What is the Internet? The Internet is known as "The International Information Superhighway." The Internet is formed by the connection of millions of computers around the world who are connected to a few hundred supercomputers.


The term "Internet" has been used to refer generically to both the physical wire connecting the computers and other devices together as well as the many types of information resources that can be accessed via these connections.


How do I Gain Access?

Using phone lines and Local Area Networks (LANs), computers sites around the world are connected.

This interconnectivity provides for access to many communication and information services. It should be pointed out, however, that the services tend to change over time. New ones pop up, old ones tend to go away, and others seem to adapt and improve.

Who Owns The Internet? Nobody "owns" the Internet. It is kind of like a circle of friends sharing information.

For example, a college makes information available on the Internet. They, in essence, share their information with the global community.

They, in turn can access information from other sites, who can also access They, in turn can access information from other sites, who can also access information from the global community. For the most part these institutions do not charge for their information.

The Internet is predominated by government, the academic community and industry with a strong U.S. presence. In fact we were the trail blazers or developers of the internet concept.

Who Uses The Internet When you look at a list of Internet users, you will find it includes people from almost every walk of life. It makes no difference whether you are a janitor or a rocket scientist, you can still find useful information on the Net.

As we said, colleges use the Internet to transfer information to other colleges. They also use the Internet to conduct searches for information needed to develop or update courses.

The use of the Internet by commercial and financial investigations is growing at an inc readable rate. Doing business on the Internet is be coming very profitable.

For the military, and specifically for the student population at the Army War College, the Internet is a very valuable way to research information for a wide range of purposes. As an example, students can gather information needed for their SRP requirement by surfing the net.

What Does The Internet Provide Internet users have access to a wide variety of information sources using several different ways to communicate. Internet connections at first can be difficult to set up, learn, and use, but provide more variety at a lower overall cost than typical menu driven dial up services providing a limited range of resources at a higher cost. Here is a partial list of Internet applications for (PC) desktop computers.
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer (a web browser)
  • Netscape for Windows (a web browser)
  • Mosaic for Windows (a web browser)
  • E-mail (electronic mail)
  • Telnet (access to remote computers)
  • Gopher (method of searching for information on remote computers)
  • Archie (method of searching for files to download from remote computers)

What does the Internet cost? The Internet is not a commercial service. Even though you are paying for Internet access through a provider, what you are paying for is the use of the provider's telephone lines to connect to the provider's computer hardware and software that links you to other Internet users.

This is the same as paying bus fare that allows you access to public transportation or for a car that allows you to drive on public highways.

Who pays for it? There is no central organization for the Internet. Each provider pays for its own part. As an Example:
  • The NSF (National Science Foundation) pays for NSFNET. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) pays for the NASA Science Internet.

  • Each university pays for its campus network. The network providers can then get together and decide how to connect themselves and fund the connections. A provider, whether educational, government, or commercial, then pays for their connection to some regional network, which, in turn, pays a national provider for its access.

  • Telephone companies provide most of the long distance interconnections. Telephone companies in each country run parts of the system

Who runs the Internet? The Internet is nothing more than an interconnected group of organizations and persons throughout the world. There is no parent organization and no organizational rules other than the TCP/IP protocol and guidelines for software specifications.

There is no censorship. This freedom, which is one of the hallmarks of a democracy, is why the Internet has become so important and why there are so many diverse resources.

While the Internet itself is free, there are many useful commercial fee based services that can be accessed through the Internet.

What Kind of Computer Do I Need? In order to take full advantage of the functions of the Internet, it is suggested that the user purchase as much functionality as possible. As time goes on the software programs become bigger and more full-featured, requiring more computer random access memory (RAM); the size and number of computer files increases, requiring greater hard disk drive storage capacity (more megabytes); and graphics become more widely used and of higher quality, requiring a larger monitor and video random access memory (VRAM) to display images.

Internet Compatible Computers

(For minimum use of FTP, Telnet, E-mail, Archie, Newsreaders, Wais, and Web Browser:)

  • Computer: 66 MHz 486 DX2
  • Memory: 8 MB RAM
  • Hard Drive: 500 MB
  • Monitor: 15" SVGA (600 X 800)
  • Graphics Card: 1 MB VRAM
  • Diskette drive: 1.44 MB
  • Operating systems: MS-DOS 6.2 or later with Windows 3.1 or later, or Windows 95, or IBM OS/2 Warp
  • MODEM: 14.4 internal or external with a standard telephone line with call waiting disabled.
Optimal: for optimal use with the added functionality of high resolution Web Browser graphic images and movies and increased speed of operation, with the ability to run several programs at once.
  • Computer: 750-850 MHz Pentium III
  • Memory: 64-128 MB RAM
  • Hard Drive: 10-20 gigabyte
  • Monitor: 17" SVGA (1024 X 1280)
  • Graphics Card: 16-32 MB VRAM
  • CD-ROM: 48x speed
  • Diskette drive: 1.44 MB
  • MODEM: 56k Modem internal or external with a standard telephone line with call waiting disabled or a cable MODEM.

Windows 95/98 is a standard for most modern software. The processor should be the speediest you can afford, or your computer will become obsolete faster. The absolute minimum computer processor memory needed is 16-32 MB with Windows, or you will be severely handicapped and your software will run more slowly or not at all at times. There is no point in buying a monochrome monitor, as virtually all software programs are designed to take advantage of color monitors. Anything less than a 15" monitor will handicap your use of graphic images, and the graphics card must have at least 8MB of VRAM for high resolution images to be displayed.
Your Internet Connection In order to access the Internet, your computer requires some type of electronic connection. If you are part of a network that is "hard-wired" together (i.e., there is a physical cable running from the network server to your office), then you generally will connect with the use of "ethernet" which is a network standard for data transfer.

Many Macintosh computers come "ethernet ready" which means that they have the port already bult into them.

PC compatible computers generally must have an "ethernet card" installed onto the motherboard of the computer. The connectors on the back of the ethernet card have several configurations: 10baseT, RJ45, AUI, BNC.

You must ask your network administrator which type of connection you will need. administrator which type of connection you will need. This will determine what kind of card and cable you buy to connect to the Internet.

If you do not have a "hard wired" connection, then you must connect over a regular telephone line with a modem. You are better off with a good modem, one that operates at least at 33.600 bps (56k modems are becoming more commonplace and are much better).

You still need TCP/IP software on your computer, but in addition if you are using MS/DOS or Windows 3.1x, you will need what is called a "SLIP" (serial line Internet protocol) or a "PPP" (point to point protocol) connection package. This is an additional software program that connects your computer to the Internet through a modem. Windows 95/98 comes with this software built into the operating system under Dial-up Networking API..

Links to Additional Internet Tutorials:

North Hall Library - Internet Learners Page - Resources on the Internet for shopping and learning.

An Internet Tutorial - School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, Te Kura Putaiao Pangarau, Rorohiko, The University of Waikato

An Internet tutorial by Jonathan Leger - "Because times have changed, and because the internet can appear very technical, this tutorial was written. It takes a non-technical, down-to-earth approach to the internet and how to make it a practical tool. The tutorial is divided up into five chapters:"

Big Dummy's Guide to the Internet - An excellent course on the Internet. A Must read.