The Internet

1 Overview

1.1 Do you know what the Web, a Web browser or Netscape is? If not, this subsection is for you. It also tells you what you need to connect to the Internet.

2 What is the Internet?

2.1 The Internet is a worldwide network comprising government, academic, commercial, military and corporate networks. The Internet was originally used by the US military, before becoming widely used for academic and commercial research.

Users accessing the Internet can read and download data from almost anywhere in the world. You can communicate across the Internet using Internet e-mail.

2.2The World Wide Web, commonly known as WWW or Web, is an Internet service that contains millions of 'pages' of information known as web pages. These pages are stored on special web servers around the world and have links to other pages. Web browsers such as Netscape Communicator and Microsoft Internet Explorer allow users to view, or browse, these web pages and use the web links to jump to related pages.

The Web forms the centre of Internet activities because the web pages that are published on it cover many different subjects. They can contain text, graphics, sound, video and animation.

3 How do I connect to the Internet?

3.1 In order to connect to the Internet, use e-mail and access the World Wide Web you must:

Obtain and set up a modem. This allows the PC to access the Internet over a telephone line.
Or obtain a LAN Modem to provide WAN access to several people simultaneously on your LAN. This will allow several PCs to share a single connection to the Internet.
Obtain an Internet account from an Internet Service Provider or ISP. An ISP is a company that can provide access to the Internet and give you an Internet e-mail address. You then access the Internet by using your modem to dial into the ISP server.
Obtain and install a web browser. This allows you to view web pages as well as send and receive e-mail.

3.2 When setting up the modem or installing and using the web browser, refer to the instructions that accompany them. An ISP should be able to tell you the services offered and how to connect to an ISP server.