CSCI E-1 | Section | Exploring the Internet

Section Objectives

This section will provide a formal framework for discussing some widely used applications that run on the Internet. The concepts discussed in this section will tie into future classes regarding website development and communication. Students are invited to use Instant Messaging in conjunction with email and other "traditional" methods of communication to keep in touch with their classmates and to get extra help from their TF. Students will use these tools heavily to complete future problem sets as well.

Websites & Browsers

World Wide Web (a modern Wild Wild West?)

The World Wide Web (WWW) is a collection of computers connected together in a network called the Internet.
"Mini-internets", better known as intranets, can have smaller networks with services provided only for a private group (not publicly accessible like the rest of the internet).
Many of them serve web pages which can be accessed and viewed by web browsers. These computers are known as "servers" because they serve webpages to others on the internet.
Servers do not simply have to provide webpages as their primary service. Many other services are accessible on the internet: submitting commands to them remotely and transferring files to them are possible for some, as we will learn later today.
You access web pages by using the server's address, also known as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL). These commonly come in the form "www.name.com" but there are many variations, such as .net, .edu, and .org.

Web Browsers

Servers provide webpages in a standardized language that all web browsers can read. This is how two webpages can look exactly the same across different web browsers and even different platforms (Windows versus Mac and Linux).
Some of the most popular web browsers include Internet Explorer ("IE", for Windows), Firefox (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux), and Safari (Mac OS X), although there are dozens more that are not as popular.

Web 2.0

The "next generation" of websites.
Refers to online collaboration and information sharing over the internet in ways that were previously impossible.
Technologies such as RSS, Podcasts, and Blogs help define the Web 2.0.
Some categories and example sites:
- Products:
  - eBay
  - threadless
- Information:
  - del.icio.us
  - Digg
  - Google Maps
  - Technorati
  - Wikipedia
- Services:
  - Backpack
  - craigslist
  - dodgeball
  - Writely
- Multimedia:
  - Flickr
  - Google Video
  - last.fm
  - YouTube

RSS

Really Simple Syndication.
Syndication of online content, news, articles, blogs, etc.
RSS readers
Simple way to receive your favorite online news

Podcast

Portmanteau of "broadcasting" and "iPod"
An extension of RSS
Used to syndicate and distribute multimedia over the internet
Although not the only way of finding Podcasts, Apple's iTunes Store houses a directory of free and for-pay podcasts (such as E-1's!)
Apple iTunes Store Podcast

Blog

Contraction of "web log"
Huge variety of topics, from news, personal blogs, political, entertainment, tech..
Examples:
To find more blogs, use the Web 2.0 site Technorati

Web-based Applications

Instant Messaging (IM)

I think, therefore IM.

Instant Messaging (IM) is a means by which users can communicate to each other in real time with text via the Internet. It works kind of like a "private chat room."
The popular IM service providers (such as AOL Instant Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ, MSN, Skype, and Yahoo) offer software called "clients" with which users can store, group, and sort lists of their favorite contacts.
The capacity to communicate instantly with text has been around for a long time. In fact, you can use the UNIX commands "talk" or "ytalk" to do this. IMing really took off, however, in the 1990's with the boom of the commercial Internet.
At first, a large percentage of IM use was seemingly relegated to the realm of personal fun. Businesses often discouraged the personal use of IM services. Nowadays, even large enterprises are jumping on the IM bandwagon. According to Sun Microsystems: "In the enterprise environment, knowledge workers are using [IM] across the extended enterprise environment to communicate and collaborate instantly and securely with colleagues, partners, and customers. Instant messaging can be used to quickly solve a business question, share a file, supplement a conference call, or poll a team. It provides an immediacy that is rarely available from other communications methods, such as e-mail or voice-mail, and thus can drastically reduce wait times."

Signing up for AIM

Go to the AIM site.
Click on the "Download" button to download and install the AIM client OR launch the web version by clicking on the "AIM Express" link.
At this point, if you don't have an AIM screen name, you can sign up for one.

Extras

More Info

Discussion and Research Topics

If web browsers are standards-based, why would web pages appear differently on different web browsers?
Is IM a boon or a curse in the age of instant gratification?

Section 3: Exploring the Internet

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