Austin Web Festival

How the Internet Has Changed the World So Far

By

We have come a long way since dinosaur computers and dial-up connection. Most people would say that money makes the world go round. But in today’s generation, it seems that internet has become an essential part of people’s lives. From communicating with people to social media, the world wide web has definitely broadened our understanding of the world and how it works.

The Internet’s Growth: Back Then vs. Now

Back in the early days of the internet, only a select few were able to connect online. The older models of computers needed certain software to be able to connect to the internet. Even the process of connecting took a long time, waiting many minutes before a computer can be connected. And then there’s the dial-up connection with its slow processing and interruption of any phone calls. Back in the day, it took a long time to connect. Nowadays, all it takes is to get a password for the wi-fi and we are connected via or mobile phones.

We, as a society, have achieved many milestones because of the internet. We are globally connected to the world, which means we have instant contact with people even from other parts of the world. With the internet, people can use apps that can audio or video call people from other countries in a matter of seconds. It has changed our way of communicating because of how immediate it is as long as there is stable internet connection. HiPOINT Technology Services offers pretty high-speed to date in Chicago. People view it as the best internet provider in Chicago.

The Convenience of the Internet

The internet also introduced the concept of convenience in many aspects of or lives. Before we had online shopping, we actually had to go to the stores and check each item out and decide then and there whether to purchase it or not. With online shopping, one would only need to click and they can make a purchase using their credit card information. That goes the same with food, as well. Many restaurants and fast food establishments have now included delivery menus on their websites so that customers can easily choose what they want instead of talking over the phone without having any pictures of the menu to look at.

The Web’s Affect on Social Relationships

However, aside from the obvious changes that have occurred because of the internet, there are some that we may not see on the surface. Because of the internet, we have a completely different definition of intimacy and relationships. The way we present ourselves and or relationships on social media can really make or break a relationship. Moreover, because of social media, we are easily swayed to do what everyone else is doing. Being constantly updated means we are always trying to fit in with what is trending. These different aspects of life have been heavily affected by the internet, whether we realize it or not.

Many fail to realize how dependent we are to the internet. Imagine a world without it. It is horrifying to think about not being connected and not being updated with what is happening with the people in our lives and the world. The internet has indeed changed the world in more ways than we think.

Why the Internet Was Created?

By

In 1989, a British scientist at CERN, Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web to meet the demand for an automatic sharing of information among scientists in institutes and universities around the world. CERN is the European organization for Nuclear Research, or Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire in French. Founded in 1954, it is a research organization operating the world’s biggest laboratory of particle physics.

It was at CERN, where the world’s first website was at, hosted by the NeXT computer of Berners-Lee. Dedicated to the WWW project, the website described the fundamental features of the web, including the access of documents of other people and how to set up one’s own server. Berners-Lee’s NeXT’s which was at CERN was the first web server.

CERN put the WWW software in public domain on April 30, 1993. The next release came with an open license for maximum dissemination. The web flourished by making the web server freely available along with a library of codes and a basic browser.

From then on, the Internet has become dynamic, ever-changing and expanding. Several programmers, engineers and scientists developed new technologies and features which eventually composed the cyberspace or information superhighway.

Years before the existence of the Internet, many scientists already anticipated a network of information all over the world. In the early 1900s, Serbian-American inventor, physicist, mechanical and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla experimented with the world wireless system. In the 1930s and 1940s, visionary thinkers Vannevar Bush and Paul Otlet mechanized storage systems of media and books that were searchable.

In the early 1960s, Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider of MIT popularized the Intergalactic Network computer concept. After which computer scientists developed packet switching, an effective of electronic information transmission, which later became one of the Internet’s major building blocks.

In the late 1960s, the Internet’s first working prototype came in the form of Advanced Research Projects Agency Network. The ARPANET was funded by the United States Department of Defense. It applied packet switching to let multiple computers communicate on one network. It was all about time-sharing which made it possible for research entities to use the power of computers from other institutions with large calculations. More power was required when one’s facility may do the job better than the others.

In the spring of 1973, Robert Kahn visited Stanford and discussed with Vinton Cerf the issues of the interconnection of multiple non-identical packet networks. The two scientists then developed communications model Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol aka TCP/IP which set the standards of transmitting data among multiple networks. The model was adopted by ARPANET on January 1, 1983. From then on, researchers commenced assembling a network of networks which is the contemporary Internet.

The online world became more recognizable when Berners-Lee invented the world wide web. The web is the most common way of accessing data online through hyperlinks. It contributed to the popularity of the Internet among the public, a crucial step in the development of the massive information which is now a part of our daily lives.