Internet: A Popular Mode of Communication

Introduction
The Internet, sometimes called simply "the Net," is a worldwide system of computer
networks - a network of networks in which users at any one computer can, if they have
permission, get information from any other computer (and sometimes talk directly to
users at other computers). It was conceived by the Advanced Research Projects Agency
(ARPA) of the U.S. government in 1969 and was first known as the ARPANET. The
original aim was to create a network that would allow users of a research computer at one
university to be able to "talk to" research computers at other universities Today, the
Internet is a public, cooperative, and self-sustaining facility accessible to hundreds of
millions of people worldwide. Physically, the Internet uses a portion of the total resources
of the currently existing public telecommunication networks. Technically, what
distinguishes the Internet is its use of a set of protocols called TCP/IP (for Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). Two recent adaptations of Internet technology, the
intranet and the extranet, also make use of the TCP/IP protocol For many Internet users,
electronic mail (e-mail) has practically replaced the Postal Service for short written
transactions. Electronic mail is the most widely used application on the Net. The most
widely used part of the Internet is the World Wide Web (often abbreviated "WWW" or
called "the Web"). Its outstanding feature is hypertext, a method of instant cross-
referencing. In most Web sites, certain words or phrases appear in text of a different color
than the rest; often this text is also underlined using the Web, its users have access to
millions of pages of information. Web browsing is done with a Web browser, the most
popular of which are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. The
appearance of a particular Web site may vary slightly depending on the browser use.
Also, later versions of a particular browser are able to render more "bells and whistles"
such as animation, virtual reality, sound, and music files, than earlier versions. In this
report I discuss about the internet, its using method, history, advantages, disadvantages
and its use in perspective of Bangladesh.

1.2Objectives of the study

The main objectives of this study is to know about the internet, its using method, its
history, its advantages and disadvantages and its use in perspective of Bangladesh.

1.3Methodology of the study:

For preparing the report the following methodology is adopted. This report is an
analytical one in nature. All of the data has been collected from the secondary sources.
Sources of information:
• Different books and newspaper article written on internet.
• Internet

Segregation of data:
Collected data were segregated from the source material for the purpose of preparing
report.

Processing of data:
Collected data were compiled and processed for the purpose of preparing the report.

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Internet: A Popular Mode of Communication

AN OVERVIEW ON GLOBAL INTERNET

2.1 Internet:
The Internet is a vast network that connects many independent networks spanning over
170 countries in the World. It links computers of many different types, sizes, and
operating systems, and, of course, the many people of those countries that use the Internet
to communicate. The one thing all these different computers have in common is the use
of the Internet Protocol, abbreviated as IP, which allows computers of different types to
communicate with each other. You will often see reference to the longer abbreviation,
TCP/IP, which stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. Your own
computer uses TCP/IP software to enable it to link to this service.

2.2 Internet structure

There have been many analyses of the Internet and its structure. For example, it has been
determined that the Internet IP routing structure and hypertext links of the World Wide
Web are examples of scale-free networks.

Similar to the way the commercial Internet providers connect

via Internet exchange points, research networks tend to interconnect into large sub
networks such as:
GEANT
GLORIAD
The Internet2 Network (formally known as the Abilene Network)
JANET (the UK's national research and education network)
These in turn are built around relatively smaller networks. In network diagrams, the
Internet is often represented by a cloud symbol, into and out of which network
communications can pass.

2.3 History of internet

The history of the Internet is interesting, if for nothing else than it's fascinating to see
how far we've come in so short a time. Here given the short history of internet by year.
1957: The United States Department of Defense formed a small agency called ARPA
(Advanced Research Projects Agency) to develop military science and technology.

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Internet: A Popular Mode of Communication

1961-1965: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) started to research sharing

information in small, phone-linked networks. ARPA is one of their main sponsors.
1966: The first ARPANET plan is unveiled by Larry Roberts of MIT. Packet switching
technology is getting off the ground, and small university networks are beginning to be
developed.
1969: The Department of Defense commissions the fledgling ARPAnet for network
research. The first official network nodes were UCLA, Stand ford Research Institute,
UCSB, and the University of Utah. The first node to node message was sent from UCLA
to SRI.
1971: more nodes join the network, bringing the total to 15. These new nodes include
Harvard and NASA.
1973: ARPAnet goes global when the University College of London and Norway's Royal
Radar Establishment join up.
1974: Network intercommunication is becoming more sophisticated; data is now
transmitted more quickly and efficiently with the design of TCP (Transmission Control
Program).
1976: UNIX is developed at AT and T; Queen Elizabeth sends out her first email
message.
1979: USENET, the mother of all networked discussion groups, is developed.
1982: Internet technology protocols are developed, commonly known as TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol). This leads to one of the first
definitions of an "internet" being a connected set of networks.
1984: Number of hosts is now up to 1000, with more being added every day.
1985: The first registered domain is Symbolics.com.
1987: Number of hosts breaks the 10,000 mark.
1988: First large-scale Internet worm affects thousands of Internet hosts.
1991: Tim Berners-Lee develops the World Wide Web.
1993: The World Wide Web's annual growth is now at a staggering 341,634%.
1994: ARPAnet celebrates 25th anniversary.
1995-1997: RealAudio introduces Internet streaming technology, dial-up systems emerge
(America Online, CompuServe), the Internet backbone continues to be strengthened with
the addition of MCI, Microsoft and Netscape fight for WWW browser supremacy, and
there are now more than 70,000 mailing lists.
1998-present: The Internet continues to experience staggering growth. More people use
the Internet to get connected to others, find information, conduct business, and share
information than ever before in history.

