1.

THE INTERNET AND THE WEB

THE INTERNET
The Internet can be defined as the network of networks which is interconnected with millions of
computers all over the World including small domestic computers, academic, business and
government networks.
This is the World Wide collections of networks that links Business together. This is a global
system of interconnected computer networks.
Internet connects these different computers using TCP/IP. This is the abbreviation for
Transmission Control protocol/Internet Protocol. NOTE: TCP/IP is the communication protocol
for the internet. TCP/IP defines the rule which computers must follow to communicate with each
other over the internet. Even though TCP/IP uses several protocols the two main protocols are TCP
and IP.
In other words, the internet can also be described as massive data storage which is accessible to
anyone at any time which carries various information and services, such as electronic mail, online
chat, file transfer and the interlinked web pages and other resources of the World Wide (www).
Internet has no owner, internet is multi-media based and retrieving information and giving
information is cheap and fast. To accomplish these tasks, the internet has large number of servers.
This is the World Wide collections of networks that links Business together. This is a Global
System of interconnected computer networks.
➢ Internet is a network of networks.
➢ Internet uses the Standard Internet Protocol Suit (TCP/IP) to serve billions of user’s
worldwide.
➢ Is a product with no owner.
➢ It consists of private, public, academic, business and government networks of local to
global scope, linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking
technologies
➢ The internet carries an extensive range of information resources and services, such as the
inter-linked Hypertext Documents and Application of World Wide (www), electronic
mail, telephone, and peer-to-peer networks for file sharing.

4.1 Use of the Internet

The Internet is a great achievement for mankind. Connecting to the Internet has three benefits in
general.
1. Communication. One can communicate with other people globally at much reduced cost
through use of many communication features, e.g. e-mail.
2. Retrieval of information. From the Internet, you can retrieve almost any information you
want and on any subject.
3. Commerce. If you do business, you can advertise your products and services to global
customers. You can also buy goods and services through the Internet.

What are the advantages of connecting to the Internet?

4.2 Advantages of the Internet

1) Educational literature e.g. books and latest publications can be accessed in almost
every field.
2) Entertainment. One can listen to music, can watch movies and can play on-line
games. These can also be downloaded, free or after paying some subscription fees.
3) Business can be done on the Internet, e.g. an advertisement for a wide range of
products can be made to global customers. You can also browse the Internet for
products that you want to buy. This is known as e-commerce.
4) E-mail (electronic mail) can be made use of. E-mail is the most widely used service
of the Internet by an average Internet user.
5) Computer software can be downloaded on the Internet. Finding and buying software
without the use of the Internet is extremely difficult. Sometimes it is impossible,
especially in a developing country like Zambia. Most software requires regular
updating once installed in a computer. Updating computer software, e.g. operating
system and antivirus software is impossible without internet connection. (Computer
experts, unlike average users, find this, i.e. point number 5, to be the most important
use of the Internet.)

State five advantages of the internet?

i. Easy and cheap communication
ii. There is quick access to information
iii. It uses for business e.g. promoting and selling products
iv. Used for entertainment
v. Lessens costs as all information is found on finger tips.
List five disadvantages of the internet?
i. There is viral threat
ii. There is cyber theft of personal information
iii. Lack of personal interaction due to loss of social skills.
iv. Spamming (unwanted electronic mails and advertisements)
v. Exposure of all kinds of pornographic materials.

4.3 Browsing the Internet

What is meant by browsing the Internet?

Browsing the Internet means searching it for whatever you want. To browse the Internet is simple.
You simply start the Internet browser software, e.g. Internet Explorer, Opera, Google Chrome
or Mozilla Firefox. Once in the browser you can navigate in so many ways. If you already know
the address of what you want, you simply type it in the address box in the browser and then click
on a button to get to the destination, or you can simply click your mouse pointer on any of the
numerous hyperlinks to take you to the destination of your choice.

4.4 Internet Vs World Wide Web

What is the difference between the Internet and the WWW?

Some people find these two terms confusing. You shouldn't. The WWW is an infrastructure of
information which the Web browser software allows you access to. The WWW consists of several
sites called Websites. Websites are located in computers called Web servers. There are thousands
of Web servers around the world. These computers store massive information on different topics.
The information contained in these different Websites is what is collectively known as the World
Wide Web (WWW). The WWW is actually a web of information. The Internet is a system of
computers that accesses and retrieves information from the WWW. That is, you need the global
network of computers (the Internet) to access the global network of information (the WWW).
A well-known example of a distributed system is the World Wide Web. It runs on top of the
Internet and presents a model in which everything looks like a document (Web page).

