COMM 3353: Information & Communicattion Tehnologies I

COMM 3353: Information & Communicattion Tehnologies I • Dr. Shawn McCombs Chapter 1a: Introduction and Brief History of the Internet

COMM 3353:Information & Communication Technologies I • Chapter 1: • Introduction to the Internet and the World Wide Web

The Internet and the World Wide Web • What is the Internet? • Who Uses the Internet? • Models of Communication and the WWW • World Wide Web and Mass Media • Practical Applications

….. What is the Internet? • Network of networks • Brilliantly structured to facilitate global communication • Mass Communication Potential • Message Sender, Message Provider • Changes the way people receive and transmit information • E.g. News, TV, Radio, Personal Websites

…. • Internet responsible for the change of media news patterns • Lifestyle changes of millions of people • physiology • Social interaction • Habitual and attitudinal changes • Technophobia and Cyberphobia (going, going, gone…)

S Server C Client How does it work?

… web 1.0 vs Web 2.0 web 1.0 vs Web 2.0 web 1.0 vs Web 2.0 • 1980’s - Y2K: • Humble beginnings • Static page design mainstream • 2005 - 2013 • Web Renaissance • Multimedia-based web design • Dynamic web building replaces Static Web • Culture trumps technology • Social networking becomes driving force on web • web sits and other technologies are designed with comfort and convenience of user in mind • 2013 - Current • The Cloud

… So, What is the Internet? • Network consisting of over millions of interconnected sub-networks worldwide • No single owner • Comprised of various text-only and multimedia-based resources • Major Components of the Internet: • eMail (Electronic Mail) • Developed in early days of internet • Currently most popular and widely used application • World Wide Web • Software Application used on the internet to manage output • Presents information in text, audio, video, graphic format

……. Web Users and Profiles • July 1995 • Estimated 4 million documents available on the web • October 1995 • Number had grown to 8.5 million pages • July 1996 • Estimated to contain between 16 - 50 million pieces of information • By 1998, the number of internet pages toped 150 million • July 2011 • Estimates at 1 Billion

……. Web Users and Profiles

…… • Recent data shows US consumption at > 200 million users (China at 1.87 Million)* • 3 in every 4 adults gets online • 37% of working adults use the internet at home • 2 Million new long-term users each month • >600 Million users worldwide • *Source: InformationWeek

….. • Mass media and Critical Mass of Adopters • Media to be considered “Mass” requires attainment of Critical Mass Status • Critical Mass is achieved when 16% (approx. 50 million) of the population has adopted an innovation

… • Surfers > 10 hours per week: • Increased from 29% in ‘95 to 82% by ’11 • Average users spend 13.9 hours per week cruising sites • Nearly 1/2 of all users visit at least one web site daily • 8 out of 10 users access Social Media and eMail daily

.. • Male users dominate the web • Although female user-share has increased dramatically (31% - 40%) • Women users tend to be slightly younger than male counter parts • Average User Age Demographics: • Women: 31.9 y/o • Men: 33.4 y/o

. • Retirees and older Americans have surpassed students as the fastest growing group of online users. • $1.3 Trillion spent 2010 alone, accounting for the largest spending group on the internet.

Average Annual Income: • $58,000 • Remains high, but has fallen slightly as more students go online

.. Communication Models and the World Wide Web • Traditional mass media • 1:M communication model • One source speaks at one time to many people • Differs from interpersonal 1:1 model of communication that occurs when 1 person talks to another • Marriage of computer systems and internet has given rise to Hybrid model of communication, M:1 Model

. • M:1 model of mass communication • Cross between mass broadcasting and interpersonal communication • Large amounts of info entered by many different sources and are stored until retrieved by individuals

Internet crosses traditional boundaries of three modes of mass communication (1:1, 1:M, M:1) • Internet architecture allows for all three types of communication, with a fourth type (M:N) emerging • On the internet everyone can be a producer, receiver; personal or en-mass • Information can be provided / accessed by many

.. • WWW: a revolutionary creation • Technologically unique • Traditional-medium properties • Radio can be heard and is portable • TV is visual and captivating • Print is absorbing and can be read anytime • Now the Web offers many of these same advantages

Content: • WWW blurs distinction among normal media distribution channels • WWW takes everything and disseminates it equally • Traditional methods are visibly different

… Characteristics of Mass Media • Audience • RTV Reaches Large Audiences simultaneously • Telephone is intended for one person at a time • Thousands of web users can look at the same page at the same time • Email is intended for one or several people at a time

.. • Time • Asynchronous • Variable time delay between print / receipt • Synchronous • No perceptible delay

. • Display and Distribution • Display: • Technological means used to present information (audio, visual, text) • Distribution • Method used to carry information (wire, cable) • Distance • Some media better suited for different distances

