What is Internet
The Internet is a network of computers, which links many different types of computers all over the world. It is a network of networks sharing a common mechanism for addressing (Identifying) computers, and a common set of communication protocals for communications between two computers on the network.
Use of The Internet
worldwide scope of the Internet has made it a valuable tool for use in many significant ways by both non-profit and commercial organizations. some important uses of the Internet are:
1. Online communication:- Computer users around the world make extensive use of e-mail service on the Internet to communicate with each other. Many users also use "chat" facility to communicate with each other in real-time . For example , the Internet sites webmessengeryahoo.com and facebook.com provide "chat" facility . with e-mail and chat facilities, the Internet has become a rapid and productive communication tool for millions of users.
2. Online Shopping:- The Internet has facilitated the introduction of a new market concept consisting of virtual stores. These stores remain open 24 hours throughout the year and are accessible to buyers from all over the world. They provide information about products or services for sale through WWW servers. By using Internet services, customers submit specific product inquiries and request specific sales quotes. Through a well-defined authorization and authentication scheme, virtual stores use Internet services to accept orders placed by customers, manage order payments, and track orders until they are fulfilled. For example, the Internet site amazon.com is a virtual bookstore on the Internet, which has information on all types of international books and CDs, and accepts orders online.
3. Worldwide video conferencing. :- Worldwide video conferencing on the Internet allows a group of users located around the globe to talk and interact with each other, as if they wre sitting and discussing in a single room. The parties interacting can see each other talking on their computer screens and can hear each other's voice through a special audio-device fixed in their computers.
4. Customer support service:- Many organizations also use the Internet to provide timely customer support . The combined e-mail , ftp, and other services on hte Internet provide neccessary enabling tools for such first-rate customer support . For example, users of a software product can report bugs in the software to the organization that owns the software by e-mail, and the organization can make availbale to its customers bug fixes , minor releases, workaroundsm, known problems and limitations, and general advice about the product via an ftp server.
5. Organization Promotion. :- Today, most organizations create their own web sites to disseminate timely information about corporate heppenings, product announcements , recent strategic alliances, press releases, and other information of potential interest to all concerned.
