6. The Internet

1. What is the Internet?

The internet is a system that enables computers and networks worldwide to connect with each other using a range of telecommunications systems.

To get on to the internet you need an internet ready computer system.

This computer could e a desktop, a laptop or even a palmtop. For it to be ready to connect you to the internet it needs to have:-

1. A telecommunications link in the form a modem and dialup pr broadband connection.
2. A browser.
3. A link to an Internet Service Provider (ISP)

 

2. What does a Modem do?

Modems are devices that changes your computer's signals into a form that can be sent down the phone system. They can be internal or built into the computer system or external and plug into the computer system.

 

Internal Modem	External Modem

 

 

A Modem (internal or external) converts a digital siganl from a computer into an analogue signal for transmission through the telecommunications network (MOdulation).

At the other end, the modem converts this analgoue signal back again into a digiatal signal (DEModulation) that can be processed by the computer.

 

 

 

 

3. What is a dialup connection?

It uses a modem and ordinary telephone line to dial up the number of your ISP that connects you to the internet. Data is transmitted at a fairly slow speed of 56 Kilobits per second.

 

 

4. What is a broadband connection?

A broadband connection is a high-speed telecommunications link.

 

You can get a broadband connection using either a digital subscriber line (DSL) or a cable modem. BT digital subscriber line (DSL) give speeds of 512 Kbps (Kilobits per second) download and 128 Kbps upload.

Cable modems can deliver speeds of up to a maximum of 10 Megabits per second (10 Mbps). Actual speeds are around 1 Mbps because the cable bandwidth often has to be shared with others.

 

5. What is a Browser?

A browser is the software that fetches web pages for you and displays them on your screen. The most common browser in use is Internet Explorer. Others include Mozilla Firefox, Netscape Explorer and Opera.

With a browser you can:-

• Fetch pages by typing the address of the page in the address bar.
• Add page addresses to your favourites or bookmarks.
• Navigate to other pages by clicking on hyperlinks.
• Jump backwards and forwards using the back and forward icons.
• See which pages you have visited by clicking on the History icon

 

 

6. Online/Offline

Once your computer is connected up and ready to send and receive information, it is said to be online. When your computer is not ready to send and receive information it is offline.

Working offline can be quite useful, especially if you have a dialup connection that limits your time online. For example you can download web pages and look at them offline, or prepare your email messages offline and then go online to send them.

 

 

What you have to do!

Answer the following questions under a heading "The Internet" either in your "Brain" or a new Word document.

1. What is the internet?
2. What does a computer system need to be ready to access the internet?
3. What is the job of a modem?
4. What is a browser and what does it do?

 

 

What you should be able to do!

1. Describe what is required to link to the internet.

2. Explain the job of the modem.l

3. Provide a few examples of web browser software..

 

Continue to 7. Choosing an ISP