Assignment Chapter 2

Lecturer : Mr. Tri Djoko Wahjono, Ir., M.Sc

Name : Agatha Virgitia Darmawan

Student ID : 1701338122

1. How Did the Internet Evolve?

The Internet, also called the Net, is a world- wide collection of networks that links millions of businesses, government agencies, educational institutions, and individuals. Each of the networks on the Internet provides resources that add to the abundance of goods, services, and information accessible via the Internet.

The Internet has its roots in a networking project started by the Pentagon’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense. ARPA’s goal was to build a network that :

(1)  allowed scientists at different physical locations to share information and work together on military and scientific projects

(2)  could function even if part of the network were disabled or destroyed by a disaster such as a nuclear attack.

That network, called ARPANET, became functional in September 1969, linking scientific and academic researchers across the United States.

The original ARPANET consisted of four main computers, one each located at the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of California at Santa Barbara, the Stanford Research Institute, and the University of Utah. Each of these computers served as a host on the network. A host, more commonly known today as a server, is any computer that provides services and connections to other computers on a network. Hosts often use high-speed communications to transfer data and messages over a network.

As researchers and others realized the great benefit of using ARPANET to share data and information, ARPANET underwent phenomenal growth. By 1984, ARPANET had more than 1,000 individual computers linked as hosts. Today, more than 550 million hosts connect to the Internet. Some organizations connected entire networks to ARPANET to take advantage of its high-speed communications. In 1986, the National Science Foundation (NSF) connected its huge network of five supercomputer centers, called NSFnet, to ARPANET. This configuration of complex net- works and hosts became known as the Internet.

Until 1995, NSFnet handled the bulk of the communications activity, or traffic, on the Internet. In 1995, NSFnet terminated its network on the Internet and resumed its status as a research network.

Today, the Internet consists of many local, regional, national, and international networks. Numerous corporations, commercial firms, and other companies such as IBM provide networks to handle Internet traffic. Both public and private organizations own networks on the Internet. These networks, along with telephone companies such as Verizon and AT&T, cable and satellite companies, and the government, all contribute toward the internal structure of the Internet.

Each organization on the Internet is responsible only for maintaining its own network. No single person, company, institution, or government agency controls or owns the Internet. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), however, oversees research and sets standards and guidelines for many areas of the Internet. The mission of the W3C is to contribute to the growth of the Web. More than 350 organizations from around the world are members of the W3C, advising, defining standards, and addressing other issues.

2. What Are the Various Types of Internet Connections, and What Are the Differences between Broadband and Dial-Up Connections?

Many home and small business users connect to the Internet via high-speed broadband Internet service. With broadband Internet service, your computer or mobile device usually is connected to the Internet the entire time it is powered on. Examples of broadband Internet service include cable, DSL, fiber, radio signals, and satellite.

• Cable Internet service provides high-speed Internet access through the cable television network via a cable modem.

• DSL (digital subscriber line) provides high-speed Internet connections using regular copper telephone lines.

• Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) uses fiber-optic cable to provide high-speed Internet access to home and business users.

• Fixed wireless provides high-speed Internet connections using a dish-shaped antenna on your house or business to communicate with a tower location via radio signals.

 • A cellular radio network offers high-speed Internet connections to devices with built-in compatible technology or computers with wireless modems.

• A Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) network uses radio signals to provide high-speed Internet connections to compatible or properly equipped wireless computers and devices.

 • Satellite Internet service provides high-speed Internet connections via satellite to a satellite dish that communicates with a satellite modem.

Employees and students typically connect their computers to the Internet through a business or school network. The business or school network connects to a high-speed broadband Internet service. Many home users set up a Wi-Fi network, which sends signals to a communications device that is connected to a high-speed Internet service such as cable or DSL.

Instead of using broadband Internet service, however, some home users connect to the Internet via dial-up access, which is a slower-speed technology. Dial-up access takes place when the modem in your computer connects to the Internet via a standard telephone line that transmits data and information using an analog (continuous wave pattern) signal. Users may opt for dial-up access because of its lower price or because broadband access is not available in their area. Mobile users access the Internet using a variety of Internet services.

