Basic Internet concepts

1. Basic Internet concepts ADE 6606 LatanyaOverby

2. History of the Internet • The Internet was created in 1969, during the Cold War, by the United States military. It was meant to be a "nuke-proof" communications network. Today, the Internet spreads across the globe and consists of countless networks and computers, allowing millions of people to share information. Data that travels long distances on the Internet is transferred on huge lines known collectively as the Internet backbone. The Internet is now maintained by the major Internet service providers such as MCI Worldcom, Sprint, GTE, ANS, and UUNET. Retrieved on August 19, 2012 from http://pc.net/glossary/definition/internet

3. URLs • A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is the address of a specific Web site or file on the Internet. The rules for use of an URL are it cannot have spaces or certain other characters and uses forward slashes to denote different directories. An examples of an URL is: http://www.cnet.com/. The first part of a URL indicates what kind of resource it is addressing. The following is a list of the different resource prefixes: • http - a hypertext directory or document (such as a Web page) • ftp - a directory of files or an actual file available to download • gopher - a gopher document or menu • telnet - a Unix-based computer system that you can log into • news - a newsgroup • WAIS - a database or document on a Wide Area Information Search database • file - a file located on your hard drive or some other local drive • The second part of a URL (after the "://") contains the address of the computer being located as well as the path to the file. For example, in "http://www.cnet.com/Content/Reports/index.html," "www.cnet.com" is the address or domain name of the host computer and "/Content/Reports/index.html" is the path to the file. When a address ends with a slash and not something like ".html" or ".php," the Web server typically defaults to a file in the current directory named "index.html," "index.htm," or "index.php." So, if you type in "http://www.apple.com/" and "http://www.apple.com/index.html," you should get the same page. Retrieved August 19, 2012 from http://pc.net/glossary/definition/url

4. Navigation Techniques • The internet websites such as www.about-the-web.com can be used as a resource for finding navigational techniques such as: • Cut and Paste URLs from e-mail or other documents • Load a new page while another one is still loading • Using the Back Button • Errors Loading a Web Page • Problems Loading a Web Page • Getting Disconnected • Slow Internet Access • Adding Bookmarks or Favorites • Organize your Bookmarks or Favorites • Quick Search • Autocomplete/A> Turning off Java or JavaScript Other Preferences that effect your browsing experience Emptying your Cache Downloading Graphics, Sounds,Videos or Programs Retrieved August 19, 2012 from http://www.about-the-web.com/shtml/tips_tricks.shtml

5. Bookmarks, Favorites, Online Organizations • An Internet bookmark acts as a marker for a Web site (in Internet Explorer, they're called "Favorites".) When using a Web browser, simply select a bookmark from the browser's Bookmarks menu to go to a certain site. This avoids the redundant process of typing in the Internet address each time a favorite site is visited. • To create a bookmark, when you're at a page that you'd like to save, choose "Add Bookmark" from the Bookmarks menu. Retrieved on August 19, 2012 from http://pc.net/glossary/definition/bookmark

6. Search Engines • Search Engines - Software that index millions of sites on the Web for easy retrieval by Web surfers. By creating indexes, or large databases of Web sites (based on titles, keywords, and the text in the pages), search engines can locate relevant Web sites when users enter search terms or phrases. . Examples of search engines we use are Google, Yahoo, HotBot, and Infoseek. The use of boolean operators like AND, OR, and NOT to specify your search will usually produce a list of more relevant sites. Retrieved August 19, 2012 from http://pc.net/glossary/definition/searchengine

7. Evaluation of Websites Steps to evaluate website credibility: • Purpose: Determine whether the main purpose of the site is to inform or to persuade (advocate for a cause). • Author: The best sites are produced by those who have appropriate education, training, or experience to write with authority on the topic. Check site documents or external sources to find out more about the author. • Content: • Bias: Consider whether content seems biased. Does the author have a "vested interest" in the topic? Look for documentation of claims and a balanced point of view.

8. Evaluation of Websites (con’t) • Coverage: Shop around for the best source. You can compare the page to others on the same topic to see which provides better coverage. • Currency: If you are looking for the most current information on a topic, be sure to determine when information was added. • Recognition: Also try to determine whether the site has been recognized as exemplary by others linking to it, tagging or citing it. Retrieved on August 19, 2012 from http://liblearn.osu.edu/tutor/les1/

9. Evaluation of Websites (con’t) • The URL (Web address) describes the producer of the web site, and its purpose. The first three sites below are all "White House" sites easily accessible in a web search for “White House”. Only the one ending with .gov is the official White House site. • .gov Government agency: www.whitehouse.gov • .netInternet Service Provider: www.whitehouse.net • .com Commercial site (Note: www.whitehouse.com is a pornographic site.) • .eduHigher education - www.lesley.edu. Other educational sites may appear with different domain names: www.whitehouse.gov/kids. • .mil Military site- www.navy.mil/ • ~ ("tilde") Personal site - http://www.members.tripod.com/~DAdams/qkbrdinf.html • .org Organization; may be charitable, religious, or a lobbying group - http://www.rtda.org.

10. Troubleshooting • Troubleshooting is the process or identifying and fixing problems. Computer troubleshooting may involve hardware or software and can sometimes involve both at the same time. The basic process of troubleshooting is to check the most general possible problems first, and then gradually check for more specific problems. This provides a logical approach to problem solving and can apply to multiple types of products. Retrieved August 19, 2012 from http://pc.net/glossary/definition/troubleshooting

11. Problems and Pitfalls • Limited access to some creditable sources • Many journals and libraries require a paid membership to gain access to the information • Lack of knowledge on how to determine site credibility • Researchers need to understand how to read the site URL to determine credibility of the authors • Lack of navigation skills to maximize web search results.