The World Wide Web
Introduction
World Wide Web - is it a lot of hype or is it the gateway of the future? When I first started using the web
in university, it was the 'early' version which was very simple in format. It has grown exponentially
year on year. It was once dismissed by many as a lot of hype, but today, it is an integral part of many
peoples lives. So, what's the big deal with the WWW?
What's it all about?
The world wide web is like a massive cobweb of computer and server interconnections spanning the entire
globe. Like a cobweb, you can break one string or add one string without
affecting the entire web. There are also multiple paths to get from one place to another. What
does this mean to you? Well, you can link up to any computer on the internet and read the latest
information or download a program or purchase an item. Among my favorite uses for the internet
are reading daily news (CNN), reading computer and technology related articles, shopping, checking the weather and more. I also like to use it to find alternative news sources, so that
I don't always have to live with the skewed perspective of standard media alone. Other typical uses are for doing banking, attending online auctions, buying flight tickets, making holiday reservations, seeking information or doing research and more.
How To...
Getting on the internet is the first step toward getting on the world wide web. There are many ways to
get online. The most common method is to sign up with an internet service provider. They will enable you
to connect to their servers which in turn connect to the internet. The connection between your computer
and theirs comes under many names referring to the connection type, such as dial up, cable, ADSL, ADSL2,
wireless etc. The package or limitations determine the price you pay. It sets your surfing speed, download/
upload limits, and freedom (wireless or hard wired).
The second step
is getting a browser up and running. You'd need a browser like Firefox or Explorer or one of
the many others available. From there, you could use a guide to help you get around
the internet or use a search engine to find what you need. Try Yahoo. Using a search engine like Google is a great way to get around if
you know what you are looking for. The problem
now days is that we tend to find too many pages rather than none.
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