Internet and Modern Life
The Internet has already entered our ordinary life.
Everybody knows that the Internet is a global computer network, which embraces
hundred of millions of users all over the world and helps us to communicate
with each other.
The history of Internet began in the United States in 1969.
It was a military experiment, designed to help to survive during a nuclear war,
when everything around might be polluted by radiation and it would be dangerous
to get out for any living being to get some information to anywhere.
Information sent over the Internet takes the shortest and safest path available
from one computer to another. Because of this, any two computers on the net
will be able to stay in touch with each other as long as there is a single
route between them. This technology was called packet switching.
Invention of modems, special devices allowing your computer
to send the information through the telephone line, has opened doors to the
Internet for millions of people.
Most of the Internet host computers are in the United
States of America. It is clear that the accurate number of users can be counted
fairly approximately, nobody knows exactly how many people use the Internet
today, because there are hundred of millions of users and their number is
growing.
Nowadays the most popular Internet service is e-mail. Most
of the people use the network only for sending and receiving e-mail messages.
They can do it either they are at home or in the internet clubs or at work.
Other popular services are available on the Internet too. It is reading news,
available on some dedicated news servers, telnet, FTP servers, etc.
In many countries, the Internet could provide businessmen
with a reliable, alternative to the expensive and unreliable telecommunications
systems its own system of communications. Commercial users can communicate
cheaply over the Internet with the rest of the world. When they send e-mail
messages, they only have to pay for phone calls to their local service
providers, not for international calls around the world, when you pay a good
deal of money.
But saving money is only the first step and not the last
one. There is a commercial use of this network and it is drastically
increasing. Now you can work through the internet, gambling and playing through
the net.
However, there are some problems. The most important
problem is security. When you send an e-mail, your message can travel through
many different networks and computers. The data is constantly being directed
towards its destination by special computers called routers. Because of this,
it is possible to get into any of the computers along the route, intercept and
even change the data being sent over the Internet. But there are many encoding
programs available. Notwith-standing, these programs are not perfect and can
easily be cracked.
Another big and serious problem of the net is control. Yes,
there is no effective control in the^Internet, because a huge amount of
information circulating through the net. It is like a tremendous library and
market together. In the future, the situation might change, but now we have
what we have. It could be expressed in two words— an anarchist's dream.
Answer these questions:
1. What is the Internet?
2. When and where did the history of Internet begin?
3. Why was the Internet designed?
4. What is modem?
5. Where are most of the Internet host computers?
6. What is the accurate number of internet users?
7. What is the most popular Internet service today?
8. What are other popular services available on the
Internet?
9. What is the most important problem of the Internet?
10. Why is there no effective control in the Internet
today?
11. Is there a commercial use of the network today?
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