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The Computer Revolution/Networks/Internet

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Internet is a growing necessity to our every day lives. It is becoming more and more popular and people are starting to rely on it because of the simpler life that it has created for us. Internet is a computer network that connects computer all over the world. They share TCP/IP with each other. Internet is a way of transporting documents that are stored in another computer. It pretty much is a system that covers the whole world. The internet does not contain information, it is rather a tool that helped gain wanted information. Lots of people say “ I got found document of the internet” which is wrong because you would rather say that “ I found this document by using the internet”.

Common Internet uses

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  1. Helps user with understanding general information.
  2. Is a quick tool to getting information on something or someone.
  3. Is an simple way of meeting others.
  4. Is a method of reading about current events.
  5. Is another way to shop without leaving the comfort of your own home.
  6. Is a method to advertise a product.
  7. Helps the users pay bills online easily.
    Computer
  8. Is another way to book vacations.
  9. Helps communicate with others who you have lost touch with, family, or friends
  10. Helps give ideas on places to go (like bars, restaurants, etc.)
  11. Helps students with homework
  12. Allows you to research about topics you aren’t sure on (like a sick animal, how to build something, etc.)
  13. Easy way to order boys online to pick up.

History

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The internet has its roots in the creation of a military program called DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) a response to USSR launching Sputnik. DARPA had a subsidiary program with the agenda of creating a communications network between all levels of the US military and government. One objective was to create a network that would allow researches at different locations to communicate. Sputnik had sparked the idea of building a network that allowed data to be sent back and forth, but not necessarily on the same path in case one of those paths were destroyed. Eventually, students at the participating universities were also allowed access. Computer scientists at UCLA, MIT and were interested in helping develop the network with goals of also applying the network to other more commercial applications. Additional networks were created for obvious security reasons and the ARPANET soon became the internet. Over time, the type of data used on the internet has changed a great deal. Today the internet is used for shipping, e-mails, music, movies, every day communications, etc.

DARPA Logo

On 1969 four US universities became online, UCLA, Stanford Research Institute (SRI), UC Santa Barbara (UCSB), and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City as part of “the four node network”

...and then life changed

Users

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Users of the Internet are mostly people who use it to access data that they need or people and even other computers (or smart devices) that use the network to work collaboratively. They can be anywhere, there is a way to connect to the network.

Today in most places the Internet has become affordable way of helping people to get connected with a low price that is fit for their budget. The Internet is something so valuable that it is difficult for some users to be without it in day-to-day life.

Since the internet been around for a awhile there have been many myths about the internet. The number one myth is that the internet is free. While you may not be paying to use the service, someone is paying the bill every month. Another myth is that is quite common is that most people think the Internet and World Wide Web is the same thing. Everyone uses these two words like they are the same but they are not. The Internet is the physical network and the Web is a collection of web pages.

United States of America

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Over 75 percent of the United States population has used are Internet users. The Internet is mostly used at work, home, and school. Americans use the Internet for various reasons like read the news, check the weather, browse the web, and even social networking.

The internet is deemed bad in some cases because it contains massive amount of illegal activity, images and videos deemed taboo for normal society and some group feel it should be controls. The internet is also a large area that copyright information is shared without permission. This has prompted the United States Federal Government to try to introduce acts and bills that give them the right to control the internet. This ranges from SOPA and other bills that would give the government right to manage the internet. Hardcore internet uses and major internet companies including Google and Wikipedia closed for 24 hours. This closure was to show the hard internet censorship will cause.

This action opened the eyes of many people that had little to no idea of the bill, what it will do to the internet. The government still tries to sneak in acts and bills that give them the right to control, regulate and shut down portions of the internet that they deem not safe for the American people.