Module 103: Internet Technologies

LANEISHA BANKSEDUC 204*01

PROFESSOR CHENG-YUAN LEESEPTEMBER 14, 2014

History of the Internet The internet originated during the late 1960s. Launched by the U.S. Department of Defense. ARPANET began as a research project designed to connect several universities to a

supercomputer for joint communication and computation applications. Transmission control protocol/ internet protocol (TCP-IP).

a suite of technical message formats to standardize how computers communicate over a network. The term, Internet, was accepted to mean the global “network of networks” that

connect computer hosts to users. The World Wide Web was originally referred to as the system for browsing the Internet

based on a standardized HTML( hypertext markup language). Mosaic is credited as the first web browser to generate mass appeal for graphic user

interface access to multimedia content on the world wide web. By 1994, many of the original Mosaic developers found a company named Netscape to

design a commercial web browser.

History of the Internet (continued) Netscape enjoyed the rapid success but it lost all market share as other competing

products entered the first browser war. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.

Netscape was acquired by AOL. Released majority of its source code to create Mozilla.

The modern Internet is now a core strategic infrastructure for educational enterprises.

Connecting to the Internet Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are commercial resellers that enable homes and

institutions to connect to the Internet. Historically, a home subscription to an ISP coast about $20 a month for slow dial up

access. A modem was provided by either the phone or cable company to dial in to a server to

verify your account before granting access. Today’s Internet is much more multimedia rich and bandwidth intensive. Both cable and phone service providers improved their carrier speeds. Wireless providers also entered the ISP market. Over the past decade, many traditional phone companies diversified their

communication offerings to be the infrastructure service of choice. Wireless routers are hardware devices linked to landline Internet services that

enable mobile computers to connect within a limited geographic range. Wi-fi hot spots are common in public spaces.

Navigating the Internet A web browser is a software program that displays Internet data graphically with a

point-and-click interface. The most common browsers used by teachers are Internet Explorer, Google Chrome,

Firefox, and Safari. Everyone of these browsers has a unique address called a uniform resource locator

(URL) that uses a standardized format, HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol), to communicate between the host server and the client computer.

Most URLs are comprised of three primary components. A protocol

Defines technically how the data are to be transmitted between the remote server and the user’s current computer.

A domain name An alias for the server’s IP address, developed as pseudonyms because they are easier to remember.

A document path Represents the hierarchy of nested directories or database queries.

Searching the Internet Search engines provide keyword interfaces to query massive online databases. These search engines utilize artificially intelligent software known as web crawlers. Most search engines respond to Boolean operators to help narrow search returns. Most search engines allow users to signify the desired media type.

Internet Multimedia Although image formats are used consistently (JPEG, PNG, and GIF) for more

dynamic media, there are still dozens of competing standard and proprietary formats. Most do no display natively in a web browser without installing additional software.

Adobe’s Flash Player. Microsoft’s Windows Media Player. Apple’s Quicktime Player.

Currently, students must make sure that their devices already have an appropriate media player installed.

Web Services and Cloud Computing

The most significant development in the ongoing evolution of the modem Internet is the emergence of cloud computing services (Web 2.0 technologies).

The Internet no longer just delivers content, it also provides services. Teachers can use learning management systems to do the teacher duties without

having to install anything on their computer except the standard web browser.