Exploring the Internet

1. Exploring the Internet Session 1 Introduction to the Internet and World Wide Web

2. Internet Definitions - p. 1 • Network - set of hardware and software components that supports several people working together and allows sharing of hardware, software, and information • Internet - a network of networks that allows you to communicate with people anywhere in the world as well as access information that you desire any time of the day or night

3. Internet Definitions (cont.) • Started in the 1960s as a joint project between education, and government (ARPANET) for defense purposes. • World Wide Web (WWW) - easy method of sending text, graphics, and sound has resulted in explosive growth • Web browser - piece of software needed for accessing WWW

4. Internet • Today, mostly used for commercial purposes. • Includes many different types of resources. The one that is most prevalent today is the World Wide Web (WWW). • Allows millions of people from around the world to communicate with one another. • Responsible for the fall of the iron curtain • Role in Gulf War • Totalitarian governments despise it

5. Internet Connection Necessities • Modem or network connection • Internet account • Internet Service Provider (ISP) -university, AOL, Dave’s World, and so forth • Software Utilities • Browser software

6. Internet Addresses • Account - individual that you are communicating with • Domain • Lower domain - the name of the organization where the account can be found • Top domain - the type of organization

7. Internet Addresses • To communicate with someone, you have to know their Internet address (everything after “@” is the domain): astudent@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu At the computer named rs6000.cmp This User (account) An educational institution At Illinois State University

8. Top Domains - p. 5 • .com commercial or business site • .edu educational site • .gov U.S. government site • .mil U.S. military site • .net network site • .org private or non-profit site

9. Proposed Top Domains • .firm Businesses or firms • .shop Bus. offering goods for purchase • .web Web-based Entities • .arts Cultural or entertainment activities • .rec Recreational or entertainment entity • .info Information services entities • .nom Individual or personal sites

10. Starting an Internet Session • Obtain communication with your ISP • Login procedure - identifies you to the host computer • Password - series of characters that verifies to the computer that you are a valid user • Asterisks may appear as you enter it • Never give your password to anyone

11. Internet Services • Electronic Mail • Usenet/Newsgroups • Listserv • File Transfer Protocol (FTP) • Telnet • Gopher and Veronica • Internet Relay Chat • World Wide Web

12. E-mail - p. 6 • E-mail - ability to send and receive messages using the computer. • Uses special software designed specifically for this task • Pine, Elm (UNIX) • Eudora • Exchange • Single or many recipients possible • Flaming

13. E-mail Etiquette - p. 7 • Keep message brief and concise • Don’t send confidential or embarrassing info. • Remember, the message belongs to the org. • Don’t copy unnecessary people • Don’t use all upper case letters • Include a salutation and signature line • You may want to use shorthand (abbreviations) - Table 1.2 • Emoticons help to show how you feel - Table 1.3 • Avoid all gossip or impropriety using E-mail

14. Usenet/Newsgroups - p. 9 • Interactive discussions that can occur on a wide variety o f subjects • Postings are E-mail messages to the newsgroup • Information is arranged by topic or by areas of interest • 100s of group names/topics are available

15. Usenet/Newsgroups • Selected group names or categories • comp computers • misc don’t fit a category • rec recreational activities or hobbies • sci scientific areas • soc social, cultural, and political • talk discussion forums for politics or other areas with controversy

16. Listserv • Listserv - consists of all e-mail messages related to a single topic • A document containing these e-mail messages is sent to all subscribers • All that is required to access is e-mail software • Many times listservs are used for conducting classes

17. Agent - Newsgroup browser

18. Newsgroup Guidelines • Review the frequently asked questions (FAQ) document for that group. • Review the last two or three weeks of the articles or postings to get a flavor for the group. • Spend some time “lurking” examining the group without posting. • Be careful with your first postings. If participants feel you don’t understand elementary items, you will probably get flamed.

19. File Transfer Protocol - p. 13 • File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - method of transferring files across the Internet • Can be done with UNIX statements • Can be done with special FTP software • May be built in as an integral part of a piece of browser software for the Web • Many times referred to as anonymous FTP because most users use their name when requesting files.

20. FTP Client Software Utility Your System (where you want to receive the files) Where the files currently reside

21. Telnet - p. 14 • Allows you to communicate directly with another computer • Unlike FTP, it does not allow you to download files • Many times used to gain access to other libraries, get weather forecasts, and so forth

22. Gopher and Veronica - p. 14 • Gopher - text-based, menu driven program that allows you to access, view, and download files (developed at U. of Minn.) • Precursor to WWW • Veronica is the search engine for finding files from multiple gopher sites

23. Internet Relay Chat • Permits you to communicate “live” with other Internet users • Needs special software that can be downloaded from a number of locations • Requires you to log in to a chat room • Statements that you type are visible to other participants

24. World Wide Web (WWW or Web) • Designed in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee • Combines text, graphics, sound as a “packet” of information • Phenomenally rapid growth • Requires the use of a software browser to interpret the data needed for a site and then download it to the user and display/play properly

25. World Wide Web Terminology • Web Browser - A piece of software that can understand and display Web documents (Netscape and Explorer are two commonly used browsers) • Home page - The initial Web page Netscape loads when you start the program • Uniform Resource Locator - The location of a page on the World Wide Web • Web Document - A specially designed file for use on the Web than can contain text, graphics, sound, and links to other Web pages.

26. More Web Terminology • Hyperlinks - “Jumps” to a different location in the document, a different document on the computer, or a different computer • http - Hypertext transfer protocol - the first four letters in each URL - indicates that the browser can expect text, graphic, or sound files • HTML - HyperText Markup Language - the ASCII based language used to describe a Web page so that it can be interpreted by the browser software for loading text, images, or sound files. • Surfing - Navigating links of Web pages

27. Web Browsers • A number of different kinds of browsers • Netscape • Internet Explorer • Mosaic • Netscape the browser selected by ISU

28. Internet Explorer Screen • Menu bar • Toolbars • Address text box • Document window • Status bar • Scroll bars • Status indicator

29. Web Surfing • Enter an address in the Location box • Click on a link • Pointer turns into a hand with the upraised index finger to indicate a link • Click the link and that page is loaded • Role of the Forward and Back buttons • Favorites

30. More Surfing • Printing a Web page • Saving pages • Accessing saved pages • Using the Context menu • Saving images • Images are typically GIF and JPG files

31. Other Web Browser Uses • Accessing Search Engines • Search Engine • Types - Pip handout • Search Spiders • Research using the Web • E-Mail • Newsgroups

32. Research Using the Computer • Searching for information on the Web • Start with a search engine • Success depends on how the search engine determines sites • Lots of “garbage” on the Web • Searching a library using Telnet or Browser