What is the Internet?
The Internet (or Net) is a global network of computers with millions of users. It consists of many thousands of permanently linked powerful computers (called hosts). Anyone with a computer and modem can join this network by using a standard phone.
The speed of this global network means that, depending on traffic, it can be just as quick for a user in Glasgow to access a computer in Sydney as in Manchester. The real potential of the Internet lies in the number of uses that people can put it to.
Electronic mail (e-mail) is how people communicate personally over the Internet. It is an ideal mechanism for fast and cheap business communications.
The World Wide Web is perhaps the best known part of the Internet- and largely responsible for its rapid growth. The Web allows users to make a friendly, graphical presentation of files and information, by structuring them into a series of Web pages -a number of pages is collectively called a 'Web site'. Any user with the appropriate software (called a browser) can read these pages. It costs comparatively little to set up your own Web site, and its business potential ranges from on-line catalogues to electronic shops.
Exchanging Documents. File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is the technology that allows users to send each other files. You can send and receive all types of files containing any sort of information that can be stored digitally -from word-processed documents to graphics. A new user will be surprised at the number of organisations and bodies prepared to make their files available, often free of charge, for anyone to access, such as computer programmes, academic texts or photographic images.
User-groups or Newsgroups are areas on the Internet where users with shared interests can 'talk' to each other using e-mail, and most correspondence is available for all to see. Newsgroups are useful for research and problem solving.
The sheer size of the Internet means it is effectively an uncontrolled but democratic place. People use it to sell things, find information, share experiences, ask for help and send messages. The smallest companies sit alongside vast corporations. Your presence on the Internet can be as effective and profitable for your business as a multi-national's presence.