GE ELECT I - Living in the Information Technology (IT) Era

Overview:

Nowadays, information technology has

provided the facility in maintaining the relationship OBJECTIVES
of people around the world. With the use of
Internet and the world wide web, people can now At the end of this chapter, you should be
connect others via e-mail and different social able to
networking applications. Furthermore, they can
now access any information, buy and sell products,  Explain internet concepts;
and find jobs anywhere and anytime. It has made  Describe the different uses and trends
of the Internet; and
information accessible.
 Recognize the importance of internet
This topic will then show how the internet services
and the web affects the life and relationships of
people.th Furthermore, it will show how people use internet in different forms of business.

In order to communicate people on other places via Email or Facebook messenger, internet is
needed. In order to access uploaded documents of different authors for research, web is needed.
However, did you ever asked, what is internet anyway? What is the web? Are they the same thing?

What is The Internet?

o A network or net is a combination of 2 or
more computers.
o The word internet comes from the
combination of “interconnection” and “network.”
Therefore, internet is a network of networks – a
combination of combination of computers around the
world.

Internet is the largest computer network in

Image retrieved from: https://www.sitesbay.com/computer/cf- the world that connects billions of computer users. It
what-is-internet is a network of computers linking many different types
of computers all over the world. However:

The Internet

o February 7, 1958 was the day Secretary of Defense Neil McElroy signed Department of Defense
Directive 5105.15. His signature launched the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), now
known as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The creation of the agency
is an important moment in science history because it led to the creation of the internet we
recognize today.

o 1969: ARPANet is formed out of the need for redundancy in communications to defend against
nuclear attack. It provides a means to connect different networks to each other, primarily those
owned by military and educational institutions.

o 1969, military contractor Bolt, Beranek, and Newman (BBN) developed an early form of routing
devices known as interface message processors (IMPs), which revolutionized data transmission.

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 GE ELECT I - Living in the Information Technology (IT) Era

Image retrieved from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/562105597212600551/

o 1974. The word “Internet” first appeared in print—in a DARPA-published Request for Comments
document on TCP/IP, a new set of communications and networking protocols for managing data
transmissions on the new system. TCP/IP is still integral to the present-day Internet. In the
meantime, Arpanet was growing fast as more universities, science centers, and army installations
got connected.

o 1985. The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded construction of Arpanet’s biggest upgrade
yet: the NSFNET, a command hub of five supercomputers to serve as highways for all data
traffic. NSFNET could transmit data at 56 kilobits per second—slower than some present-day
modems.

o 1986: The National Science Foundation Network, or NSFNET, goes online. This enabled multiple
university supercomputer centers to connect, and it later evolved into a major route for data
moving through the Internet, an Internet backbone.
o 1989: Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(HTTP) and the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). It becomes the primary medium of global
Internet-based communications years later.

o 1990. Tim Berners-Lee invented HTML and a text browser, as well as a hypertext graphical user
interface (GUI) browser. Then he established the first successful communication between a
Hypertext Transfer Protocol client and a server via the Internet. These inventions, put together,
were the makings of Web pages as we know them today. Lee also made up the term “World Wide
Web.” The synonym Information Superhighway would follow in a few more years.

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 GE ELECT I - Living in the Information Technology (IT) Era

o 1998. Google opened its first office.

o 2004-2005. Facebook was launched in December 2004. YouTube debuted the next year. The
social-media revolution had begun.
The Web
o Founded in 1991, The Web pertains to the collection of documents and resources around the
world.
o The Web is used to access and gather resources available on The Internet.

Therefore, without The Web, resources cannot be accessed. However, The Web will not
function without The Internet.

How to access The Internet?

Before connecting to The Internet, there are 4 things to be considered.

a) Web browsers

Web browsers are programs or interfaces that provide access to

Internet resources.
o It allows someone to explore the Web. It includes Google
Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer and Apple Safari.’

b) Search Engine
o It is a part of the web browser that allows you to search
keywords in the web’s database.
o It includes Google Search Engine or Yahoo Search Engine.

You cannot access any data from Internet without a web browser but you cannot proceed or
go to a certain website without the use of a search engine.

c) Universal Resource Locator (URL)

o Universal Resource Locator
(Uniform Resource Locator

sometimes) pertains to the address or location of the

resources specified.
o It includes the protocol, domain name and top-level
domain.

d) Internet Service Providers (ISP)

o Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are companies or
organizations that provide a connection for individuals to access
the Internet.
o They use telephone lines, cable and/or wireless connections.