Most hotels and airports provide wired or wireless Internet connections as a service to travelers. Wireless Internet services, such as Wi-Fi networks, allow mobile users to connect easily to the Internet with notebook computers, smart phones, and other mobile devices while away from a telephone, cable, or other wired connection.

Many public locations, such as airports, hotels, schools, shopping malls, and coffee shops, are hot spots that provide Wi-Fi Internet connections to users with mobile computers or devices. At public locations, you may be required to agree to terms of service, obtain a password (for example, from the hotel’s front desk), or perform some other action in order to connect to the Internet. Some cities provide free Wi-Fi Internet connections to all residents.

Satellite Internet service provides high-speed Internet connections via satellite. Some homes and small businesses connect to the Internet with dial-up access. Dial-up access, which is slower-speed technology, takes place when the modem in your computer connects to the Internet via a standard telephone line that transmits data and information using an analog (continuous wave) pattern.

3. What Are the Types of Internet Access Providers?

An access provider is a business that provides individuals and organizations access to the Internet free or for a fee. For example, some

Wi-Fi networks provide free access while others charge a per use fee. Other access providers often charge a fixed amount for an Internet connection, offering faster speeds or more services for higher rates. Typical monthly rates range from about $5 to $24 per month for dial-up, $13 to $70 for DSL, $20 to $75 for cable, $40 to $150 for FTTP, $30 to $80 for fixed wireless, $60 to $80 for cellular networks, and $50 to  $120 for satellite. Many Internet access providers offer services such as news, weather, financial data, games, travel guides, e-mail, photo communities, and online storage to hold digital photos and other files. (A file is a named unit of storage.)

Access providers are categorized as regional or national ISPs, online service providers, and wireless Internet service providers

An ISP (Internet service provider) is a regional or national access provider. A regional ISP usually provides Internet access to a specific geographic area. A national ISP is a business that provides Internet access in cities and towns nation- wide. For dial-up access, some national ISPs provide both local and toll-free telephone numbers. Due to their larger size, national ISPs usually offer more services and have a larger technical support staff than regional ISPs. Examples of national ISPs are AT&T and EarthLink.

In addition to providing Internet access, an online service provider (OSP) also has many members-only features such as instant messaging or their own customized version of a Web browser. The two more popular OSPs are AOL (America Online) and MSN (Microsoft Network). AOL differs from many OSPs in that it provides gateway functionality to the Internet, meaning it regulates the Internet services to which members have access. AOL also provides free access to its services to any user with a broadband Internet connection.

When selecting an ISP or OSP for dial-up access, ensure it provides at least one local telephone number. Otherwise, long-distance telephone charges will apply for the time you connect to the Internet.

 A wireless Internet service provider, sometimes called a wireless data provider, is a company that provides wireless Internet access to desktop and notebook computers and mobile devices, such as smart phones and portable media players, with built-in wireless capability (such as Wi-Fi) or to computers using wireless modems or wireless access devices. Wireless modems, which usually are in the form of a USB flash drive or a card that inserts in a slot in a computer or mobile device, generally dial a telephone number to establish a connection with the wireless Internet service provider. An antenna on or built into the computer or device, wireless modem, or wireless access device typically sends signals through the airwaves to communicate with a wireless Internet service provider. Some examples of wireless Internet service providers include AT&T, Boingo Wireless, Sprint Broadband Direct, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless.

 4. What Is the Purpose of an IP Address, and What Is Its Relationship to a Domain Name?

An IP address, short for Internet Protocol address, is a number that uniquely identifies each computer or device connected to the Internet. The IP address usually consists of four groups of numbers, each separated by a period. The number in each group is between 0 and 255. For example, the numbers 72.14.207.99 are an IP address.

In general, the first portion of each IP address identifies the network and the last portion identifies the specific computer. These all-numeric IP addresses are difficult to remember and use. Thus, the Internet supports the use of a text name that represents one or more IP addresses. A domain name is the text version of an IP address.

