The Internet

The Internet is a worldwide system of interconnected computer networksnetwork: a group of

interconnected computers. When you connect your computer to the Internet via your Internet
Service Provider (ISP) you become part of the ISPs network, which is connected to other
networks that make up the Internet.

The World Wide Web

The World Wide Web (WWW or Web for short) is the part of the Internet that you can access
using a web browserweb browser: an application used to browse the Internet or view web pages
such as Internet ExplorerInternet Explorer: a web browser developed by Microsoft or
FirefoxFirefox: a web browser developed by Mozilla. It consists of a large number of web
servers that host websites. Each website will normally consist of a number of web pages. A web
page can contain text, images, video, animation and sound.

Accessing web pages

You can access a website or web page by typing its URL (Uniform Resource Locator) into the
address bar of your browser. An example of a URL is http://www.bbc.co.uk.

URLs will have the format 'httpHypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP): a request/response
standard, web browsers send requests and websites or servers respond to requests' and a
domaindomain: an area of control or management, eg bbc.co.uk is controlled by the BBC (such
as .uk.uk: the Internet country code for the United Kingdom). What goes in between is arbitrary,
but often has the term "www", eg http://www.bbc.co.uk, but it doesn’t have to, eg
http://news.bbc.co.uk).

Https is the secure version of http. When you use https any datadata: information without
context, eg a list of students with numbers beside their names is data, when it's made clear that
those numbers represent their placing in a 100 metre race, the data becomes information you
send or receive from the web server is encrypted. For example, when banking online https is
used to keep your account details safe.

Most sites have a page that links the user to the other main areas of the site. This is called the
homepage.

Web pages are connected by hypertext links. When a link is clicked you will be taken to another
page which could be on another serverserver: a computer that provides services to users, eg
access to shared files, web hosting, file storage in any part of the world.

What is an intranet?
An intranet is a network that works like the Internet but is only available within a particular
organisation, not to the public. An intranet may have web pages used to share company specific
data within that company, such as internal telephone numbers or details of employee benefits.

Connecting to the Internet

To connect to the Internet the following are needed:

 a computer
 telephone line (cable being the exception)
 modemmodem: a piece of hardware that connects a computer to the Internet and/or
routerrouter: a device for connecting computers and other network capable devices
together to form a network
 an ISP (Internet Service Provider)
 Web browserweb browser: an application used to browse the Internet or view web
pages, eg Internet ExplorerInternet Explorer: a web browser developed by Microsoft,
FirefoxFirefox: a web browser developed by Mozilla, ChromeChrome: a web browser
developed by Google, SafariSafari: a web browser developed by Apple, OperaOpera: a
web browser developed by Opera Software etc.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

ISPs provide access to the Internet. Commonly used ISPs include Sky, Virgin and BT but there
are many more. Most offer the same basic package of Internet access, emailemail: electronic
mail - a message written or typed on a computer and sent electronically rather than by post
addresses and web spaceweb space: the amount of storage given to a website.

You need a web browser to view web pagesweb page: a page designed for, and viewed in, a
web browser. The most widely used are Internet Explorer and Firefox. All browsers will have a
number of similar features to help you use the web such as:

 forward and back buttons to move between pages

 a history folder which stores details of recently visited web pages
 a stop button if a page is taking too long to load
 favourites and bookmark options to store often visited pages
 options to cut, copy, paste, save and print elements of web pages

A connection made to the Internet will be either analogueanalogue: continuous data, eg the
second hand on an analogue watch displays each second and the space in-between or
digitaldigital: data measured at discrete intervals, eg a digital watch typically moves from
displaying one second to the next without displaying the values in-between. It is important to
know the difference between the two and the technologies they use.
Analogue connection
Dial-up
A dial-up modem converts digitaldigital: data measured at discrete intervals, eg a digital watch
typically moves from displaying one second to the next without displaying the values in-between
signals from a computer to analogueanalogue: continuous data, eg the second hand on an
analogue watch displays each second and the space in-between signals that are then sent down
the telephone line. A modem on the other end converts the analogue signal back to a digital
signal the computer can understand.

An analogue Internet connection

The maximum theoretical connection speed is 56Kbpskilobits per second (Kbps): a

measurement of the speed data is being transferred at. Dial-up is very slow by today’s standards
and in real world use will typically result in a downloaddownload: the transfer of a file or files
from one computer connected to the Internet to another speed of roughly 5KBpskilobytes per
second (KBps): a measurement of the speed data is being transferred at.

Phone calls cannot be made whilst connected to the Internet.

Digital connections
ISDN
An ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) capable phone line can provide connection
speeds of up to 64Kbps (single channel) or 128Kbps (dual channel) using a terminal adapter
often referred to as an ISDN modemmodem: a piece of hardware that connects a computer to
the Internet. The terminal adaptor removes the need to convert digitaldigital: data measured at
discrete intervals, eg a digital watch typically moves from displaying one second to the next
without displaying the values in-between signals to analogue signals before they’re sent down the
telephone line, this results in a more reliable Internet connectionInternet connection: a
computer's or another internet-enabled device's connection to the Internet.

