Understanding the Internet

Much has been written about the Internet in recent years. Internet AdCom Services, a Web Design, Consulting and Production company, takes some of the mystique out of the entity referred to as the Internet. Horizontal Line
[The Internet] [What The Internet Offers]
[Welcome to the Revolution][Components of the Internet]
[What Internet AdCom Services Offers To Your Business] [Webspeak Deciphered]

THE INTERNET

The Internet is a network of computers, connected to a network of computers. It is a cooperative interconnection many single-entity networks.

This network of computers began in the early 1980's, when the United States Government established a communications link between agencies. Research and Educational Universities followed, and the Internet (originally known as ARPaNet) was up and running. Some of the early functions of this network of computers included:

Sending of Electronic Mail from one point to another point;
Remote Printing among several Personal Computers;
Occasionally, Remote Job Execution.

As years progressed, these networks of computers developed and so did the means of sending information between these computers. What took hours to transmit in the early '80's, was reduced to only minutes by the end of the decade.

By 1990, the Personal Computer was also improving at outstanding speed. This enabled these small computers to perform many of the same functions of computers which took up whole rooms nearly two decades earlier. A whole new market was developing for using these computers: The Commercial Market.

This market began to infiltrate and assist in the development of the Internet. Combined with the continual ease and usage of utilizing this Communications Infrastructure, the Internet has relatively quickly developed into a full-fledged method of conducting daily Business.

Some of the reasons why the Internet is having such a dramatic impact on the scope of business networking applications include the following:

Universality. Any business using the Internet can interact with any other business using the Internet. This is by no means true of earlier computer networking technologies.

Reach. The Internet is everywhere: large cities and small towns throughout the United States and more than 70 countries throughout the world.

Performance. Unlike many other public networks, the Internet is inherently a high-bandwidth network. This means that it can handle visual images, audio clips, and other large electronic objects. It provides its users with a high-function, multi-media window on the world in addition to handling everyday networking tasks such as electronic mail.

Add to this the concept of Interactivity, and the future of the 21st Century appears to be knocking at our door. Compare this to other forms of networking and communication such as the telephone and fax machine or television and radio.

Each is basically limited to one medium (visual, audio, print). With the rising technology that the computer offers, the Internet is quickly jumping over these other forms of communication.

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What the Internet Offers

Reliability. As mentioned earlier, the design concepts for the Internet came from the United States, specifically the U.S. Department of Defense work, with a principal goal being to create a network which could continue to function under wartime conditions. Hence, Internet technology can be highly robust.

Cost. Compared with alternative networking technologies, Internet costs are surprisingly modest. This may be the single most important argument for utilizing the Internet. Because of the relatively modest costs of accessing and providing content to the Internet, small business can now compete with large business within the same medium. Compare this to television, where the costs of advertising at the top level usually prohibit these small companies from doing business.

The Internet is changing the customary and usual ways companies have conducted business.

Momentum. According to the July 10, 1995 issue of US News & World Report, there are some 25 million computer users in this country. This number has been projected to increase to 40 million by the end of 1995 (Compaq CEO speaking at NY PC Expo, June, 1995).

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WELCOME TO THE REVOLUTION!

The Information/Technology Revolution that is. According to an article from the June 14, 1993 issue of Fortune Magazine:

"More than any other agent of change, information technology is transforming the way business works. It is helping companies get leaner, smarter, closer to the customer. Those who seize the opportunities inherent in this revolution are capturing important competitive advantages. Those who lag behind are forced to scramble breathlessly in a race to catch up, or die.

"Computers, particularly PCs linked into networks, play a dual part in business's search for faster, more flexible responses to the shifting marketplace. They have helped unleash that quest, but at the same time they have made the goal more attainable. 'Until recently, computers were simply automating the old manual processes we'd had before,' says Les Alberthal, CEO of Electronic Data Systems, the $8.2-billion-a-year information technology services business that Ross Perot sold to GM in 1984."

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COMPONENTS OF THE INTERNET

The Internet is broken up into the following components:

E-Mail. This is the abbreviation for Electronic Mail. It is the popular method of sending messages and text files through the various computer networks. Recently, the software and technology have developed where other types of files, such as pictures and voice files can also be sent. (Click here to send IAS a quick message)

According to the August 12, 1996 issue of ComputerWorld, "Morgan Stanley Research predicts that there will be 30 million Internet E-mail users by next year (1997)."

Gopher. This portion of the Internet allows one computer to search for information on the "Net". There are further divisions within the Gopher system.

Telnet. This portion allows one computer to connect into another computer which is logged onto the Internet. This will allow the initiating user to utilize portions of the connecting computer as if they were actually at that connecting computer. FTP. This stands for File Transfer Protocol. It is the Internet's method of transferring files from one computer to another computer. World Wide Web. This is quickly becoming the most popular portion of the Internet, probably because it can combine many of the services described above in a graphical, user-friendly environment. The Web is a graphical, user-friendly method of:

Obtaining Information
Presenting Information
Jumping (surfing) from one computer to another computer.

THE NUMBERS....

According to the June 1995 issue of Internet World, there will be approximately 5 million World Wide Web users by the end of 1995. This number is expected to quadruple by the year 2000.

In a straw poll MasterCard International Inc., conducted recently over the company's site on the World Wide Web, 66% of respondents said they use the Web to look at merchandise for sale, 28% already bought merchandise on the Net, and 59% said the Internet is an important channel for looking at merchandise.

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WHAT INTERNET ADCOM SERVICES
OFFERS TO YOUR BUSINESS

Internet AdCom Services was formed in 1995 to facilitate bringing this information revolution into mainstream, daily activities. Included elsewhere in this packet is a description of services provided and a rate sheet for those services.

Internet AdCom Services will assist your business in jumping onto this Cyberspace Express. Whether you desire to place a simple Business Card advertisement or a full Web Page on to the 'Net, IAS will work to implement the best strategy for your business.

Further, IAS will be there to help promote the location of your business category. At IAS, a team effort is the governing principle. For advertising to be successful, the public needs to know essential information. The location of your business is at the top of this list. IAS will be right there working with you to fulfill this need.

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WEBSPEAK DECIPHERED

BROWSER. Software that opens the door to the Web, allowing the display of text and graphics. INTERNET EXPLORER and NETSCAPE are two popular browsers.

FAQ (FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS). A grab bag of questions that new users of a Web site often ask--with answers, of course.

HIT. A rough measure of a site's popularity; each hit represents one time that a file in the site is accessed.

HOME PAGE. The opening screen of a Web site.

HYPERMEDIA. Video and sound files transmitted by way of the Web.

HYPERTEXT. Highlighted text linked to related pages in the same or other sites.

SEARCH ENGINE. An electronic directory on the Web that searches for documents, pages or sites based on key words.

SERVICE PROVIDER. An online service, university network or corporate server that lets users connect to the Internet, which in turn is the gateway to the Web.

WEB SITE. A collection of pages and files on the Web built around a common theme or subject.

WEBMASTER. The authority figure responsible for maintaining and updating the information of a site. Like a sysop of an online bulletin board.

UNIVERSAL RESOURCE LOCATOR. A URL is the technical name of a Web address -- http://www.apple.com is an example.

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