Internet

     The Internet is a global communications system, linking billions of users all over the world. This system is comprised of millions of networks spanning private residences, schools, public networking areas, and businesses. Research was being done in the 1960’s, to develop new ways of linking communication systems between military agencies, and these systems did not become commercialized until the 1990’s. When this international network did become commercial, millions of applications started being added to it that touched upon every avenue of importance to humans. At this time in 2010, a huge percentage of Earth’s population makes use of the Internet.
     An Internet service provider, also known as an ISP is a business dedicated to providing Internet service to its customers. Each service provider is different, and offers various different services within their plans. Some providers will offer email accounts to their customers, which allows the customers to communicate with others who share the same provider using the same server. Internet service providers make use of various technologies to allow their customers to access their particular network. For the at home Internet user, the most common connection is broadband wireless access. This provides the user with high speed Internet, avoiding the time consuming use of dial up Internet, and data accessibility over large span of area. For business usage, the most common Internet connection is known as DSL. This is comprised of data transmission over a network of wires, and is transmitted digitally. The transmission methods for the DSL network vary by the region, carrier, equipment and the market. A form of communication transmission within the Internet is also made possible by the use of a cable modem. The cable modem is most often used to deliver broad band Internet access which takes form as cable Internet.
     Wireless Internet, which is also known as Wi-Fi, is able to put into devices so they can be used in areas outside of you provider network. Some devices that can be Wi-Fi enabled are video game consoles, personal computers, personal music players, and many types of phones. Wi-Fi enables the use of the Internet in many places where it has previously been unthought-of, such as fast food restaurants, campsites, bathrooms, and almost anywhere you can think of. Wireless Internet is a great option for businesses and older buildings that do not the space or accessibility in which to put in numerous cables and wires. This also helps in keeping costs down, while still enabling these places to have Internet access at their fingertips. A huge benefit to the Wi-Fi network is, that any standard Wi-Fi device will work anywhere in the world.
     The Internet is a public facility that is available to millions of people all over the world. The most used part of the Internet is the World Wide Web, or the WWW. Using the Internet, a person has access to millions of pieces of information, and the ability to share this information and more with any other person out there who is also on the “web.”