Networks and the Internet

A network is a collection of computers and devices connected together, often wirelessly, via communications devices and transmission media. When a computer connects to a network, it is online.

 Networks allow computers to share resources, such as hardware, software, data, and information. Sharing resources saves time and money. In many networks, one or more computers act as a server. The server controls access to the resources on a network. The other computers on the network, each called a client or workstation, request resources from the server. The major differences between the server and client computers are that the server ordinarily has more power, more storage space, and expanded communications capabilities.

 Many homes and most businesses and schools network their computers and devices. Most allow users to connect their computer wirelessly to the network. Home networks usually are small, existing within a single structure. Business and school networks can be small, such as in a room or building, or widespread, connecting computers and devices across a city, country, or the globe. The world's largest computer network is the Internet.

The Internet

 The Internet is a worldwide collection of networks that connects millions of businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, and individuals.

 More than one billion people around the world use the Internet daily for a variety of reasons, some of which are listed below:

• Communicate with and meet other people
• Conduct research and access a wealth of information and news
• Shop for goods and services
• Bank and invest
• Participate in online training
• Engage in entertaining activities, such as planning vacations, playing online game, listening to music, watching or editing videos, and reading books and magazines
• Download music and videos
• Share information, photos, and videos
• Access and interact with Web applications

 People connect to the Internet to share information with others around the world. E-mail allows you to send and receive messages to and from other users. With instant messaging, you can have a live conversation with another connected user. In a chat  room, you can communicate with multiple users at the same time – much like a group discussion. You also can use the Internet to make a telephone call.

 Businesses, called access providers, offer users and organizations access to the Internet free or for a fee. By subscribing to an access provider, you can use your computer and a communications device, such as a modem,to connect to the many services of the Internet.

 The Web, short for World Wide Web, is one of the more popular services on the Internet. Think of the Web as a global library of information available to anyone connected to the Internet. The Web contains billions of documents called Web pages. A Web page can contain text, graphics, animation, audio, and video. Web pages often have built-in connections, or links, to other documents, graphics, other Web pages, or Web sites. A Web site is a collection of related Web pages. Some Web sites allow users to access music and videos that can be downloaded, you can listen to the music through speakers, headphones, or earbuds, or view the videos on a display device.

 Many people use the Web as a means to share personal information, photos, and videos with the world. For example, you can create a Web page and then make it available, or publish it, on the Internet for others to see.

 You also can join millions of people worldwide in an online community, called a social networking Web site or an online social network, that encourages members to share their interests, ideas, stories, photos, musics,and videos with other registered users. Some social networking Web sites are college oriented, some business oriented, and others are more focused. A photo sharing community,  for example, is a specific type of social networking Web site that allows users to create an online photo album and store and share their digital photos. Similarly, a video sharing community is a type of social networking Web site that allows users to store and share their personal videos.

 Hundreds of thousands of people today also use blogs to publish their thoughts on the Web. A blog is an informal Web site consisting of time-stamped articles in a diary or journal format, usually listed in reverse chronological order. As others read the articles in a blog, they reply with their own thoughts. A blog that contains video clips is called a video blog. A microblog, such as Twitter, allows users to publish short messages, usually between 100 and 200 characters, for others to read.

 Podcast are a popular way people verbally share information on the Web. A podcast is recorded audio stored on a Web site that can be downloaded to a computer or a portable media player such as an iPod. A video podcast is a podcast that contains video and usually audio. At a convenient time and location, the user listens to or watches the downloaded podcast.

 A Web application is a Web site that allows users to access and interact with software from any computer or device that is connected to the Internet. Examples of software available as Web applications include those that allow you to send and receive e-mail messages, prepare your taxes, organize digital photos, create documents, and play games.

 Web sites such as social networking Web sites, blogs, and Web applications are categorized as Web 2.0 site. The term Web 2.0 refers to Web sites that provide a means for users to share personal information (such as social networking Web sites), allow users to modify the Web site contents (such as some blogs), and/or have software built into the site for users to access ( such as Web applications).