Chaper 1

The first chapter in the book described who uses the internet, internet activities, the history of the internet, and described connecting to the internet. After reading the first few pages I noticed just how many commas are used when talking about the internet. From describing all the people who actually use the internet, the different communication carriers, to its various uses. Business owners use the internet to maximize their profit or maintain good relationships with their members, consumers, and partners. Consumers can use the internet to purchase things online and pay their bills. Many of these things could be done without the internet but usually in a less efficient manner. I use the internet commonly to search for answers, download music, and communicate with friends. I found it interesting how different people use the internet. I also believe it is amazing how a web page could be created from a program such as notepad. From the chapter I also learned what many of the common acronyms associated with the internet stood for. Such as HTML which stands for hypertext markup language and TCP/IP which stands for transmission control protocol/internet protocol.

I’ve always been interesting in learning about the history of the internet. The government in the 1960s felt pressured by the Soviet Union to connect their computers so they would be able to the data and computing power to more than just one location so they would be less vulnerable. One of the first milestone in the creation of the internet was in 1966, a new network was launched called ARPANET. I also found interesting the names of the universities that helped create the internet (MIT, Stanford, UCLA). In December 1969 four universities were able to join the ARPANET network which became the foundation of the internet today. Bolt Beranek and Newman (BBN) was able to create the hardware, programming, and design. In 1971 the first chat between two computers to place. Later that year email was created. In the 1980s different networks were created as members of the general public became more interested. In 1993 the first browser was created and was called the worldwideweb. By the end of the year 1994 there were about 10 million users. Today there are nearly 2 billion people around the world that have access to the internet. They have access to these networks from Internet service providers.

After reading this chapter I feel so grateful to be in a generation where the internet is such a common form of technology. I was able to listen to music as I wrote this and was able to submit this assignment at my own leisure as a result of the internet.