As with an IP address, the components of a domain name are separated by periods. The text in the domain name up to the first period identifies the type of Internet server.

Every domain name contains a top-level domain (TLD), which is the last section of the domain name. A generic TLD (gTLD), identifies the type of organization associated with the domain. The Internet server and gTLD portions of a domain name often are not required.

The domain name system (DNS) is the method that the Internet uses to store domain names and their corresponding IP addresses. When you specify a domain name, a DNS server translates the domain name to its associated IP address so that data and information can be routed to the correct computer.

 A DNS server is an Internet server that usually is associated with an Internet access provider. The growth of the Internet has led to a shortage of IP addresses. Thus, a new IP addressing scheme, called IPv6, may increase the number of available IP addresses.

5. What Is the Purpose of a Web Browser, and What Are the Components of a Web Address?

A Web browser, or browser, is application software that allows users to access and view Web pages or access Web 2.0 programs. To browse the Web, you need a computer or mobile device that is connected to the Internet and has a Web browser. The more widely used Web browsers for personal computers are Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Google Chrome. With an Internet connection established, you start a Web browser. The browser retrieves and displays a starting Web page, sometimes called the browser’s home. The initial home page that is displayed is one selected by your Web browser. You can change your browser’s home page at anytime.

Another use of the term, home page, refers to the first page that a Web site displays. Similar to a book cover or a table of contents for a Web site, the home page provides information about the Web site’s purpose and content. Many Web sites, such as iGoogle, allow you to personalize the home page so that it contains areas of interest to you. The home page usually contains links to other documents, Web pages, or Web sites. A link, short for hyperlink, is a built-in connection to another related Web page or part of a Web page.

A Web address consists of a protocol, domain name, and sometimes the path to a specific Web page or location on a Web page. Many Web page addresses begin with http://. The http, which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol, is a set of rules that defines how pages transfer on the Internet.

To help minimize errors, many browsers and Web  sites do not require you enter the http:// and www portions of the Web address in the Address bar. If you enter an incorrect Web address, the browser may display a list of similar addresses or related Web sites from which you can select.

When you enter the Web address, http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/ wildlifeviewing.htm in the Web browser, it sends a request to the Web server that contains the nps.gov Web site. The server then retrieves the Web page named wildlifeviewing.htm that is located in the grsm/planyourvisit path and delivers it to your browser, which then displays the Web page on the screen.

To save time, many users create bookmarks for their frequently visited Web pages. A bookmark, or favorite, is a saved Web address that you access by clicking its name in a list. That is, instead of entering a Web address to display a Web page, you can click a previously saved bookmark. When you enter a Web address in a browser, you request, or pull, information from a Web server. Some Web servers also can push content to your computer at regular intervals or when- ever updates are made to the site.

 6. How Do You Use a Search Engine to Search for Information on the Web, and What Is the Difference between a Search Engine and a Subject Directory?

A search engine is helpful in locating information for which you do not know an exact Web address or are not seeking a particular Web site. Thousands of search engines are available. Some search through Web pages for all types of information. Other search engines can restrict their searches to a specific type of information, such as the following items:

• Images — pictures, diagrams, and drawings.

• Videos — home videos, music videos, television programs, and movie clips.

• Audio — music, songs, recordings, and sounds.

• Publications — news articles, journals, and books.

• Maps — maps of a business or address, or driving directions to a destination.

• People or Businesses — addresses and telephone numbers.

• Blogs — specific opinions and ideas of others.

Search engines require that you enter a word or phrase, called search text or search query, that describes the item you want to find. Each word in the search text is known as a keyword. Your search text can be broad, such as spring break destinations, or more specific, such as Walt Disney World. Search engines often respond with thousands of results, whose content varies depending on the type of information you are seeking. Some results are links to Web pages or articles; other results are media, such as images or videos. You may find that many items that appear in the search results have little or no bearing on the item you are seeking. You can eliminate the superfluous items in your search results by carefully crafting search text that limits the search. If you misspell search text, many search engines identify alternative search text. Some also provide suggested keywords, links, and/or images as you begin typing your search text.