2.4 Who owns the internet?

No organization, corporation or government owns or runs the Internet. Instead, many
people and organizations voluntarily participate in task force groups who meet to develop
standards for the many various technical needs of running the Internet. Decisions are
made by consensus among all who choose to participate, and every point of view is heard
in the long process of hashing out decisions and setting new standards. The equipment--
the computers, the cables, the routers, and so on are owned by government and private
organizations and are paid for by taxes and user fees. In the early history of the Internet,
the US government paid for many of the development and operating costs through

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 Internet: A Popular Mode of Communication

government grants. In recent years, the US government has stepped aside except for the
portions that link government organizations and let private enterprise develop the nets.

2.5User of internet:
By continent, 36% of the world's Internet users are based in Asia, 29% in Europe, and
21% in North America. Here given the worlds internet usage and population statistic:

WORLD INTERNET USAGE AND POPULATION STATISTICS

Users Users
Population Internet Users Internet Users Penetration
World Regions Growth % of
(2008 Est.)Dec. 31, 2000 Latest Data (% Population)
2000-2008 Table
Africa 975,330,899 4,514,400 54,171,500 5.6 % 1,100.0 % 3.4 %
Asia 3,780,819,792 114,304,000 657,170,816 17.4 % 474.9 % 41.2 %
Europe 803,903,540 105,096,093 393,373,398 48.9 % 274.3 % 24.6 %
Middle East 196,767,614 3,284,800 45,861,346 23.3 % 1,296.2 % 2.9 %
North America 337,572,949 108,096,800 251,290,489 74.4 % 132.5 % 15.7 %
Latin America/Caribbean 581,249,892 18,068,919 173,619,140 29.9 % 860.9 % 10.9 %
Oceania / Australia 34,384,384 7,620,480 20,783,419 60.4 % 172.7 % 1.3 %
WORLD TOTAL 6,710,029,070 360,985,492 1,596,270,108 23.8 % 342.2 % 100.0 %

World internet user by worlds region

1.30%
2.90%

Asia
10.90% Europe
41.20% North America
Latin America
15.70% Africa
Middle East
24.60%
Oceania

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Internet: A Popular Mode of Communication

2.6 Uses of internet:

The Internet Protocol makes it possible for user to communicate in various ways, find
things that interest them, and exchange information and files. The most common things
one can do are:
• Get information on almost any subject by searching the web. It takes some skill to
search efficiently, and since anyone can publish just about anything, there is lots of
misinformation on the web, too. You need to develop some skill in evaluating the
accuracy and reliability of the information you find.
• Send and receive email or chat or exchange messages with people all over the world.
Almost as fast as the telephone, there is never a busy signal, and you never play
phone tag.
• Join discussion groups about a common subject with message boards, Newsgroups
and email discussion lists.
• Get or exchange software and files with the File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
• Explore the World Wide Web, which can use all of the above, and adds easy links to
other resources and adds multimedia--graphics, sound, and video capabilities.
• Publish own material on the web in blogs, message boards, or r own web pages.

2.7Advantages and disadvantages of internet:

As with every single innovation, internet has its own advantages and disadvantages. But
usually, greater magnitude of advantages outweighs its disadvantages.

Advantages

Communication:
The foremost target of internet has always been the communication. And internet has
excelled beyond the expectations .Still; innovations are going on to make it faster, more
reliable. By the advent of computer’s Internet, our earth has reduced and has attained the
form of a global village.
Now we can communicate in a fraction of second with a person who is sitting in the other
part of the world. Today for better communication, we can avail the facilities of e-mail;
we can chat for hours with our loved ones. There are plenty messenger services in
offering. With help of such services, it has become very easy to establish a kind of global
friendship where you can share your thoughts, can explore other cultures of different
ethnicity.
Email:.
Email is now an essential communication tools in business. It is also excellent for
keeping in touch with family and friends. The advantages to email is that it is free ( no
charge per use) when compared to telephone, fax and postal services.

