Understanding the Internet

by Sammie Currie

Trials for this kind of TV technology are currently underway in Cambridge and scientists claim that we are only a few years away from completing and producing the futuristic software that could make this a reality.

Many people are scared of this never-ending, never-slowing craze for all things electronic. They see the Internet as a hard-to-understand monster that only computer and science boffins can comprehend. They’re wrong. The Internet is actually relatively easy to understand and is even simpler to use.

The Internet is quite remarkable. It is a giant global network and the biggest source of information that has ever been available. It offers the opportunity to ‘e-mail’ (electronic mail) a message anywhere on the planet! You can also join a newsgroup and chat to people who share your own interests.

A web site is a location of a particular set of information on a particular subject. Each site has a unique address on the www (world wide web). Many big organisations and companies have their own web sites, as do TV programmes and pop groups. The list is endless.

All of this is available at relatively small prices (charges are similar to those for a telephone). However, to get ‘on-line’ you firstly need the appropriate equipment - a PC and a modem. These can be a little more costly.

It is inevitable that someday soon nobody will be without the Internet and hi-tech PC. We live in a bustling and ever moving society that demands change and constant revelations of new and useful technology. We are part of a digital era. Like it or not, things are not - and are never going to be - like the old days.

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