THE INTERNET

The internet is sometimes called “the net”. It is a worldwide system of computer networks a network of network in which users at any computer can get information from any other computer through either private or public telephone connection. The Internet sometimes enable a user to talk directly to user at other computers. Individually, the network component is managed by government agents, universities, commercial agents, and volunteers as well.

At present, however, most universities in the world have already been directly or indirectly connected with the network.

Meanwhile, many business groups join up for different reasons. Some want to make us of the efficiency and cheap services of the international communications system, and some others want to advertise their products, merchandise or services. There are also people such as political parties, influential groups, charity institutions who want to get access to the abundant on-line data, however, there are millions of individuals who connect their computers at home to one of the providers or companies that provide Internet services.

The first thing you should do before getting access to the internet is to connect your computer network to the internet. There are two ways to get the access. First, via the local computer network, and second, by joining compuserve or MSN.
PC User group, one of the many providers, can give you both, access to the Internet anf many kinds of services. However, we only need one of its telephone numbers to have on-line connection, you should have a “terminal” in your house. This will need :
a. A computer of any kind.
b. A modem, a device to connect your computer to the telephone line.
c. A telephone connecting socket which is placed near your computer.
d. Communications software which enable you to make a connection between your computer and other computers in overseas countries.

When you’ve got the access to the Internet, you can do the following activities :
1. Sending a letter to your friend wherever he / she is. Your letter will only need a few seconds to reach the receiver and it costs as much as the telephone charge for the connections to the Internet.
2. Participating in a computer group discussion.
3. Getting special fun, hobby, or obsession via one of the news groups in which people from all over the world changes ideas, opinions, advice and files.
4. Downloading files, e.g. text, graphs, or even programmers from the public data bank kept at the computer host owned by an academy or commercial institutions.
5. Getting information from electronics libraries by using key-words to obtain papers containing reference about the topic you need.
6. Getting information from reference books, such as Webster Dictionary and Britain Encyclopedia.
7. Watching video clips on museums and art exhibitions.
8. Getting the latest national and international news, including weather report, prices in the exchange market , financial report, etc.
9. Playing games with other players , and so on.

Internet with all its facilities has made the world become small. It can eliminate time and distance. However, in taking advantage of the Internet facilities, a users should bear in mind to evade high cost to himself as well as to receivers by using the Internet lengthily. More over users should intelligently select the right information from the numerous sources provided by the Internet.