 Chances are, anyone who is reading this paper has at one time, at least, surfed the net
 once. Don't worry if you haven't, I will explain everything you need to know about the
 Internet and the World Wide Web. Including how it started, it's growth, and the purpose it
 serves in today's society.

 The Internet was born about 20 years ago, as a U.S. Defense Department network called the
 ARPnet. The ARPnetwork was an experimental network designed to support military research.
 It was research about how to build networks that could withstand partial outages (like bomb
 attacks) and still be able to function.

 From that point on, Internet developers were responding to the market pressures, and began
 building or developing software for every conceivable type of computer. Internet uses
 started out with big companies, then to the government, to the universities and so on.

 The World Wide Web or WWW, is an information service that is on the Internet. The WWW is
 based on technology called hypertext, and was developed for physicist so they could send
 and retrieve information more easily. The WWW basically is a tool for exploring or surfing
 the Internet. The WWW is an attempt to organize the Internet so you can find information
 easier moving threw document to document.

Why do I need to know this?

 Well now that I got threw all the techno-babble, let's get down to it. If you know how to
 utilize the Net, in just five minutes you could trade information and comments with
 millions of people all over the world, get a fast answer to any question imaginable on a
 scientific, computing, technical, business, investment, or any other subject. You could
 join over 11,000 electronic conferences, anytime, on any subject, you would be broadcasting
 your views , questions, and information to millions of other partic There has never been
 anything like it in the history of the world, and in this English class we've covered alot
 of history. At a growing rate of about 20% per month the Internet is only getting bigger
 and if people don't start utilizing it's resources they could be road kill on this
 Information Superhighway. Hey, I'll bet in the middle of that last sentence another
 computer just got on-line to the Net.

 There are three major features of the Internet, On-line discussion groups, Universal
 Electronic Mail, files and software. There's about 11,000 on-line discussion groups called
 Newsgroups, on most any topic you can imagine. If you are on the Net, you can participate
 in any of these discussions in any of these newsgroups.

 The next thing is Universal Electronic Mail or E-mail. E-mail is the biggest and cheapest
 system on the Net and is also one of it's biggest attractions. Since all commercial on-line
 services have something called "gateways" for sending and receiving electronic mail
 messages on the Internet, you're able to send and receive messages or files to anyone else
 who is on-line, anywhere in the world and in seconds.

 The third feature I mentioned was files and software. This in my opinion is the most
 impressive one. All the thousands of individual computer facilities connected to the
 Internet are also vast storage repositories for hundreds of thousands of software programs,
 information text files, video and sound clips, and other computer based resources. And
 their all accessible in minutes from any personal computer on-line to the Internet.

 So I could do all this stuff on the Internet, why should I take notice?

 Because of it's sheer size, volume of messages, and it's incredible monthly growth. From
 the latest statistics I was able to get, their are currently 30 million people who use the
 Internet worldwide. To try and put that number into perspective, that's over five times the
 size of CompuServe, America On-line, Prodigy, and all other on-line commercial information
 services combined. Or if you're not familiar with those services, it's more than the
 combined populations of New York City, London, and Moscow. Eri Just a few years ago, the
 Internet had a small exclusive domain of a small band of computer science students,
 university researchers, government defense contractors, and computer nerds. All of whom had
 free or cheap access through their universities or research labs. Because of the widespread
 free use, many people who used the Internet as students have demanded and received
 connections to the Internet from their employers as they got jobs in the outside world.
 Because of that, use of the Internet has expl The Internet is rapidly achieving a state of
 critical mass, attracting interest from huge numbers of personal computer users from non
 technical backgrounds. All these new Internet users are rapidly transforming the nerd
 orientated culture of the network and opening up the Internet to new and exciting
 possibilities.

 "I'm not sure threat is exactly the right word, but if you ignore the Internet, you do so
 at your own peril, the Internet is going to force a new way of doing business on some
 people." says Norman DeCarteret, senior systems analyst at Advantis. (A company that links
 other companies to the Internet. "Internet becomes the road more traveled as E-mail users
 discover no usage fee." Steve Stecklow, Wall Street Journal (9/2/93).

 Here are some good things about the Net and why you should be using it. People in all kinds
 of businesses and industries are sharing a wide spectrum of educational, business, and
 personal interest on the Net. Most, probably share a high enthusiasm for the Internet and
 want to send and receive e-mail messages. But also, one to one communications by newsgroups
 or electric mail is different and better than conventional letter writing or voice phone
 conversations in that the people you communicate with seem m You also have instant access
 to such a large, varied, and intelligent based individuals on the Net, which gives you the
 power of being able to get good information. When you ask a question on the Internet, you
 stand an excellent chance at getting at least one intelligent answer from someone who has
 gone threw the same experience. Whether it's advice on a paper you have to write, how to
 research a certain topic, or something of a personal interest, there's always someone on
 the Internet willing to share th Profit, this is something I thought I would throw in for
 all those entrepreneurs out there. A rapidly increasing number of companies and
 entrepreneurs are using the Internet to market and sell their products and services. When
 it's done in an informative way, and in good taste, and in the on-line areas designated for
 advertising orientated messages, most Internet users like to see announcements of new
 products and services. A growing number of companies are generating substantial sales of
 their products a But hey, the Internet isn't just for academics, business, and professional
 use. It could also be really fun! There are over 11,000 special interest on-line
 confrenceing areas called newsgroups, on the Internet. Many of these groups feature large,
 active, and sometimes raucous discussions on the widest imaginable range of  interests,
 hobbies, and activities. Anything from antique cars, new business opportunities and
 personal investing to politics, gun control, sex, and The Simpsons. Participating in these
 Of course, like most other things, the Internet isn't all good and gloryice. You could say
 that the Internet is like the Wild West of the late 1800's. It's lawless, individualistic,
 brutal, and chaotic. And like any new frontier the Internet is not without it's problem's.
 If you decide you want to connect to the Internet, there are a few things you should know.

 The Internet can be pretty raw. That is, if you get a raw connection to the Internet, it
 lags behind modern personal computer interface technology by about 15 years. Without a good
 Windows or Macintosh based graphical software interface, also called a Web browser, to use
 all the features of the Internet you would need to know UNIX, a terse computer operating
 system command language that's a throwback to time sharing computer systems of the 1970's.
 For Internet access I would recommend you to go with an In The Internet has many powerful
 capabilities and an almost infinite range of information and communication power, all of
 which can never be adequately covered in any one paper or book. All the information in this
 paper came from hard copy sources to show you don't have to get on the Net to find out
 about the Net.







Work Cited :  

Cagnon, Eric. What's on the Internet : 
 Berkeley : Peach Pit Press. 1995
Krol, Edward. The Whole Internet : User's Guide and Catalog.
 Sebastopol : O'Reilly Ass, Inc. 1992
Internet World Magazine. On Internet 94.
 Westport : Mecklermedia Ltd. 1994
Newby, Gregory B. Directory of Directories on the Internet :
 Westport : Mecklemedia Ltd. 1994
Carmen, John. "The New Wave of the Internet."
 Wall Street Journal : 9/2/93











Michael LaCroix
Eng 101
Dr. Sonnchein
4/10/96

