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The Internet |
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Despite the hype, the Internet is far from the solution to the world's problems. Although it holds the power to transform the planet, at present it disappoints all but the most loyal fans. Large firms are filling this environment with countless sites that tout their products. If companies had any idea of the history of the Net, they'd know that they also have a responsibility to do more. Long before they arrived it attracted and held an audience by furthering the intelligence of user's, by making information readily available, and letting them work together as a global community. Thanks to corporations, and their misunderstanding of the limitations of this technology, it has devolved into a children's pop-up book filled with processor slowing high resolution commercial graphics that nobody reads anyway. |
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The Web And Commerce |
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Ironically, the billions corporations pour into creating and managing Web sites isn't generating much profit. Although it may someday be the main way that people transact business, at present. it's more convenient to do comparison shopping in stores. Browser searches generate large lists of sites which must visited to before users can see what they offer. Those that use departments stores, and malls can have a wide selection of merchandise to choose from, and can walk out with goods in under their arms. The Web has many shortcomings that prevent it from becoming a viable alternative to mail order catalogs and stores. Only after it can match, and better other more established forms of commerce will it become the powerful merchandising tool corporations imagine it to be today. Currently, the only industry making large profits is the sex trade. This is because there is a keen interest in their product, and they sell a product that most people would rather not buy over the counter. Large firms have yet to realize that customers aren't ashamed of buying sneakers and household goods. They don't seem to understand that users aren't interested in scrolling through product claims, and soon tire of watching short, jerky video clips better presented on TV. The Web is far too slow, and primitive to support sophisticated commercials. Although all businesses should have a Web site, it should focus on sales, product support and orders, until transmission speeds increase |
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The Slow Flow OF Data |
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One of the reasons it takes so long to transmit data across the Web is that the telephone lines through which it must pass are analog, and were designed for voice communication. The data being sent by PCs is digital. This is why you need a modem to convert it, before it can be sent or received over telephone lines. The problem is that the band widths, or path, over which data must travel are far too small for the huge files being sent today. Because of this restriction, large files must be broken down and relayed in short bursts, instead of being sent as a single document. This explains why this process takes so long. The answer to the band width problem will probably come from a joint effort by a number of different industries, but this is years away. |
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The Trouble With the Web |
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Because the Web has mushroomed so quickly, without a plan of action, it's basically held together by chewing gum and string. When you want to retrieve something, not stored on a server, the hyper-text link you click on in the Web page 're in takes you to another site. When one of the servers through which your request must pass is tied up by other users, it must find an alternate route. During the telephone connection is sometimes broken. Since requests can't go directly to their destinations, a great deal of time is wasted in transit. There is no central computer directing traffic flow. Because the Internet has been transformed from a place to obtain information into a recreational environment, Sunday drivers cause traffic jams slow the whole phone system down. Unlimited access, chat rooms, and E-Mail encourage people to tie up servers for the silliest reasons. Since each site only has a limited number of modems available, you may not be able to get through, or may be dropped off-line while obtaining vital information. People just don't get what they want and leave.
Cheap Internet access is creating a new type of addict. A growing number of people are using the Web to escape reality, while learning, or doing, practically nothing constructive. It's not really their fault. They are being encouraged to waste their time, and this powerful resource by service providers that only care about their own bottom lines. Although there are hundreds of millions of interesting places to visit on this network, they prefer that people stay at their sites and chat, thumb through their self promotions, and wade through tons on their sponsor's advertising. Unfortunately, this is how they think they have to make money. |
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The Internet And the World-Wide Web |
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For those unfamiliar with the history of how the Net began, it had its early beginnings as a civil defense system developed by the American military. Later, scientists and scholars used this technology to establish phone links between computers at various universities and laboratories. The Internet was conceived as a way to help the world share ideas, not to push products. Because the original material being transmitted was text based, those looking for entertainment found it boring. In 1990 European scientists introduced technology which made the World Wide Web possible. Their contributions gave the environment the ability to transmit pictures and sound. This has been both a blessing and a curse. These improvements helped attract a larger audience, but it also caught the attention of large businesses that saw the Internet as yet another advertising tool. This wasn't the original inten |
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The Lofty Goals Of The Net |
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It may seem hard to believe now, but the Internet was meant to be a place to improve the mind, and discuss important issues. The idea was to put bright people from around the world in touch with each other. Linking intellectuals, scholars and concerned laymen into a global village was once seen as a way to create a global community that could better mankind. Like the creators of computers, those that labored hard to bring this new technology to light had lofty goals in mind. They would have buried their modems, and went back to snail mail, if they knew how little good their brain child is doing today. Their creation has grown from a small group of networked computers, to over fifty thousand servers linked throughout the world, but it has been taken over by interests that are more concerned with their bottom lines then in informing or enlightening others. Although scientists didn't consider how it would be financed, they envisioned a tool that would be used to end hunger, and usher in a new age of peace between nations and their people. Because the Net was designed to serve mankind, it utilizes a computer language popular in scientific and scholastic communities. They are the people that built the Internet, not the corporations that now slow down and pollute this powerful environment with junk. |
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UNIX And Its Role On The Net |
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UNIX is an operating system invented by Bell laboratories. It is widely used by the scientists around the world, and was therefore chosen as the language for the Internet. Unlike DOS it has the power to really multi-task, or run a number of programs simultaneously, and runs on a number of different computer platforms. It can support Macs, mainframes or PCs. The creators made it an open language, meaning programmers of good will can contribute their own code to help further the language. Their generosity has lead to some problems. There are so many different versions of UNIX around that compatibility is a real concern. Routines written for one release often won't run under another. Despite this minor flaw, UNIX work stations make up the backbone of the Interne |
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Work Stations |
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A work station is a very powerful computer, traditionally used to run graphic intensive applications like CAD, computer aided design, and CAM, computer aided modeling programs. They have been used by architects and engineers for years. Recently, Hollywood studios have begun using them for special effects. Because they are UNIX based, they also permit multiple users to access the files and programs they store and run. These machines don't show up in the user market because they're extremely expensive. However, these devices have become very popular with Internet service providers because of their high speed, and multi-tasking capabilities. They have no difficultly carrying user loads that would make the most expensive corporate file server fail. When you dial your service provider's access number, you're actually connecting to a workstation. There are several ways to access on |
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