily through the WWW.
E-Mail is a
service that allows a message to be sent from one computer to another.
Gopher allows you
to create and use computer file directories which are joined through the
Internet for other users to browse.
File Transfer
Protocol allows you to transfer computer
files between host computers. This is
still the primary use of the Internet.
UseNet enables
users to distribute news messages among thousands of structured newsgroups.
Most of the existing telecommunications
providers and an explosion of new companies have begun offering Internet access
service. A sample of these companies
include:
America Online
AT&T
Bell Atlantic
Cable and Wireless
Digex
Erol's
MCI
Communications
Pacific Telesis
Group
Sprint
U.S. West
UUNET
A good example of the effects that the Internet
is having on technological development in the business world can be shown with
MFS Communications and UUNET Technologies.
These companies are about to merge, planning a new way to access the
Internet that would solve telephone network congestion. Users can now be connected through MFS's
local networks (the users) directly to UUNET's Internet network. This provides a direct, dedicated line to the
Internet. Also, it bypasses the
conventional telephone company network switch, allowing users to access the
Internet at 128 Kbps which is four times faster than today's 28.8 Kbps modem. This connection eliminates congestion among
local phone lines. This new DSL (Digital
Subscriber Line) service is expected to be available in early 1997 in selected
markets, followed by a nationwide rollout.
The WWW is providing the introduction of news
business tools and uses that may lead to billions of dollars worth of business
transactions through the Internet in the future.
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