Therefore, in order to connect to The Internet:

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 GE ELECT I - Living in the Information Technology (IT) Era

First, make sure that the user has a web

browser with a search engine on his/her personal
device. Second, the user must specify the URL or
address of the resource or website. The URL will be
placed on the search engine of the web browser.
Remember that the user cannot proceed to the
resource’s address without the URL. Lastly, make
sure that you are connected to your ISP or in other
words, the user has paid to his/her ISP for internet
connection.

However, did you ever experienced that when

you are using The Web and The Internet, for example
you are downloading some documents, files, videos
and other stuffs, the browser will prompt some
messages asking you if you want to proceed to the
site even it may harm you or ask you if you want to
open your downloaded stuffs even risky? Or
sometimes the browser will automatically check
whether your stuffs was infected by virus? Those
messages or activities made by browsers are actions
made by web utilities.

Web Utilities

o These are specialized utility programs that make using Internet and Web safer and easier.
o McAfee Web advisor and other web antivirus are examples of web utilities.

Uses of The Web and The Internet

1. Communication
o The most popular Internet activity.
o It is the transmission of electronic messages over The Internet. It provides direct and live
communication between two or more people i.e. video-conferencing, Facebook chat and
Google talk.

2. Social Networking
o It connects people and organization to share a common interest or activity.
o It includes: Facebook, Google and LinkedIn.

3. Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce)

o Pertains to selling and buying goods over the Internet.

a. Business-to-consumer (B2C)
o Fastest growing type of e-commerce. It includes: Online Banking, Financial Trading
and Shopping.
b. Consumer-to-consumer (C2C)
o Person-to-person transaction.

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 GE ELECT I - Living in the Information Technology (IT) Era

c. Business-to-business(B2B)
o Involves the sale of a product or service from one business establishment to
another.
o Primarily, a manufacturer to supplier transaction.

New Trends of the Internet

o Internet of Things (IoT) – refers to the concept of extending

Internet Connectivity beyond conventional computing
platforms such as personal computers and mobile devices,
and into any range of traditionally “dumb” or non-internet-
enabled physical devices and everyday objects. Embedded
with electronics, Internet connectivity, and other forms of
hardware (such as sensors), these devices can communicate
and interact with others over the Internet, and ther can be
remotely monitored and controlled. Traditional fields of
embedded systems, wireless sensor networks, control systems,
automation (including home and building automation), and others all contribute to enabling the
Internet of things.

o Blockchain – a growing list of records, called blocks,

which are linked using cryptography. Each block
contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a
timestamp, and transaction data. By design, a
blockchain is resistant to modification of the data. It is
“an open, distributed ledger that can record
transactions between two parties efficiently and in a
verifiable and permanent way”.

o Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, a form of electronic cash.

It is a decentralized digital currency without a central
bank or single administrator that can be sent from user
to user on the peer-to-peer Bitcoin network without the
need for intermediaries.

o Digital wallet refers to an electronic device or online service that allows an individual to male
electrinoc transactions. This can include
purchasing items online with a computer or
using a smartphone to purchase something at
a store. An indiv idual’s bank account can
also be linked to the digital wallet. They
might also have their driver’s license, health
card, loyalty card(s) and other ID documents
stroed on the phone. The credentials can be
passed to a merchant’s terminal wirelessly
via near field communication (NFC). Increasingly, digital wallets are being made not just for
basic financial transactions but to also authenticate the holder’s credentials. For example, a
digital wallet could verify the age of the buyer to the store while purchasong alcohol.

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 GE ELECT I - Living in the Information Technology (IT) Era

Conclusion

The Internet and The Web has provided a facility in upholding relationship of people
anywhere and anytime. People can now communicate to others through the use of different web
applications like Facebook, Email and the like, buy and sell stuffs online, access information in just a
matter of seconds thus the connection is still present whatever places they are. However, always
remember that even though The Internet and The Web has become an inevitable part of the life of
people, safety must be your priority.

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REFERENCES:
Besuena, J. and Pomperada J. (2019). Introduction to Information Technology and Computer Fundamentals.
Intramuros, Manila: Unlimited Books Library Services and Publishing Inc.

Fitzpatrick, T. (2017). A brief history of the internet. Retrieved on August 3, 2020 from
https://sciencenode.org/feature/a-brief-history-of-the-internet-.php

Intetics (2014). A simple history of the Internet. Retrieved on August 3, 2020 from https://intetics.
com/blog/a-simple-history-of-the-internet

Parsons, J. (2010). Computer concepts: Introduction to computers. Philippines Manila: Cengage Learning Asia
Pte. Ltd.

Shelly G., and Vermaat M. (2010). Discovering Computers 2010: Living in a Digital World, Complete,
Philippines Manila: Cengage Learning Asia Pte. Ltd.

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