A subject directory provides categorized lists of links arranged by subject. Using this search tool, you locate a particular topic by clicking links through different levels, moving from the general to the specific.

Each time you click a category link, the subject directory displays a list of subcategory links, from which you again choose. You continue in this fashion until the search tool displays a list of Web pages about the desired topic. The major disadvantage with a subject directory is that users have difficulty deciding which categories to choose as they work through the menus of links presented.

7. What Are the Types of Web Sites?

Portal :

 A portal is a Web site that offers a variety of Internet services from a single, convenient location. Most portals offer these free services: search engine; news; sports and weather; Web publishing; reference tools such as yellow pages, stock quotes, and maps; shopping; and e-mail and other communications services. Many portals have online communities. An online community is a Web site that joins a specific group of people with similar interests or relationships. These communities may offer online photo albums, chat rooms, and other services to facilitate communications among members. Popular portals include AltaVista, AOL, Excite, GO.com, iGoogle, Lycos, MSN, and Yahoo!. A wireless portal is a portal designed for Internet-enabled mobile devices.

News :

 A news Web site contains newsworthy material including stories and articles relating to current events, life, money, sports, and the weather. Many magazines and newspapers sponsor Web sites that provide summaries of printed articles, as well as articles not included in the printed versions. Newspapers and television and radio stations are some of the media that maintain news Web sites.

Informational :

An informational Web site contains factual information. Many United States government agencies have informational Web sites providing information such as census data, tax codes, and the congressional budget. Other organizations provide information such as public transportation schedules and published research findings.

Business/Marketing :

A business/marketing Web site contains content that promotes or sells products or services. Nearly every enterprise has a business/marketing Web site. Allstate Insurance Company, Dell Inc., General Motors Corporation, Kraft Foods Inc., and Walt Disney Company all have business/marketing Web sites. Many of these enterprises also allow you to purchase their products or services online.

Blog :

A blog, short for Weblog, is an informal Web site consisting of time-stamped articles, or posts, in a diary or journal format, usually listed in reverse chronological order. A blog that contains video clips is called a video blog, or vlog. A microblog allows users to publish short messages, usually between 100 and 200 characters, for others to read. Twitter is a popular microblog. The term blogosphere refers to the worldwide collection of blogs, and the vlogosphere refers to all vlogs worldwide. Blogs reflect the interests, opinions, and personalities of the author, called the blogger or  vlogger (for vlog author), and sometimes site visitors. Blogs have become an important means of worldwide communications. Businesses create blogs to communicate with employees, customers, and vendors. Teachers create blogs to collaborate with other teachers and students. Home users create blogs to share aspects of their personal life with family, friends, and others.

Wiki :

A wiki is a collaborative Web site that allows users to create, add to, modify, or delete the Web site content via their Web browser. Many wikis are open to modification by the general public. Wikis usually collect recent edits on a Web page so that some- one can review them for accuracy. The difference between a wiki and a blog is that users cannot modify original posts made by the blogger. A popular wiki is Wikipedia, a free Web encyclopedia.

Online Social Network :

An online social  network, also called a social networking Web site, is a Web site that encourages members in its online community to share their interests, ideas, stories, photos, music, and videos with other registered users. Most include chat rooms, newsgroups, and other communications services.

Popular social networking Web sites include MySpace and Facebook, with Facebook alone boasting more than 300 million active users. In some social networking Web sites, such as Second Life, users assume an imaginary identity and interact with other users in a  role-playing type of environment. A media sharing Web site is a specific type of online social network that enables members to share media such as photos, music, and videos. Flickr, Fotki, and Webshots are popular photo sharing communities; PixelFish and YouTube are popular video sharing communities.

Educational :

An educational Web site offers exciting, challenging avenues for formal and informal teaching and learning. On the Web, you can learn how airplanes fly or how to cook a meal. For a more structured learning experience, companies provide online training to employees; and colleges offer online classes and degrees. Instructors often use the Web to enhance classroom teaching by publishing course materials, grades, and other pertinent class information.

