The Web is only one of the many services on the Internet. The Web and other Internet services have changed the way we communicate. We use computers and mobile devices to send e-mail messages to the president, have a discussion with experts about the stock market, chat with someone in another country about genealogy, and talk about homework assignments with classmates via instant messages. Many times, these communications take place completely in writing – without the parties ever meeting each other.
We shall discuss these Internet services: e-mail, mailing lists, instant messaging, chat rooms, VoIP (Voice over IP), newsgroups and message boards, and FTP (File Transfer Protocol).
E-mail
E-mail (short for electronic mail) is the transmission of messages and files via a computer network. E-mail was one of the original services on the Internet, enabling scientists and researchers working on government-sponred projects to communicate with colleagues at other locations. Today, e-mail is a primary communications method for both personal and business use.
You use an e-mail program to create, send, receive, forward, store, print, and delete e-mail messages. Outlook and Windows Live Mail are two popular desktop e-mail programs; Gmail and Windows Live Hotmail are two popular free e-mail Web applications.
The message can be simple text or can include an attachment such as a word processing document, a graphic, an audio clip, or a video clip.
Just as you address a letter when using the postal system, you address an e-mail message with the e-mail address of your intended recipient. Likewise, when someone sends you a message, he or she must have your e-mail address. An e-mail address is a combination of a user name and a domain name that identifies a user name and a domain name that identifies a user so that he or she can receive Internet e-mail.
A user name is a unique combination of characters, such as letters of alphabet and/or numbers, that identifies a specific user. You user name must be different from the other user names in the same domain.
Sometimes, organizations decide user names for new users. In many cases, however, users select their own user names, often selecting a nickname or any other combination of characters for their user name. Many users select a combination of their first and last names so that others can remember it easily.
In a Internet e-mail address, an @ (pronounced at) symbol separates the user name from the domain name. Your service provider supplies the domain name. Most e-mail programs allow you to create an address book, or contacts folder, which contains a list of names and e-mail addresses. When you send an e-mail message, an outgoing mail server that is operated by your Internet access provider determines how to route the message through the Internet and then sends the message. STMP (simple mail transfer protocol) is a communications protocol used by some outgoing mail servers.
As you receive e-mail messages, an incoming mail server – also operated by your Internet access provider – holds the messages in your mailbox until you use your e-mail programs have a mail notification alert that informs you via a message and/or sound when you receive new mail.
Mailing Lists
A mailing list, also an e-mail list or distribution list, is a group of e-mail names and addresses given a single name. When a message is sent to a mailing list, every person on the list receives a copy of the message in his or her mailbox. For example, your credit card company may add you to its mailing list in order to send you special offers. To add your e-mail name and address to a mailing list, you subscribe to it. To remove your name, you unsubscribe from the mailing list.
Thousand of mailing lists exist about a variety of topics in areas of entertainment, business, computers, society, culture, health, recreation, and education. Many vendors use mailing lists to communicate with their customer base.
Instant messaging
Instant messaging (IM) is a real-time Internet communications service that notifies you when one or more people are online and then allows you to exchange messages or files or join a private chat room with them. Real time means that you and the people with whom you are conversing are online at the same time. Some IM services support voice and video conversations. Many IM services also can alert you to information such as calendar appointments, stock quotes, weather, or sports scores. They also allow you to send photos or other documents to a recipient, listen to streaming music, and play games with another online party. For IM to work, both parties must be online at the same time. Also, the receiver of a message must be willing to accept messages.
To use IM, you may have to install instant messenger software on the computer or mobile device, such as a smart phone, you plan to use. Some operating systems, such as Windows, include an instant messenger. Popular IM software includes AIM (AOL Instant Messenger, Google Talk, MySpace IM, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger.
Few IM programs follow IM standards. To ensure successful communications, all individuals on the contact list need to use the same or a compatible instant messenger.
Chat Rooms
A chat is a real-time typed conversation that takes place on a computer. A chat room is a locatrion on an Internet server that permits user to chat with each other. Anyone in the chat room can participate in the conversation, which usually is specific to a particular topic.
As you type on your keyboard, a line of characters and symbols is displayed on the computer screen. Others connected to the same chat room server see what you have typed. Some chat rooms support voice chats and video chats, in which people hear or see each other as they chat.
To start a chat session, you connect to a chat server through a program called a chat client. Today's browsers usually include a chat client. If yours does not, you can download a chat client from the Web. Some Web sites allow users to conduct chats without a chat client.
Once you have installed a chat client, you can create or join a conversation on the chat server to which you are connected. The chat room should indicate the discussion topic. The person who creates a chat room acts as the operator and has responsibility for monitoring the conversation and disconnecting anyone who becomes disruptive. Operator status can be shared or transferred to someone else.
VoIP
VoIP, (Voice over IP, or Internet Protocol) also called Internet telephony, enables users to speak to other users over the Internet. That is, VoIP uses the Internet (instead of the public switched telephone network) to connect a calling party to one or more local or long-distance called parties.
To place an Internet telephone call, you need a high-speed Internet connection (such as a DSL or cable modem); Internet telephone service; a microphone or telephone, depending on the Internet telephone service; and Internet telephone software or VoIP router, or a telephone adapter, depending on the Internet telephone service. VoIP services also are available on some mobile devices that have wireless Internet service. Calls to other parties with the same Internet telephone service often are free.
As you speak in a microphone connected to your computer or a telephone connected to the VoIP router or telephone adapter, the Internet telephone software and the computer's sound card or the VoIP router or telephone adapter convert your spoken words (analog signals) to digital signals and then transmit the digitized audio over the Internet to the called parties. Software and equipment at the receiving parties can hear what you have said.
Newsgroups and Message Boards
A newsgroup is an online area in which users have written discussions about a particular subject. To participate in a discussion, a user posts a message, called an article, to the newsgroup, and other users in the newsgroup read and reply to the message. A thread or threaded discussion consists of the original article and all subsequent related replies.
A computer that stores and distributes newsgroup messages is called a news server. Some newsgroups require you to enter a user name and password to participate in the discussion. For example, a newsgroup for students taking a college course may require a user name and password to access the newsgroup. This ensures that only students in the course participate in the discussion.
To participate in a newsgroup, typically you use a program called a newsreader. Windows Live Mail includes a newsreader. Some Web sites, such as Google Groups, that sponsor newsgroups have a built-in newsreader.
A popular Web-based type of discussion group that does not require a newsreader is a message board. Many Web sites use message boards instead of newsgroups because they are easier to use.
FTP
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is an Internet standard that permits file uploading and downloading with other computers on the Internet. Uploading is the opposite of downloading; that is, uploading is the process of transferring documents, graphics, and other objects from your computer to a server on the Internet. Web page authors, for example, often use FTP to upload their Web pages to a Web server.
Many operating systems include FTP capabilities. If yours does not, you can download FTP programs from the Web, usually for a small fee.
An FTP server is a computer that allows users to upload and/or download files using FTP. An FTP site is a collection of files including text, graphics, audio clips, video clips, and program files that reside on an FTP server. Many FTP sites have anonymous FTP, whereby anyone can transfer some, if not all, available files. Some FTP sites restrict file transfers to those who have authorized accounts (user names and passwords) on the FTP server.
Large files on FTP sites often are compressed to reduce storage space and download time. Before you can use a compressed (zipped) file, you must uncompress (unzip) it.
