G
reat application programs and intercommunication have been available on theInternet for dozens of years, so why all the hype since 1994? The Web came to us in 1994 (commercially) and allowed for everyone to work on the Internet, even though many had no idea what they were working on. The browser became the interface, a
simple–to–use interface, and this was the start of the commercialization of the Web.
This is when “corporate” money became involved. However, the idea started out way back in 1981 with a program called Enquire, developed by Tim Berners–Lee. A program known as Mosaic was released in November 1993 as freeware written by the cofounder of NetScape, Marc Andreeson, at the U.S. National Center for Supercomputer
Applications (NCSA). Mosaic allowed text and graphics on the same Web page and was the basis for NetScape’s Navigator browser and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
First and foremost, the Web allows anyone, especially nontechnical people, instant access to an infinite amount of information. You can get stock reports, information from a library, order a book, reserve airline tickets, page someone, find that long–lost friend through the yellow pages, order a data line for your house, check your credit card statement, check on the availability of that one–and–only car, provide
computer–based training, or attend a private (video and audio) meeting. And yes, you can send an email.
All this and still more! Unlike other online services such as CompuServe, Prodigy, and America Online (at the time), anyone can create a Web page as well—not too hard to do, the language to create a Web page is pretty much English. Millions of ideas are available, and there is a pulldown menu in the browser that allows you to see the source code (the basic instructions that tell the Web server how to format a page) of any Web page. By 1995, companies known as Internet Service Providers (ISPs) were
advertising their ability to put you on the Web for a low price of $19.95. In fact, today, most professional ISPs give you space on their servers (a small amount, but enough to get started) for you to create your Web page, at no charge!
Point and click to access any information that you would like; you do not have to know an operating system to move around the Web. No other “cyberspace” provider has the rich simplicity of the browser. One click and you can be on a server in Japan, video conference to California, send an email to your friend in England, or plan a vacation to Breckenridge, Colorado. Other online providers had information, but it was the simplicity and combination of text and still pictures on the same page that catapulted the Web into every home.
Virtually anything that you want to check on, you can do on the Web and you do not have to remember IP addresses, directory commands for DOS and Unix, file compression, executing the TAR command, printing to a postscript printer, and so on. Simply stated, the Web allows everyone access to network data with a simple click of the mouse.
The World Wide Web
O
n the application front, more and more applications are being written towards (or have embedded) the most common Internet interface: a browser. A browser allows the Internet to be accessed graphically using icons and pictures and a special text language known as Hypertext Markup Language, or HTML. For platform independence in writing applications for the Web, the Java language was created.What is the downfall of the Internet? No, connectivity is generally not the problem.
ISPs can be a problem, but even they are manageable. The biggest problem with the Internet is its biggest asset: information.
You may find yourself scratching your head while traveling the Internet. Anyone can create content and post it, so there is a lot of old information on the Internet. Web pages are not kept up. Web pages are not written correctly and contain too many slow–loading graphics. Many links that are embedded in other Web pages no longer exist. Information is posted without having validity checks. Remember, no one entity owns the Internet or the Web application.
Some companies with Web pages are no longer around. All Web pages are not created equal; some take an eternity to write to your browser, while others take a minimal amount of time. Also, all ISPs are not created equal. An ISP is your connection to the Internet. Test out your ISP for service and connectivity. I recently switched from a major ISP to a local ISP and found 4x improvement in speed. However, the local ISP does not provide national service (local phone numbers around the United States). So when I started traveling, I switched to another ISP that has both national coverage and speed.
The Web (continued)
• The biggest asset of the Web is its biggest downfall:
• Information
• There is a tremendous amount of information on the Web.
• Information on the Web can be posted by anyone.
• However:
• Many Web pages are not kept up
• Many are not written correctly (minutes to build a screen)
• Information is old and out of date
• Information is not documented
• Incredibly hard to search for simple items due to more than 50 million Web sites available
• Search engines bring back many undesired Web pages which require advanced searching techniques
Be careful when scrutinizing the Internet. Make sure the data is reputable (i.e., can be verified). There are many charlatans on the Internet posting fiction.
The Internet really introduced us to the concept of trying something for free. For us old timers, we expected this. Postings to the Internet were always free and
commercialism was a no–no. Years ago, when I was developing software, the Internet came to my rescue many times with postings of source code that assisted in my
development projects. This source code was available for free and often the person who posted it did not mind an occasional email with a question or two. Another concept that the Internet was not used for was known as shareware, where the free samples of
applications range from severely crippled (lacking many of the full–version features such as printing abilities) to the full–blown version of the software. The Web combined the two concepts, and the marketing concept really took hold when the Internet came into the business world. Every business sponsoring a Web page will give you something if you purchase something—a very old concept brought to life again via the Internet.
The Web (continued)
• Old–style marketing.
• “Give away the razor and sell the razor blades”—Gillette
• Shareware programs.
• The old concept of “try before you buy”
• Free programs.
• Many diversified programs and interactive Web pages
• The 1–800 service for data.
• Most companies have a Web page
M
ost of us try a free sample before purchasing. This is still known as shareware, and payment is expected, which leads to another big problem for the Internet: How and when do you charge for something? Most users expect to surf the Internet, pick up what they want for free, and then sign off. Sorry folks, we don’t live in a free world, and eventually you must pay. Unfortunately, there are those out there who continue to download software and not pay for it. Bad, bad, bad. If this continues, shareware will not be available, and you will end up with a pay–first, try–later attitude.Another problem of the Internet is the spread of viruses. Protect your workstation with some type of antiviral software before downloading anything from the Internet. Most protection schemes are dynamic in that they are constantly checking for viruses even during an email download or a file transfer. Here is where the other online providers do have an advantage. Private online providers such as America Online and CompuServe make every effort to test uploaded software and generally do not allow for content to be written to their servers. You will find those services more protected and watched over than the Internet. The Internet has truly tested the first Amendment of the
Constitution: the right to free speech.
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Illustrated TCP/IP by Matthew G. Naugle
Wiley Computer Publishing, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ISBN: 0471196568 Pub Date: 11/01/98
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