Internet and its Evolution - Internet & World Wide Web, E-Commerce | E-Commerce - B Com PDF Download

INTRODUCTION

The Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications world like nothing before. The invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio, and computer set the stage for this unprecedented integration of capabilities. The Internet is at once a world-wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals through computers irrespective of geographic locations.

DEFINITION OF INTERNET

The Internet is a global network of computers that allows people to send email, view web sites, download files such as mp3 and images, chat, post messages on newsgroups and forums and much more. The Internet was created by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the U.S. government in 1960's and was first known as the ARPANet. At this stage the Internet's first computers were at academic and government institutions and were mainly used for accessing files and to send emails. From 1983 onwards the Internet as we know it today started to form with the introduction of the communication protocol TCP/IP to ARPANet. Since 1983 the Internet has accommodated a lot of changes and continues to keep developing. The last two decades has seen the Internet accommodate such things as network LANs and ATM and frame switched services. The Internet continues to evolve with it becoming available on mobile phones and pagers and possibly on televisions in the future.

The actual term “Internet” was finally defined in 1995 by FNC (The Federal Networking Council). According to Federal Networking Council (FNC) Internet refers to the global information system that,

• is logically linked together by a globally unique address space based on the Internet Protocol (IP) or its subsequent extensions/follow-ons.
• is able to support communications using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite or its subsequent extensions/follow-ons, and/or other IP-compatible protocols.
• provides, uses or makes accessible, either publicly or privately, high level services layered on the communications and related infrastructure described herein.

BASIC CONCEPT OF INTERNET 

 Who Runs The Internet?

Who controls this web, this cloud, this network of networks? Well, no one, really. The Internet seems to be both institutional and anti-institutional at the same time, massive and intimate, organized and chaotic. In a sense the Internet is an international cooperative endeavor, with its member networks kicking in money, hardware, maintenance, and technical expertise.

The U.S. government has had a big influence on the federally funded parts of the Internet. The National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated the NSFNET in the mid 1980s, a nationwide backbone in the United States that connected many mid-level  networks, which in turn connected universities and other organizations. At the time of this writing, the NSFNET production backbone is being phased out and connectivity will be offered  by other providers, including commercial networks, in the near future. But you may still hear people refer to the NSF and its influence on the Internet. The NSF funds an experimental high-speed network and will continue to provide funding for a short time to assist universities and schools in getting Internet connections.

Names and Addresses

If you've ever traveled in a country where you couldn't read the street signs or figure out how they numbered the houses, you'll understand the wisdom of learning the Internet's name and address system. Most computers on the Internet can be identified in two ways. Each computer, or host, has a name and a numerical address (both unique), just as most of us can be located by our names or numerically by our phone numbers. It's easier to remember a name than a phone number, and it's the same on the Internet. An Internet computer name is usually several words separated by periods, such as yahoo.com. An Internet address—technically an IP address—is four numbers also separated by periods, for example, 161.44.128.70.

When you're saying these names and addresses out loud, you should substitute "dot" for "period" to sound as though you belong.

The idea is for people to use the computers' names when accessing resources, and to let the computers and routers work with the IP addresses. Each Internet-connected organization keeps a database of the names and addresses of all the computers connected to its own networks. Because there are so many computers on the Internet and there is no real central authority, name assignment is best left to the local networks.

Domain Name System. There's actually a method to these names and addresses—a naming system known as the Domain Name System, or DNS. The DNS is also the worldwide system of distributed databases of names and addresses. These databases provide the "translation" from names to numbers and vice versa, a sort of international Who's Who of computers. DNS names are constructed in a hierarchical naming fashion, which you can think of as a worldwide organization chart. At the top of this chart are toplevel specifications, such as EDU (educational), COM (commercial), GOV (government), MIL (military), ORG (organizations), and NET (networks), and also two-letter country codes, such as US for the United States and CH for Switzerland.

An organization can register for a domain name, selecting one of the top-level specifications mentioned above that describes it best, and then preceding it with a recognizable version of its name. For example, the ABC Software Systems company will have a domain name like abc.com. From there, it can divide itself into subdomains, extending the organization chart to department levels, or it can just give all of its computers names in the abc.com domain.

Once you understand how this naming system works, you can remember names more easily, and you can also tell things about a computer, such as to what organization it belongs. The names do not, however, always indicate geographical location.

Many U.S. organizations and companies use the three-letter designations mentioned above (for example, EDU, COM, and ORG). However, most countries have stipulated that organizations use their two-letter country codes for top-level domains. For example, an actual computer name, quake.think.com, refers to a commercial (COM) enterprise: the computer's name is quake and it belongs to Thinking Machines Corporation (think), a supercomputer manufacturer in the United States. Another example is fujitsu.co.jp, a computer at the Fujitsu Company in Japan (jp is the two-letter country code for Japan).

Advantages of internet 

There many advantages to using the internet such as:

E-mail

Email is now an essential communication tool in business. It is also excellent for keeping in touch with family and friends. The advantage 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 subject known to man, ranging from government law and services, trade fairs and conferences, market information, new ideas and technical support.

Services

Many services are now provided on the internet such as online banking, job seeking and applications, and hotel reservations. Often these services are not available off-line or cost more.

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. Its a great way to meet up with people of similar interest and discuss common issues.

A Leading-Edge Image 

Presenting your company or organization as leading-edge shows your customers and prospective customers that you are financially strong, technologically savvy, and ready for the 21st century. And that you care enough about your customers to take advantage of new technologies for their benefit. And finally that you have the resources to support  your clients in the most beneficial manner possible.

More and more advertisers on television, radio, magazines, and newspapers are including a Web address. Now is the time to avoid playing catch-up later.

Improved Customer Service : The companies are available to their customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Internet never sleeps. Whenever customer needs information about any company, products or services, they can access the company’s Web Page.

Market Expansion : The Internet is a global system. Latest estimates are that there are about 40 million people with access to the Internet, and this number is growing every day. By simply posting a Web Page you are also addressing International markets.

Low Cost Marketing : Imagine developing a full color brochure without having to incur the costs of proofs, printers, wasted paper, long lead times between revisions, and more. Then imagine a full color product or services brochure that is interactive and which incorporates text, graphics, audio, and/or video. One that can be immediately updated without incurring the usual costs of product material updates.

For a minimal initial investment your company or organization is presented to millions of Internet users worldwide. It's like a virtual brochure in everyone's hand without the associated costs.

Low Cost Selling : Without the cost of direct selling potential customers can get detailed information about your products or services at any time. And they can easily order your products over the Internet, or request additional information be sent to them via a request form on your  
Web page.

Lower Communication Costs : Your time, and your employees time, is valuable. Most businesses and organizations spend time answering the same questions over and over again. With a Web page you can make the answers available to everyone immediately. You can also update your Wed page with new information quickly and easily.

Value Added Marketing : You can use your Web page to provide useful information about your particular industry, product or uses. Any type of information that you believe will be valuable to your customer base can be included in your web page to encourage visitors to your site. You can also provide easy links to other sites with information that would be of value to your  customers.