Entertainment :

An entertainment Web site offers an interactive and engaging environment. Popular entertainment Web sites offer music, videos, sports, games, ongoing Web episodes, sweepstakes, chat rooms, and more. Sophisticated entertainment Web sites often partner with other technologies. For example, you can cast your vote about a topic on a television show.

Advocacy :

An advocacy Web site contains content that describes a cause, opinion, or idea. These Web sites usually present views of a particular group or association. Sponsors of advocacy Web sites include the Democratic National Committee, the Republican National Committee, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the Society to Protect Human Rights.

Web Application :

A Web application, or Web app, is a Web site that allows users to access and interact with software through a Web browser on any computer or device that is connected to the Internet. Some Web applications provide free access to their software. Others offer part of their software free and charge for access to more comprehensive features or when a particular action is requested. Examples of Web applications include Google Docs (word processing, spreadsheets, presentations), TurboTax Online (tax p reparation), and Windows Live Hotmail (e-mail).

Content Aggregator :

A content aggregator is a business that gathers and organizes Web content and then distributes, or feeds, the content to subscribers for free or a fee. Examples of distributed content include news, music, video, and pictures. Subscribers select content in which they are interested. Whenever the selected content changes, it is downloaded automatically (pushed) to the subscriber’s computer or mobile device.

RSS 2.0, which stands for Really Simple Syndication, is a specification that some con- tent aggregators use to distribute content to subscribers. Atom is another specification sometimes used by content aggregators to distribute content. Some current browsers include a feature, such as Internet Explorer’s WebSlices, that enables content aggregators to mark sections of their Web pages as feeds to which users can subscribe.

Personal

A private individual or family not usually associated with any organization may maintain a personal Web site or just a single Web page. People publish personal Web pages for a variety of reasons. Some are job hunting. Others simply want to share life experiences with the world.

 8. How Do Web Pages Use Graphics, Animation, Audio, Video, Virtual Reality, and Plug-Ins?

Graphics

A graphic, or graphical image, is a digital representation of nontext information such as a drawing, chart, or photo. Today, many Web pages use colorful graphical designs and images to convey messages.

The Web contains countless images about a variety of subjects. You can download many of these images at no cost and use them for noncommercial purposes. Recall that downloading is the process of transferring an object from the Web to your computer. For example, you can insert images into greeting cards, announcements, and other documents.

Of the graphics formats that exist on the Web , the two more common are JPEG and GIF formats. JPEG (pronounced JAY-peg) is a format that compresses graphics to reduce their file size, which means the file takes up less storage space. Smaller file sizes result in faster downloading of Web pages because small files transmit faster than large files. The more compressed the file, the smaller the image and the lower the quality. The goal with JPEG graphics is to reach a balance between image quality and file size. Digital photos often use the JPEG format.

GIF (pronounced jiff) graphics also use compression techniques to reduce file sizes. The GIF format works best for images that have only a few distinct colors, such as company logos. The newer PNG (pronounced ping) graphics format improves upon the GIF format, and thus may eventually replace the GIF format. The BMP and TIFF formats may require special viewer software, and they have larger file sizes. Thus, these formats are not used on the Web as frequently as JPEG, GIF, and PNG formats.

Animation

 Many Web pages use animation, which is the appearance of motion created by displaying a series of still images in sequence. Animation can make Web pages more visually interesting or draw attention to important information or links. For example, text that animates by scrolling across the screen can serve as a ticker to display stock updates, news, sports scores, weather, or other information. Web-based games often use animation. Web page developers add animation to Web pages using a variety of techniques. Web page authoring programs, such as Adobe Flash and Microsoft Expression Web, enable Web site developers to combine animation and interactivity in Web pages. Developers unfamiliar with Web page authoring programs can create an animated GIF, which combines several GIF images in a single GIF file.

