So This is What The Hulabaloo Was All About!

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I will be the first to admit that I am one of those poor, unfortunate souls who, until recently, did not even realize that the Internet and the World Wide Web were not synonymous terms. I have recently become “enlightened” and now (I hope) finally get the distinction between these two separate but related things!  Better to be late to the party than to never arrive at all, I say!

Rather simplistically put, while the Internet is the hardware portion of this global communication equation, the World Wide Web essentially amounts to the software portion.

The Internet, which had military beginnings in the late 1960’s, is in essence, a giant network of networks. These networks are connected via wire, fiber optic cables, and/or wireless connections. Any computer can communicate and share information with any other computer in the world, providing each is connected to the Internet. Email, instant messaging, chat, and file transfer services all occur over the Internet.  A public computer network, the Internet is governed by a set of rules, laws, and regulations known as the Internet Protocol, which deals with data and its transmission via packets.

The World Wide Web is, in effect, built on top of the Internet. It depends upon the Internet to work and serves as a way to access information over the medium of the Internet. It is comprised of a collection of web pages connected through hyperlinks and URL’s. Governed by the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and utilizing a common language known as Hyper Text Mark Up Language (HTML), the Web’s basic premise is to link documents, files, folders, and pages of information from computer to computer.

The ways to connect to the Internet vary. For home use and many businesses, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) supplies Internet access. A Local Area Network (LAN) might be used to connect computers to the Internet in specific areas, such as in an office or in a building.  While there are other avenues to connect to the Internet, availability, and cost can vary. Dial-up, Cable, Satellite, Microwave, Wi-Fi, and Mobile Wireless are the most commonly known. Each carries it’s own pluses and minuses. Not every method is available everywhere. Geography matters, apparently! At my house, we use DSL, although we did give satellite a whirl, but found it too unreliable. Everyone except ol’ Mom also has mobile wireless access as well. I am the last hold out, although I did call "dibs" on the next phone up-grade! How about you? How do you connect?