Introduction

The Internet can be viewed in three ways:

As a collection of computers, networks and the services they provide.
As a collection of resources prepared and accessible world wide.
As a community of people who communicate and interact over the Internet.

We will concentrate on the second two since it is through interaction with people and resources from around the world that you will get the full benefits of the Internet.

Views of the Internet
History Of the Internet
Ways To Be Part Of It
Internet Services
Wonders Of The Web
Public Vs. Restricted Sites
For More Information

Views of the Internet

The computers used in the Internet are of many different varieties. Your basic person al computer could be used. The networks used are similar to the telephone network that allows us to place phone calls all over the world.

Each computer or service is given a unique numerical address, like 204.127.237.208.Normally, this IP address is hidden from the user by using what is called a domain name, although sometimes only the IP address is given. A domain name is simply a representation of the IP address. This may look something like www.worldnet.att.net. When you access www.worldnet.att.net, a Domain Name Server (DNS)looks up the domain name in a table and finds the IP address. It then uses the IP address to connect to the site in question.

The name tells you something about the owner or provider of the machine or service. You may or may not recognize part of the name (such as the att above). However, the last part of the name (.net in the example) is standardized. Here are some of the extensions and their meanings:

Extension	Type Of Site
.net	a service access provider
.edu	a university or other education al institution
.gov	a government agency
.org	a nonprofit organization
.com	a commercial company
.country	a site in the specified country

History Of the Internet

The forerunner to the Internet was originally commissioned by the US Department of Defense in support of the military. The first network of three computers was established in the 1960's. Since then, the Internet has grown to include millions of computers, has gone global and supports a huge range of uses and interests. For more on this topic, take a look at The Net Timeline sponsored by the Corporation For Public broadcasting.

Ways To Be Part Of It

There are four ways in which you can be on the Internet:

As a dial-up user or client such as when you use AT&T Worldnet Service.
As someone who puts (publishes) information on the Internet. For example,you could have your own Web page(s).
By having your own computer directly connected to the Internet. This means that your computer would be an Internet server.
By providing(or selling) dial-up access to other people through your own server. This makes you a service access provider like AT&T.

Note that one of the big causes for concern over security is that anyone can setup their own server as long as their computer meets a few minimal requirements and they pay their fees. Likewise, anyone can put up content (information). This information may be offensive,dangerous or may be represented as factual when, in reality, the author knows very little about the topic. So, check any location you visit to identify the author sponsoring organization.

Internet Services

The Internet offers many services. The main ones you are likely to use are described here.

E-Mail:
Electronic mail(e-mail) lets you communicate with one or more people worldwide by sending an electronic message to their Internet mailbox. They can then read the message and reply to it.

Newsgroups:
Newsgroups are similar to e-mail except that instead of sending your message to someone's mailbox, the message you send is automatically posted on a bulletin board. Anyone happening by that bulletin board can read what you, and any other contributors, wrote. You can respond to any message posted on the bulletin board. Newsgroups are set up for a particular topic or community. For example, there may be a newsgroup for Antique Radios or one for Public School Superintendents.

Chat Groups:
Chat Groups are similar to Newsgroups except that the dialog takes place in realtime. Instead of posting your message on a bulletin board, it is sent directly to the computer monitors of everyone who is currently logged into this Chat group.

Information Sources:
The Internet is full of incredibly valuable information. A lot of it these days is being put on the World Wide Web (WWW). Some of the predecessors of the Web are still around and still have lots of useful material available. You can get to these older sources in just the same way as you get to Web sources. In fact, in many cases, you won't realize which source you're using until you see the page. Web pages tend to be fancy, with colors, graphics and different fonts. The older systems are text-only so the pages you get will look like type-written sheets. You may notice the names of these older systems on your screen, names like Gopher.

Search Tools:
With so much information out there, you need some powerful tools to help you sift through it. There are many automated search tools where you type in your topic of interest and you are given a list of related sites to visit. See our WURD Search Tutorial for more information.

Wonders Of The Web

As you start to explore the World Wide Web it will help to have an understanding of how it is organized. The basic unit on the Web is the Web page. A Web page has a name or address. This is really called the URL (Universal Resource Locator) and it looks something like:
www.worldnet.att.net/atschool/int101.html

The .html (or .htm) extension at the end means that this page is written in the HyperText Markup Language (HTML). This is currently the most commonly used language for Web pages. The language used doesn't really matter to you as a user because your computer will properly display most languages. If the author has a lot of information,they may choose to organize it into multiple pages. Their starting page is called their home page and the collection of related pages is called a Web site. As a side note, the author may want you to arrive first at his home page but, due to the nature of the Internet, you can actually start at any page in his site. All of the pages in the site are connected by hyperlinks. You've been using links to get this far: text or graphics that, when you click on it, takes you to another page or somewhere new on the same page. The links can also take you completely out of one Web site and around the world to a different site in a far country. This is one of the features that makes the Web so powerful.

Public Vs. Restricted Sites

Many of the Web sites and other Internet resources are publicly accessible for no additional charge. A few ask that you register and perhaps use a password although they are still free. Some sites and activities charge a fee, either a one-time charge or a usage charge. You will be aware of these since you will not be allowed to participate or explore the site until you have entered billing information.

Some sites, while free, are restricted to certain groups of users. Sites like AT&T Worldnet Service are provided as a service to and are only accessible by their members. And of course, AT&T Worldnet Service Members can easily access all public sites and services on the Internet.

For More Information:

You can get hands-on experience with many of AT&T Worldnet Service's features by taking their Site Tour. Another good way to learn how to use their Internet features are the Help Forums. For help and/or information from other sources, try these links:

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