13.

The internet, A web browsers, Searching the web

Internet is a global network connecting millions of computers. The internet is a worldwide system of
interconnected computer networks. When you connect your computer to the internet via your
Internet Service Provider (ISP) you become part of the ISP's network.
The World Wide Web. The World Wide Web (WWW or "web" for short) is the part of the internet
that you can access using a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox. It consists of a large
number of web servers that host websites. Each website will normally consist of a number of web
pages. A web page can contain text, images, video, animation and sound.

A web browsers

A web browser is the tool that you use to access the World Wide Web. The browser's main job is to
display web pages. The World Wide Web is a virtual network of web sites connected by hyperlinks
(or "links"). Web sites are stored on servers on the internet, so the World Wide Web is a part of the
internet.
PCs come with the Internet Explorer browser and Macs come with Safari. If users prefer to use a
different browser, you can download Firefox, Google Chrome or Opera. All of these browsers are
free, e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, etc.
A Web browser is special software for viewing Web pages and documents on the Internet or on a
network intranet. The two browsers with the current largest Web use are Microsoft Internet Explorer
and Firefox from www.mozilla.org. Each of these browsers is available as a free download from the
Internet. Safari is popular with the iMac users.
It is possible to use Internet Explorer to edit Web pages on local computer for uploading to a Web
server. It is a good idea for a Web author to view their own Web pages using two or three different
browsers to see if the pages render the same way. You may discover differences between one
browser and another in the way the Web page is displayed.
Accessing web pages. User can access a website or web page by typing its URL (Uniform Resource
Locator) into the address bar of your browser. An example of a URL is http://www.bbc.co.uk.
URLs will have the format "http1" and a domain2 (such as .uk3). What goes in between is arbitrary,
but often has the term "www", e.g. http://www.bbc.co.uk, but it doesn’t have to, e.g.
http://news.bbc.co.uk).
Https is the secure version of http. When you use https any data you send or receive from the web
server is encrypted. For example, when banking online https is used to keep user’s account details
safe.
Most sites have a page that links the user to the other main areas of the site. This is called the
homepage.
Web pages are connected by hypertext links. When a link is clicked you will be taken to another
page which could be on another server in any part of the world.

1 Hypertext transfer protocol - a request/response standard. Web browsers send requests and websites or servers respond to
requests.
2 An area of control or management, e.g. bbc.co.uk is controlled by the BBC.
3 The internet country code for the United Kingdom.

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Connecting to the internet. Once you've set up your computer, you'll probably want to get internet
access so that you can send and receive email, browse the web, watch movies, and more. To connect
to the internet the following are needed: Internet Service Provider (ISP), a modem and/or router4,
telephone line (cable being the exception) and a web browser.

The primary piece of hardware to connect to the internet you needs a modem, Router. The type of
internet access you choose will determine what type of modem you need. Dial-up access uses a
telephone modem, DSL service uses a DSL modem, cable access uses a cable modem, and satellite
service uses a satellite adapter.
A router. A router is a hardware device that allows you to connect several computers and other
devices to a single internet connection, which is known as a home network. Many routers are
wireless, allowing you to easily create a wireless network.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs). ISPs provide access to the internet. Commonly used ISPs include
Sky, Virgin and BT but there are many more. Most offer the same basic package of internet access,
email addresses and web space.
You need a web browser to view web pages. The most widely used are Internet Explorer and
Firefox. All browsers will have a number of similar features to help you use the web such as:
 forward and back buttons to move between pages,
 a history folder which stores details of recently visited web pages,
 a stop button if a page is taking too long to load,
 favorites and bookmark options to store often visited pages,
 options to cut, copy, paste, save and print elements of web pages.

4 A device for connecting computers and other network capable devices together to form a network.
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A connection made to the internet will be either analogue or digital. It is important to know the
difference between the two and the technologies they use.
Analogue connection:
Dial-up. A dial-up modem converts digital5 signals from a computer to analogue6 signals that are
then sent down the telephone line. A modem on the other end converts the analogue signal back to a
digital signal the computer can understand.

The maximum theoretical connection speed is 56 Kbps. Dial-up is very slow by today’s standards
and in real world use will typically result in a download speed of roughly 5 KBps. Phone calls
cannot be made whilst connected to the internet.
Digital connections:
ISDN. An ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) capable phone line can provide connection
speeds of up to 64 Kbps (single channel) or 128 Kbps (dual channel) using a terminal adapter often
referred to as an ISDN modem. The terminal adaptor removes the need to convert digital signals to
analogue signals before they’re sent down the telephone line, this results in a more reliable internet
connection.
ADSL. ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) provides connection speeds of up to 24 Mbps
and uses a telephone line to receive and transmit data.

The speed that data can be transferred is dependent on a number of factors:

 Phone lines were designed to carry voice signals - not data. Signal quality can vary between
lines and whilst it doesn’t affect voice signals, it does affect data transmissions.
 The distance between your house and the telephone exchange has an effect on the speed at

5 Information stored as discrete values usually represented as numbers. This contrasts with analogue data which is represented by
continuous data, usually in waves.
6 Continuous data, e.g. the second hand on an analogue watch displays each second and the space in between.
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which data is transferred. A distance of 4 km is considered the limit for ADSL technology,
beyond which it may not work.
An ADSL modem/router is needed for broadband internet access over ADSL. This is usually
provided by your ISP.
Phone calls can still be made whilst connected.
Cable. Cable companies do not use traditional telephone lines to provide broadband internet access.
They have their own network, a combination of co-axial copper cable and fibre optic cable.
With their purposefully built infrastructure cable companies are able to provide speeds of up to 50
Mbps - considerably faster than the highest available ADSL speed (24 Mbps).
A cable modem/router is needed for broadband internet access over cable. This is usually provided
by your ISP.
The making and receiving of phone calls is not affected because the telephone line is not used.

Searching the web

Finding the exact information you want on the web7 requires skill and practice. There are thousands
of pages on any given topic.
Search engines. A search engine is a service which helps you find the information you want on the
internet. Search engines continually travel the net for new websites cataloguing them into an index.
Some commonly used search engines are Google, Yahoo and AltaVista, but there are many others.
Search terms. When you go to a search engine you are given a search box into which you enter the
key words of your topic. For example, if you enter the word "rock" you will likely get links to
pages about geology, music and building societies.
Let us say we want information on rock music. If you type in rock music it is likely the search
engine will bring up links to many pages about rocks, rock climbing and music. However, if you try
typing in "rock music" (with quotes) the search engine will treat it as a phrase and bring up details
of web pages8 containing the words rock music in that order.
Advanced search terms. Entering rock + music will bring up documents containing both words.
Entering rock + music – climbing will bring up documents containing the words rock and music but
with no reference to climbing.

7 The complete set of webpages and documents held on all internet severs. Also known as the world wide web.
8 A page designed for, and viewed in, a web browser.