4.5 Website and Web page

What is the distinction between Website and Web page?

This question sounds silly! It is really like asking someone the difference between a book and a
book page. So you see, a Website consists of Web pages. The information you access on a Website
is actually located in Web pages within that Website, just as the information you access in a book
is located on a particular page within that book. A Web page is actually a document of information
that you access from a Website. A website has an address like this: www.something.com. You will
learn details of web addresses later in this module.

4.6 Web browser and Search engine

What is a web browser?
- It is a program that is used to get information on the World Wide Web.
Give three examples of web browsers?
i. Microsoft Internet Explorer
ii. Mozilla Firefox
iii. Google Chrome

What is a search engine?

- It is a program that is used to search for specific information on the internet.
Give any five examples of search engines?
i. Google
ii. Yahoo
iii. Amazon
iv. Twitter
v. Bing
Name two devices one can use to connect a computer to the internet?
i. Modem
ii. Router
But, what is the distinction between a Web browser and a Search Engine?
➢ The browser knows well how to take you to the Internet but is not very good at taking
you to places of your choice.
➢ A web browser takes you to Internet but asks you to give it the address of what you want.
It offers you links to a number of destinations called websites or web pages.
➢ These links are called hyperlinks. Search Engine does not ask you for addresses. It asks
you to type keywords of what you want because it already knows the addresses. If you
give it the keywords it gives you samples of what you requested for. Then you make a
selection.
➢ Internet Explorer, Chrome and Mozilla Firefox are examples of browsers. But what about
the Search Engine, what are the examples of popular Search Engines?
➢ Examples of Search Engines are Yahoo! and Google.
➢ Yahoo and Google are Search Engines. They are software used by the Web browser to
open peoples’ computers and take information from there. Somehow, they know where
the information everybody wants is kept. They go right there as long as you give them the
keywords. Of course, they are very good at making good guesses. They look at your
keywords and then search the WWW for something similar to what you have requested
for. They even arrange the stuff in the order of popularity, with the most popular site on
top.

Types of search engines

1. General Search Engines: these are used when topic is not defined, looking
for a variety of pages Examples. e.g. Google, yahoo etc.

2. Meta Search Engines: these searches various search engines from a single
search page, e.g. looking for a small data size of high relevance. Meta
search engines goes to other engines and search what your concept
categories. Meta search engine is a large Search engine that actually
searches through multiple search engine directories for information.
Example of Meta search engines are; Browsers, Dogpile.
 3. Concept categorizing Search Engines: these type of Search engines
categorizes your search in topics, used when your topic is general and you
want to narrow it down or define it. Examples

4. Vertical Search Engines: is used when a search is focused, very specific

search engine, search for a topic, industry, etc. Examples are: Google
books, google scholar, pic search and news now etc.
5. Online presence / Internet Usage: this is used when you have an account
online (what do you use the internet for).
Website
A Website is a set of related web pages located under a single domain name, typically produced
by a single person or organisation. Or
A group of World Wide web pages usually containing hyperlinks to each other and made
available online by an individual, company, education institution, government or organisation.

http://www.rockviewuniversity.com
http://www.facebook.com
✓ hypertext transfer protocol: This is the protocol that govern communication
between application programs.
Standards allow products from different vendors that previous couldn’t talk to one another to do
so. This is also called Interoperability whereby applications that were developed to run on
different operating systems can communicate and exchange information.
As an example the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) standardizes communication between
browsers (as clients) and Web servers (as Servers) to enable requests to be served in the format
of the requesting computer’s operating system. HTTP is an open standard (not controlled by any
vendor).

✓ www: indicates that this is a Website, meaning the site is linked to the World Wide
Web

✓ . Com identifies the site as commercial. Meaning that your organisation is engaged in
commercial activities.
✓ Domain name: Facebook
✓ rockviewuniversity
✓ E.g. www.anytrademarkablename.com.in (.in means a company is
registered in India)
✓ www.anytrademarkablename.com.uk
✓ www.anytrademarkablename.com.za
✓ www.anytrademarkablename.com.us
Types of Websites
✓ E-commerce websites
✓ Social media websites
✓ Magazines websites – features articles, photos and videos.
✓ Blogs etc.