The Growth of the Internet

The Internet, sometimes also called simply “the Net”, is a global system of interconnected computer networks – a vast network of networks where users in any one location can, if they so choose, access information from anywhere else in the world. The Internet is basically a worldwide connection of networked computers. The Internet is considered to be one of the largest and most vital international communication medium, used by individuals and organizations throughout the world for various purposes, ranging from e-mailing, file sharing, newsgroup browsing and telecommunications. In addition, the Internet provides an excellent platform for social networking, which started out as a way for university students to communicate with one another and is now increasingly used by high school and college students, individuals in the workforce and companies looking for cost effective ways to interact with their customers and clients. There are several different ways that the Internet can be used.

One of the most common ways to get connected to the Internet is through a web browser, a special piece of software designed to connect to the Internet using a domain name. Web browsers can either be downloaded to a user’s computer or they can be configured to use a shared server (which will be costly) or a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) that is a private telephone network that connects millions of phone lines. In order to access the internet, users download their web browsers onto their personal computers which automatically becomes part of a large network of computers. This “home” computer network is called the Internet itself. Millions of Internet users access the Internet every day and it is estimated that by the end of 2021, the number of Internet users will reach a billion people around the world.

The Internet uses a packet-switching technology called IP (Internet Protocol), which allows multiple sets of data to be transmitted over a single transmission line. Basically, this means that whenever someone requests a page on the Internet, the request is distributed across the entire Internet in a stream of packets, much like a phone call. These packets are routed from one internet connection to another until they reach their destination. Each time a packet is received, the sender of the packet is charged a fee for it. When these packets of information reach their destination, they are decoded and converted back into their original state. This process is continually happening as long as the Internet is running.

At the heart of this technology is a small device called a router. Routers are extremely useful in that they help establish a path between two networks, or within a network itself. Many routers exist for residential and commercial use, and there are several different types of routers currently in use. Each type of router has its own purpose, but essentially they all operate in basically the same way. There is actually a lot of controversy concerning how the Internet was originally established, but it is largely agreed that it did not happen overnight. Part of the original plan was to use compression, and this is how we have access to the Internet without any significant reduction in bandwidth.

The original protocol for the Internet was the ARPANET, which stood for Advanced Real Time Information Protocol. This was an incredibly complicated system that used bits instead of entire words to transmit information. Once it was completed, the protocol was adapted to give birth to the very popular Internet that we have today. Even though there have been several modifications to the protocol, it has remained one of the most reliable systems in existence.

There are many different ways that the Internet works, and the Internet itself continues to grow and expand even with the growth of computers and their uses. One of the newest additions to the world of the Internet is social media. With more people are logging onto the Internet on a regular basis, the Internet is starting to look a lot like a real place. Websites like Facebook and MySpace have made the concept of online socialization incredibly popular, and they are not about to stop. As the Internet of everything gets more complete, the Internet is going to become as familiar to us as the television screen becomes to our children