Audio

On the Web, you can listen to audio clips and live audio. Audio includes music, speech, or any other sound. Simple applications consist of individual audio files available for download to a computer or device. Once downloaded, you can play (listen to) the contents of these files.. Audio files are compressed to reduce their file sizes. For exam ple, the MP3 format reduces an audio file to about one-tenth its original size, while preserving much of the original quality of the sound. Some music publishers have Web sites that allow users to download sample tracks free to persuade them to buy all the songs contained on the CD. Others allow a user to purchase and download an entire CD. It is legal to download copyrighted music only if the song’s copyright holder has granted permission for users to download and play the song.

To listen to an audio file on your computer, you need special software called a player. Most current operating systems contain a player, for example, Windows Media Player. Some audio files, however, might require you to download a player. Players available for download include iTunes and RealPlayer. You can download the players free from the Web; some are plug-ins, which are discussed later in this chapter. Some applications on the Web use streaming audio. Streaming is the process of transferring data in a continuous and even flow. Streaming allows users to access and use a file while it is transmitting. For example, streaming audio enables you to listen to music as it downloads to your computer. Many radio and television stations use streaming audio to broadcast music, interviews, talk shows, sporting events, music videos, news, live concerts, and other segments.

Podcasting is another popular method of distributing audio. A podcast is recorded audio, usually an MP3 file, stored on a Web site that can be downloaded to a computer or a portable media player such as an iPod. Examples of podcasts include music, radio shows, news stories, classroom lectures, political messages, and television commentaries. Podcasters register their podcasts with content aggregators. Subscribers select podcast feeds they want to be downloaded automatically whenever they connect. Most smart phone users who subscribe to a wireless Internet service provider can listen to streaming audio and podcasts.

Video

On the Web, you can view video clips or watch live video. Video consists of images displayed in motion. Most video also has accompanying audio. You can use the Internet to watch live and/or prerecorded coverage of your favorite television programs or enjoy a live performance of your favorite vocalist. You can upload, share, or view video clips at a video sharing Web site such as YouTube.

Educators, politicians, and businesses are using video blogs and video pod- casts to engage students, voters, and consumers. Simple video applications on the Web consist of individual video files, such as movie or television clips, that you must download completely before you can play them on the computer. Video files often are compressed because they are quite large in size. These clips also are short in length, usually less than 10 minutes, because they can take a long time to download. The Moving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) defines a popular video compression standard, a widely used one called MPEG-4 or MP4. Another popular video format is Adobe Flash. As with streaming audio, streaming video allows you to view longer or live video images as they download to your computer. Widely used standards supported by most Web browsers for transmitting streaming video data on the Internet are AVI (Audio Video Interleaved), QuickTime, Windows Media Format, and RealVideo. Like RealAudio, RealVideo is supported by RealPlayer.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) is the use of computers to simulate a real or imagined environment that appears as a three-dimensional (3-D) space. VR involves the display of 3-D images that users explore and manipulate interactively. Using special VR software, a Web developer creates an entire 3-D environment that contains infinite space and depth, called a VR world. A VR world, for example, might show a house for sale. Potential buyers walk through rooms in the VR house by moving an input device forward, backward, or to the side.

Games and simulations on optical disc or on the Web often use VR. Many practical applications of VR also exist. Science educators create VR models of molecules, organisms, and other structures for students to examine. Companies use VR to showcase products or create advertisements. Architects create VR models of buildings and rooms so that clients can see how a completed construction project will look before it is built.

Plug-ins

Most Web browsers have the capability of displaying basic multimedia elements on a Web page. Sometimes, a browser might need an additional program, called a plug-in. A plug-in, or add-on, is a program that extends the capability of a browser. You can download many plug-ins at no cost from various Web sites. Some plug-ins run on all sizes of personal computers and mobile devices. Others have special versions for mobile devices.

9. What Are the Steps Required for Web Publishing?

The five major steps in Web publishing are as follows:

1.       Plan a Web site.

Think about issues that could affect the design of the Web site. Identify the purpose of the Web site and the characteristics of the people whom you want to visit the Web site. Determine ways to differentiate your Web site from other similar ones.

