Given the current state of the world’s dependency on technology, the Internet in particular, it may very well become the newest entry to support human life. Are you, dear reader, able to envision a life without the Internet? Probably not.
The Internet has been extremely successful in integrating itself into nearly every conceivable aspect of our lives. Increasing numbers of people are relying on the Internet for their daily activities, eschewing the traditional method of accomplishing said tasks. Some examples would be online shopping and for a more common occurrence, using i-banking to review expenditure rather than relying on the physical monthly bank statements.
The idea of the Internet was first conceived in the 1960s, spurred on by the Soviet Union’s launch of the world’s first satellite, Sputnik. The concept of packet switching, the idea of breaking up data to be sent in smaller parts called packets which would then be reassembled into the original file at its destination, led to the development of ARPANET, considered today as the precursor of the modern Internet. Over the years, developments led to ARPANET adopting the currently used TCP/IP, in layman terms, a set of instructions that allow different computers to communication with each other. The Internet as we know it today formally emerged in the 1990s with the introduction of commercial dial-up services and of course, Tim Berners-Lee’s famous invention, the World Wide Web. Things took off from this point onwards, with the emergence of commercial websites and the now prominent names such as Yahoo and Google. Today, whole businesses are built upon this technology. Astounding, really, when we consider the modern Internet as we know it has only existed for a mere few decades!
For a relatively new technology to have taken the world in such a short time (relatively speaking) is an astounding accomplishment. So what exactly is the Internet and how does it actually work? Do take a few moments to view the two videos below, which offers an explanation of the inner workings of the Internet.
Simply put, the Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks. Think of the Internet as a wire. When computers are connected to this wire, it allows them to communicate. Webpages that we access are stored on specialized computers connected directly to the Internet known as servers. The computers you and I use are more likely to be clients, machines that are connected to the Internet via an Internet Service Provider (ISP), mainly Singtel, Starhub and M1 in Singapore. For webpages, we actually connect to them using an IP address, which is a series of numbers like 209.191.122.70. However, IP addresses are not exactly the most practical way to memorise the address of a webpage. Today, we use domain names instead, of which Facebook.com or Google.com are all examples.
In the present, the term ‘Internet’ is synonymous with the World Wide Web, when in actual fact is not the case, all things considered. The Web is simply another application that makes use of the Internet in its functions. However, beginning from Web 1.0 to the current model 2.0, it is undeniably Berners-Lee’s invention that has had the greatest impact on the world. Berners-Lee’s vision of the web, quoted below, was eerily prophetic.
The World-Wide Web was developed to be a pool of human knowledge, and human culture, which would allow collaborators in remote sites to share their ideas and all aspects of a common project,”
– Tim Berners-Lee
The above statement appears to indicate the Web today does exactly what is was intended to do. It does not take a rocket scientist to determine the outcome should the Web or the Internet suddenly cease to exist today. The impact should we lose access to all the information available online at the click of a mouse would be devastating indeed. For instance, businesses would no longer have the potential to connect with its customers via social media and academics would now have to spend innumerable hours poring over books in the library for research, not to mention the time and effort spent actually finding the correct book in the first place. More importantly, global organizations relying on the connectivity the Internet offers would find themselves in deep trouble!
The Web probably still has a gold mine of untapped potential. After all, it has achieved things that were once thought to be impossible. People who are geographically located on opposing ends of the globe are able to form fast friendships over the Web. Kyle MacDonald, the now famous Canadian blogger, started off by trading a single red paperclip online which eventually led to his acquiring of a house! Our world of social media, known otherwise as Web 2.0, has already shown us countless possibilities. The next iteration of the World Wide Web, Web 3.0, in all entirety, should be something remarkable to behold.
My Thoughts 