Have you ever wondered what the Internet is and how it works?
This section on basic information is designed for the absolute beginner and will give you general information about the Internet. It includes information about how computers are linked, what the web is, and also what equipment is required to access the Internet. There is other interesting information that will assist you to understand just what the Internet really is.
Click on any of the links below for more information.
The Internet is the name given to millions of computers around the world that are connected to one another so that people who use them can share information.
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Each computer connected via the Internet can send information to or receive information from any other computer no matter where the computer is located - across the room, across town, or around the world. |
The reason you can send information to, or receive information from, someone on the other side of the world via the Internet is because the computers are linked via telephone lines, cables or satellites. Telecommunications companies provide these links. In Australia most people connect to the Internet via their telephone line.
There are many different brands and types of computers connected to the Internet. The Internet allows all these different computers to 'talk' to each other across telecommunications systems using a set of protocols. As long as a computer uses these protocols, it can communicate with any other computer on the Internet.
The Internet is available seven days a week, 24 hours a day. You can use the Internet to:
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Nobody does! No single person or body owns or controls the Internet. It has millions of users who can put anything they like onto a webpage that is then available to all other users. The information placed on webpages can be fact or fiction. Just because information has been posted onto a webpage or website, it does not necessarily mean it is correct!
The next section on Getting information from the Internet has some advice on how you can determine if the information on a website is reliable.
Many people think the Internet and the World Wide Web are the same, but they're not. The Internet is the infrastructure - the cables, the telephone lines - the computer network itself. The web is just one application of the Internet. Other Internet applications include email, chat and newsgroups.
The World Wide Web, web and www are all one and the same thing. The web is a vast amount of information on almost every topic you can imagine, stored on millions of computers all around the world, and available to anyone with a computer linked to the Internet.
Connecting to the Internet is a little like having the telephone connected to your home. Before you can make a phone call you must have a telephone, a phone line and an account with a telephone company. The telephone company allocates you a phone number and you can then make and receive phone calls.
To access the Internet you need:
an account with an Internet service provider (ISP)
a computer
a modem and a phone line (or cable or satellite connection) connected to your computer
a browser such as Microsoft® Internet Explorer installed on your computer.
Click on the graphics below for more information on computers, ISPs, internet accounts, modems and browsers.
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ComputerYou need a computer that can run one of the recent web browsers. For personal computers, a PC 486 or better microcomputer (or its equivalent Apple® machine) with at least 64 MB of RAM is best. Internet service providerAn Internet service provider connects you to the Internet. You must have an ISP account before you can connect to the Internet. You connect to the ISP via your computer, modem and phone line. ISPs offer a range of options for connecting to the Internet. ISPs offer different plans for Internet access just as telephone companies in that they offer different plans for home or mobile phone accounts. For example, you might choose to be on a timed Internet access account that will allow you a certain number of hours over a certain period of time; this could be per day, per week or per month. Alternatively you could be on unlimited access and have as much time as you want on the Internet. An Internet accountYour ISP will give you an Internet account. Your account will consist of a username and a password. Your username and password verify who you are, just like a PIN verifies who you are when you access your bank account. You should always keep your password secret. ModemA modulator demodulator (modem) is a piece of equipment that connects your computer to a phone line. A modem allows the computer to talk to other computers (and access the Internet) through the phone system. Basically a modem is to a computer what a telephone is to a human. Most computers nowadays have internal modems that you cannot see. However, from the back of your computer will be a connection that looks like a telephone plug; this plug connects directly into your phone line. On your request, your modem will dial your ISP, then through your ISP, you will be connected to the Internet. BrowserA browser is a piece of software that allows you to access images and text over the Internet and there are several different types and versions available. It is important to keep up with browser technology, and generally the later versions of a browser work better than the earlier ones. For best results you should use Microsoft ® Internet Explorer 5.0 or later, or Netscape ® Navigator 4.7 or later. |
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This tutorial has introduced you to the basic features of the Internet, but there is still a lot you can learn.
For example did you know you can use the Internet to:
send and receive messages
download movie trailers and reviews
read national and international newspapers
do your banking and pay your bills
plan and book an overseas holiday?
To learn more about searching the web or sending and receiving messages using the Internet, click HOME on the bottom navigation bar and continue with this tutorial.