2.       Analyze and design a Web site.

Design the layout of elements of the Web site such as links, text, graphics, animation, audio, video, and virtual reality. Required hardware may include a digital camera, Web cam, scanner, sound card, and microphone.

3.       Create a Web site.

Use a word processing program to create basic Web pages that contain text and graphics. Use Web page authoring software to create more sophisticated Web sites that include text, graphics, animation, audio, video, and special effects. For advanced features such as managing users, passwords, chat rooms, and e-mail, you may need to purchase specialized Web site management software.

4.       Deploy a Web site.

Transfer the Web pages from your computer to a Web server. Many Internet access providers offer their customers storage space on a Web server. Another option is a Web hosting service, which provides storage space on a Web server for a reasonable monthly fee. To help others locate your Web page, register your Web address with various search engines to ensure your site will appear in the hit lists for searches for certain keywords.

5.       Maintain a Web site.

Visit the Web site regularly to ensure the Web site contents are current and all links work properly.

10. What Are the Types of E-Commerce?

E-commerce, short for electronic commerce, is a business transaction that occurs over an electronic network such as the Internet. Anyone with access to a computer or mobile device, an Internet connection, and a means to pay for purchased goods or services can participate in e-commerce. Some people use the term m-commerce (mobile commerce) to identify e-commerce that takes place using mobile devices.

Popular uses of e-commerce by consumers include retail, finance, travel, entertainment, and health. Users can purchase just about any product or service on the Web, including groceries, flowers, books, computers, music, movies, cars, airline tickets, and concert tickets. They also can pay bills, invest in stocks, make airline reservations, reserve a hotel or car, and fill prescriptions. Three types of e-commerce are business- to-consumer, consumer-to-consumer, and business-to-business. Business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce consists of the sale of goods and services to the general public. For example, Apple has a B2C Web site. Instead of visiting a retail store to purchase an iPod, customers can order one directly from Apple’s Web site. A customer (consumer) visits an online business through an electronic storefront, which contains product descriptions, images, and a shopping cart. The shopping cart allows the customer to collect purchases. When ready to complete the sale, the customer enters personal data and the method of payment, which should be through a secure Internet connection. E-retail, short for electronic retail, occurs when businesses use the Web to sell products

11. How Do E-Mail, Mailing Lists, Instant Messaging, Chat Rooms, VoIP, Newsgroups and Message Boards, and FTP Work?

E-mail (short for electronic mail) is the transmission of messages and files via a computer network. E-mail was one of the original services on the Internet, enabling scientists and researchers working on government-sponsored projects to communicate with colleagues at other locations.

Today, e-mail is a primary communications method for both personal and business use.

You use an e-mail program to create, send, receive, forward, store, print, and delete e-mail messages. Outlook and Windows Live Mail are two popular desktop e-mail programs; Gmail and Windows Live Hotmail are two popular free e-mail Web applications.

A mailing list, also called an e-mail list or distribution list, is a group of e-mail names and addresses given a single name. When a message is sent to a mailing list, every person on the list receives a copy of the message in his or her mailbox. For example, your credit card company may add you to its mailing list in order to send you special offers. To add your e-mail name and address to a mailing list. To remove your name, you unsubscribe from the mailing list. Thousands of mailing lists exist about a variety of topics in areas of entertainment, business, computers, society, culture, health, recreation, and education. Many vendors use mailing lists to communicate with their customer base.

Instant messaging (IM) is a real-time Internet communications service that notifies you when one or more people are online and then allows you to exchange messages or files or join a private chat room with them. Real time means that you and the people with whom you are conversing are online at the same time. Some IM services support voice and video conversations. Many IM services also can alert you to information such as calendar appointments, stock quotes, weather, or sports scores. They also allow you to send photos or other documents to a recipient, listen to streaming music, and play games with another online party. For IM to work, both parties must be online at the same time. Also, the receiver of a message must be willing to accept messages.