Information:
There is a huge amount of information available on the internet for just about every

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Internet: A Popular Mode of Communication

subject known to man, ranging from government law and services, trade fairs and
conferences, market information, new ideas and technical support

Entertainment:
Entertainment is another popular raison d'être why many people prefer to surf the
Internet. In fact, media of internet has become quite successful in trapping multifaceted
entertainment factor. Downloading games, visiting chat rooms or just surfing the Web are
some of the uses people have discovered. There are numerous games that may be
downloaded from the Internet for free. The industry of online gaming has tasted dramatic
and phenomenal attention by game lovers. Chat rooms are popular because users can
meet new and interesting people. In fact, the Internet has been successfully used by
people to find life long partners. When people surf the Web, there are numerous things
that can be found. Music, hobbies, news and more can be found and shared on the
Internet.

Services:
Many services are now provided on the internet such as online banking, job seeking,
purchasing tickets for your favorite movies, guidance services on array of topics
engulfing the every aspect of life, and hotel reservations. Often these services are not
available off-line and can cost you more.

E-Commerce:
Ecommerce is the concept used for any type of commercial maneuvering, or business
deals that involves the transfer of information across the globe via Internet. It has become
a phenomenon associated with any kind of shopping, almost anything. You name it and
Ecommerce with its giant tentacles engulfing every single product and service will make
you available at your door steps. It has got a real amazing and wide range of products
from household needs, technology to entertain

Buy or sell products:

The internet is a very effective way to buy and sell products all over the world.

Communities:
Communities of all types have sprung up on the internet. It’s a great way to meet up with
people of similar interest and discuss common issues.

Disadvantages:

Theft of Personal information:

If you use the Internet, you may be facing grave danger as your personal information
such as name, address, credit card number etc. can be accessed by other culprits to make
your problems worse.

Spamming

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Internet: A Popular Mode of Communication

Spamming refers to sending unwanted e-mails in bulk, which provide no purpose and
needlessly obstruct the entire system. Such illegal activities can be very frustrating for
you, and so instead of just ignoring it, you should make an effort to try and stop these
activities so that using the Internet can become that much safer.

Virus Threat:
Virus is nothing but a program which disrupts the normal functioning of your computer
systems. Computers attached to internet are more prone to virus attacks and they can end
up into crashing your whole hard disk, causing you considerable headache.

Pornography:
This is perhaps the biggest threat related to your children’s healthy mental life. A very
serious issue concerning the Internet. There are thousands of pornographic sites on the
Internet that can be easily found and can be a detrimental factor to letting children use the
Internet.

Though, internet can also create havoc, destruction and its misuse can be very fatal, the
advantages of it outweigh its disadvantages

2.8Internet in perspective of Bangladesh:

Internet service was started in Bangladesh through a small private initiative sometime in
late 1993. . Another private organization came with a bulletin board service (BBS) with
Internet e-mails and newsgroups in late 1994 that attracted many subscribers because of
its good price package. There was demand from all quarters for BTTB to start VSAT or
X.25 lines for Internet and data entry services. But BTTB was not willing. Bangladesh
was fortunate that it got three dynamic leaders in the cabinet of the three months' neutral
caretaker government formed to conduct the National Assembly election from April to
June 1996. The leaders, Dr. M. Yunus (renowned for his micro credit bank for the poor),
Dr. Manzoor Elahi, and science educator Dr. Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, took initiative to
remove all regulatory bars for setup and use of VSAT in the private sector. As a result
online Internet service began in the country on 4 June 1996. Currently, six providers are
giving online Internet access; four of them are using their own 64 kilobytes per second
(kbps) VSAT and the other two are using leased lines from two major providers.

2.9Impact of internet in Bangladesh:

Although it could do much more, still availability of online Internet service is making
significant positive changes in the country. The benefits for business communications,
both with respect to cost savings and speed, are noteworthy. Families with members
staying abroad are welcoming the Internet for frequent and cheaper communication.
Researchers are getting valuable information quickly at modest cost, which was not
possible before business houses and entertainment stars are gradually coming to accept
the Internet as their ultimate communication tool. The ISPs are carrying out special
promotional activities to provide Web page services. . But the saddest news is that
Bangladesh has yet to set up an academic network to provide Internet access to the large

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Internet: A Popular Mode of Communication

number of university teachers, students, scientists, and researchers who play vital roles in
building a better nation.

Conclusion:
Today internet has brought a globe in a single room. Right from news across the corner
of the world, wealth of knowledge to shopping, purchasing the tickets of favorite movie-
everything is at our finger tips. Internet has great potential and lot to offer. It has a great
use to us. However, like every single innovation in science and technology, internet has
its own advantages and disadvantages. Although Bangladesh is a very small country, still
availability of online Internet service is making significant positive changes in the
country.

Bibliography:
www.walthowe.com.
http://www.healthnet.org.
BBN Timeline

Appendix:
ARPA/DARPA. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
IP: Internet Protocol
TCP: Transmission Control Protocol
VOIP: Voice Over Internet Protocol

Reference:
The advantages and disadvantages of Internet: By Jayashree Pakhare
Published: 3/2/2007
Ucchatar Sonirvor Vasa Sikha:By Dr. Hayat Mamud

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