Topic: The Internet: Level 1

English for the Internet ( World Wide Web )

In the early 1990's, the world of computers was starting to become a little boring. Something was definitely missing. Computers were already common appliances in school dormitories, businesses, and homes. They were commonly used for writing papers, playing games, enterprise business uses such as accounting, and productivity applications. But very few people used them for communication, shopping, and research the way we do now. A man named Tim Berners-Lee (now knighted Sir Tim Berners-Lee) changed all that. In 1990 Lee added an exciting hypertext and multimedia layer to the Internet and called it the World Wide Web. The rest, as they say, is history.

Believe it or now, the Web was not the first attempt at building a worldwide online community. Compuserve was a rather large online community with strong roots back to the early 1980's. There were thousands of smaller, privately run Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) as well, which served the general interest of geeks and researchers from around the world. But the World Wide Web was different. Perhaps most importantly, it was not just intended for geeks- it was intended for everyone.

Another idea behind the World Wide Web is that no single company, government, or organization was behind it. It was a global network for everyone. New ideas and corresponding buzzwords appeared almost daily. Obscure technical terms became household words overnight. First it was URL and domain name, then email, next homepage, e-commerce, ISP, search engine, and so on. In 1994, Sir Tim Berner's Lee started the W3C, a worldwide organization dedicated to setting standards for the Web. This group is probably the most respected authority for what should and should not be Web standards.

People use the terms 'Internet' and 'World Wide Web' almost interchangeably. But they are not the same thing. So what is the difference between the two? Perhaps a simple answer is that the Internet is the biggest network in the world, and the World Wide Web is a collection of software and protocols that run on that network. Maybe this is not the best or most accurate statement, but it helps to think of the Internet as the hardware, and the World Wide Web as the software.

The backbone of the Internet is based on an old military network called ARPANET which was built by the USA and her allies back in the late 1960's. ARPANET was built to withstand a nuclear war and was used primarily for researchers to share data. In the late 1980's, some researchers began to think the Internet should be used for commerce and communication among people everywhere. This was a controversial idea at first but it was gradually accepted in time.

People view the World Wide Web through a software application called a web browser or simply a browser for short. Some popular examples of web browsers include Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari. Browsers allow people to search, view, and even add and edit data in the World Wide Web.

Creating new pages for the web is not much harder than actually surfing it. Web editing software is specially designed to work with hypertext languages such as HTML, which is the original specification for the World Wide Web. Web editing software normally allows for the WYSIWYG creation of text, images, hyperlinks between related documents, and the ability to download and upload files to a web server. With web applications such as wikis, MySpace and FaceBook, a typical user can create his or her first online presence and get it on the web in a matter of hours.

People really hate to wait. One of the main reasons for the continued success of the Internet is the rapid increase in speed of the dial-up modem and then eventual spread of the broadband modem. From 1960 to 1990, retail modem speeds were typically only about 300 baud. From 1990 to 1996 this speed jumped by 96 times to 28,800 baud. By 1998 the typical modem speed doubled to 56,600 baud. After the year 2000 broadband speeds because available in most regions at modest prices. Now one can get reliable, 'always-on' DSL or cable modem broadband with speeds starting at many times higher than the fastest dial-up modem.

The combination of more bandwidth and better compression techniques and codecs has made video streaming and software downloading much quicker and more reliable. Sites such as Bittorrent and Youtube have leveraged this increase in bandwidth and given everyone a reason to upgrade to faster and faster broadband connections.

The World Wide Web is having quite an effect on the traditional software application business. Companies who are not quick to adapt might find themselves out of business. One day, everything you do on a computer may occur on some kind of "super-browser" which would eliminate the need for local storage and separate installable applications. This software model is called the Application Service Provider ( ASP ) model. The best current examples of this today would be Google Documents. Google Documents is a free service which provides most of the functionality of traditional office suite without the need for installation, backups, or costly fees.

In the future, the Internet is likely to replace all other forms of media distribution including CD's, DVD's, and even radio and television broadcasts. I personally feel lucky to be alive in the age of the Web. It is one of the coolest things ever invented. It is unlikely that such another wonderful and major revolutionary invention will occur in our lifetimes. But still I can dream about the Next Big Thing.

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