A chat is a real-time typed conversation that takes place on a computer. A chat room is a location on an Internet server that permits users to chat with each other. Anyone in the chat room can participate in the conversation, which usually is specific to a particular topic. As you type on your keyboard, a line of characters and symbols is displayed on the computer screen. Others connected to the same chat room server also see what you have typed. Some chat rooms support voice chats and video chats, in which people hear or see each other as they chat.

To start a chat session, you connect to a chat server through a program called a chat client. Today’s browsers usually include a chat client. If yours does not, you can download a chat client from the Web. Some Web sites allow users to conduct chats without a chat client. Once you have installed a chat client, you can create or join a conversation on the chat server to which you are connected. The chat room should indicate the discussion topic. The person who creates a chat room acts as the operator and has responsibility for monitoring the conversation and disconnecting anyone who becomes disruptive. Operator status can be shared or transferred to someone else.

VoIP, (Voice over IP, or Internet Protocol) also called Internet telephony, enables users to speak to other users over the Internet. That is, VoIP uses the Internet (instead of the public switched telephone network) to connect a calling party to one or more local or long- distance called parties.

To place an Internet telephone call, you need a high-speed Internet connection (such as a DSL or cable modem); Internet telephone service; a microphone or telephone, depending on the Internet telephone service; and Internet telephone software or a VoIP router, or a telephone adapter, depending on the Internet telephone service.

 VoIP services also are available on some mobile devices that have wireless Internet service. Calls to other parties with the same Internet telephone service often are free, while calls that connect to the telephone network typically cost about $15 to $35 per month. As you speak in a microphone connected to your computer or a telephone connected to the VoIP router or telephone adapter, the Internet telephone software and the computer’s sound card or the VoIP router or telephone adapter convert your spoken words (analog signals) to digital signals and then transmit the digitized audio over the Internet to the called parties. Software and equipment at the receiving end reverse the process so that the receiving parties can hear what you have said.

Newsgroups and Message Boards

A newsgroup is an online area in which users have written discussions about a particular subject. To participate in a discussion, a user posts a message, called an article, to the newsgroup, and other users in the newsgroup read and reply to the message. A thread or threaded discussion consists of the original article and all subsequent related replies.

A computer that stores and distributes news- group messages is called a news server. Some newsgroups require you to enter a user name and password to participate in the discussion. For example, a newsgroup for students taking a college course may require a user name and password to access the newsgroup. This ensures that only students in the course participate in the discussion.

To participate in a newsgroup, typically you use a program called a newsreader. Windows Live Mail includes a newsreader. Some Web sites, such as Google Groups, that sponsor newsgroups have a built-in newsreader. A popular Web-based type of discussion group that does not require a newsreader is a message board. Many Web sites use message boards instead of newsgroups because they are easier to use.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is an Internet standard that permits file uploading and downloading with other computers on the Internet. Uploading is the opposite of downloading; that is, uploading is the process of transferring documents, graphics, and other objects from your computer to a server on the Internet. Web page authors, for example, often use FTP to upload their Web pages to a Web server. Many operating systems include FTP capabilities. If yours does not, you can download FTP programs from the Web, usually for a small fee.

An FTP server is a computer that allows users to upload and/or download files using FTP. An FTP site is a collection of files including text, graphics, audio clips, video clips, and program files that reside on an FTP server. Many FTP sites have anonymous FTP, whereby anyone can transfer some, if not all, available files. Some FTP sites restrict file transfers to those who have authorized accounts (user names and pass- words) on the FTP server. Large files on FTP sites often are compressed to reduce storage space and download time. Before you can use a compressed (zipped) file, you must uncompress (unzip) it.

12. What Are the Rules of Netiquette?

Netiquette, which is short for Internet etiquette, is the code of acceptable behaviors users should follow while on the Internet; that is, it is the conduct expected of individuals while online. Netiquette includes rules for all aspects of the Internet, including the World Wide Web, e-mail, instant messaging, chat rooms, FTP, and newsgroups and message boards.