ADSL
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) provides connection speeds of up to
24Mbpsmegabits per second (Mbps): a measurement of data transfer speed and uses a
telephone line to receive and transmit datadata: information without context, eg a list of students
with numbers beside their names is data, when it's made clear that those numbers represent their
placing in a 100 metre race, the data becomes information.

A digital Internet connection

The speed that data can be transferred is dependent on a number of factors:

 Phone lines were designed to carry voice signals - not data. Signal quality can vary
between lines and whilst it doesn’t affect voice signals, it does affect data transmissions.
 The distance between your house and the telephone exchangetelephone exchange: a
system of electronic components that connects telephone calls and has been adapted and
expanded to facilitate connections to the Internet too has an effect on the speed at which
data is transferred. A distance of 4Km is considered the limit for ADSL technology,
beyond which it may not work.

An ADSL modem/routerrouter: a device for connecting computers and other network capable
devices together to form a network is needed for broadbandbroadband: high speed Internet
access Internet access over ADSL. This is usually provided by your ISPInternet Service
Provider (ISP): Internet Service Provider - needed in order to access the Internet, they also
provide services such as web space and email.

Phone calls can still be made whilst connected.

Cable
Cable companies do not use traditional telephone lines to provide broadband Internet access.
They have their own networknetwork: a group of interconnected computers, a combination of
co-axial copper cable and fibre optic cablefibre optic cable: cable that carries data transmitted
as light.

With their purposefully built infrastructure cable companies are able to provide speeds of up to
50Mbps - considerably faster than the highest available ADSL speed (24Mbps).

A cable modem/router is needed for broadband Internet access over cable. This is usually
provided by your ISP.
The making and receiving of phone calls is not affected because the telephone line is not used.

Why use broadband?

Most people in the UK access the Internet using broadbandbroadband: high speed Internet
access because it’s much faster than the other methods. Broadband access allows feature rich
web pagesweb page: a page designed for, and viewed in, a web browser (ones that have lots of
graphicsgraphics: visuals intended to brand, inform, illustrate or entertain, eg photographs,
drawings, maps, diagrams etc., videos, sound, animations etc) to downloaddownload: the
transfer of a file or files from one computer connected to the Internet to another quickly and it
allows users to quickly download large files (like music or video clips). Faster Internet
connectionsInternet connection: a computer's or another internet-enabled device's connection
to the Internet also mean that the response time between clicking on a link and the new page
appearing are reduced.

The download times below are calculated based on each connection's maximum theoretical
download speed.

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ISPs advertise speeds as 'up to', for example, 'up to 8Mb'. This means that the maximum speed
you will achieve is 8Mb but that you're unlikely to achieve 8Mb all the time.

What can you do on the Internet?

 browse websiteswebsite: a web page or group of web pages hosted on one web server
and viewed in a web browser
 send and receive emailemail: electronic mail - a message written or typed on a computer
and sent electronically rather than by post
 downloaddownload: the transfer of a file or files from one computer connected to the
Internet to another media files, eg Mp3s or video files
 watch streamedstream: delivery of data as and when it's needed rather than all at once,
eg a streaming video downloads as it's watched rather than in advance video, eg BBC
iPlayer, YouTube etc
 check your bank balance and make payments
 buy goods from online shops
 access educational material from your school’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)
 create, store, edit and share your documents using web-based applicationsweb-based
application: an application that runs within a web browser, eg Google Docs
  interact with friends on social networkingsocial networking: the act of building or
furthering existing friendships and relationships in an online setting sites, eg Bebo,
MySpace, Facebook etc
 write a blogblog: an online publication written by an individual or a group of individuals
that covers a subject of their choosing
 sign-up to forumsforum: also known as a message board, a platform for exchanging
written messages with other users, a place for discussion and discuss topics that interest
you with like-minded individuals
 game with friends
 instant message family and friends
 share photos and videos
 complete free tutorials covering a wide range of subjects

Searching the web

Finding the exact information you want on the webweb: includes all of the web pages accessible
via the Internet requires skill and practice. There are thousands of pages on any given topic.

Search engines

A search engine is a service which helps you find the information you want on the Internet.
Search engines continually trawl the net for new websiteswebsite: a web page or group of web
pages hosted on one web server and viewed in a web browser cataloguing them into an index.
Some commonly used search engines are Google, Yahoo and AltaVista, but there are many
others.

Search terms

When you go to a search engine you are given a search box into which you enter the key words
of your topic. For example, if you enter the word rock you will likely get links to pages about
geology, music and building societies.

Let us say we want information on rock music. If you type in rock music it is likely the search
engine will bring up links to many pages about rocks, rock climbing and music. However, if
you try typing in "rock music" (with quotes) the search engine will treat it as a phrase and bring
up details of web pagesweb page: a page designed for, and viewed in, a web browser containing
the words rock music in that order.
Advanced search terms

Entering rock + music will bring up documents containing both words. Entering rock + music -
climbing will bring up documents containing the words rock and music but with no reference to
climbing.