Storage • Limited to those media that have electronic means of housing large amounts of information • CD, HD, Tape • Virtually unlimited storage space • Newspaper houses, Print shops • Limited space for back-issue storage

The Internet and theWorld Wide Web • Short Break

History of the Internet • History of the World Wide Web • How do they work? • Connecting to the Internet • Navigation • Selecting a Browser • Online Services

…. • Internet vs. internet • An internet (small “i”) refers to any network of computers • The Internet (large “I”) is a specific name • Given to the communication network comprised of hundreds of thousands of inter-connected networks

… • The Internet is not a new development • Conceptualized in the early 1960’s • Rand Corp. (Paul Baran) envisioned email • Outlined proposal to US Govt. regarding the need for a communications network in case of a nuclear attack against the US. • ARPAnet (Advanced Research Projects Agency) was created to facilitate network research

.. • 1970’s brought about Stanford University’s testing and development of early internet protocols • Vinton Cerf -- Father of the Internet • 1980’s & National Science Foundation • NSF obtained control of network for government and educational use

. • Also in the 1980’s: • Tim Berners-Lee of CERN (European Laboratory of Particle Physics) began working on WWW • Software for world-wide interconnectivity • Berners-Lee -- Father of WWW • Developed the Web as a means of sharing scientific information • Written as an “…Internet-based hypermedia initiative for global information sharing.”

Internet surfing -- pre-browser era • Before the Web, information retrieval was accomplished through a number of complicated steps and commands • Difficult • Time consuming • Required greater-than-normal understanding of computing in order to operate • “Private” until 1993 with the birth of Mosaic

… • The internet as a Packet-Switched network • Bundles of data are broken up, transmitted, and reassembled at the other end • Transmitted data are mixed together with all the other data on the internet until it reaches it final destination

.. • Data flows through the internet via many interconnected computers • Clients, Servers, and Routers • Clients: Originating User’s Computer • Server: Powerful, Continuous Internet Access • Router: Computers that link networks together

. • TCP/IP • Sets definitions for how data transmission takes place. • TCP (Transmission Control Protocols) • Defines how computers communicate with each other • IP (Internet Protocols) • Tells routers how to reassemble data packets

Several types of Internet Protocols: • HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) • WWW Documents • WAIS (Wide Area Info System Protocol) • Rules for accessing text-only file indices • FTP (File Transfer Protocol) • Data transfer from one computer to another • Telnet (Terminal Emulation Protocol) • Used when logging into another system

….. • Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) • Flashnet, EV1, PDQ.net • A company that provides the connection between remote locations and the internet • The two most important ISP Services: • Fast, reliable service with no busy signals • Reliable email delivery in less than 5 minutes • Individuals pay a monthly subscription rate for permission to dial-in to their server

…. • Online Services • AOL, CompuServe, Prodigy • ISP’s on steroids • Provide extra services in addition to the plain “net connection” • On-line databases • Govt. and Commercial information • Search engines • Many Online Services provide their own browsers

… • Internet Addresses • InterNIC • Domain Name registration • Sets rules • Assigns IP Addresses • Organizes participant categories • Universities, Businesses • Networks, Organizations • Military, Government

.. • First-Level Domain Extender • a.k.a. Top-Level Domain • Thee letter code added to each address (e.g.: .COM) • Com = commercial • Edu = education (university) • Gov = Government • Mil = Military • Net = Network support company • Org = nonprofit, nongov. organization

. • Every person given access to the internet is assigned an IP Address • Unique to each user • Serves as a locator • When a request is sent from a client to a location on the internet, the reply is made by recognizing the IP Address

Internet Addresses (aka Canonical Addresses) are associated with the IP Address • Registered at the same time • Also called DNS (Domain Name System) • Username@host.subdomain • (e.g.: smccombs@uh.edu)

… • Net Browsers • Mosaic • Netscape • Internet Explorer • Present online information in a readable format to the user. • Done by interpretation of a web programming language called HTML

.. • Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) • World Wide Web Programming Language • Consists of a series of commands that tell browsers how to read and present data to the user. • Uses tags to accomplish page formatting • Not actually a programming language • Lacks compiling ability

. • Making Web Pages Dynamic • Scripting • Web Programming using JAVA or VBScript • Used in conjunction with HTML • HTML = Static • SCRIPTING = Dynamic • JavaScript, VBScript • programming code written within HTML Document that causes interactivity

Moving around the web: Two Methods • Hot Links and Buttons • Links are hidden HTML commands that, when activated, can take a user to another web site • URL • The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the HTML’s specific web address • URL by Bookmarking or Favorites

Personal Preference • Although some determining factors: • Security • Size of browser • Cost • Not really an issue any more • Compatibility

The Internet and theWorld Wide Web • End Chapter 1 Presentation

COMM 3353: Information & Communicattion Tehnologies I