What is the internet?

We explain what the Internet is and what are the different types of Internet connection. Its history, its services and the different browsers.

1. What is the internet?

Internet is a network of computers that are interconnected worldwide to share information . It is a network of calculating devices that relate to each other through the use of a universal language.

The Internet concept  has its roots in the English language and is made up of the word inter (which means between ) and net  (from a network that means electronic network ). It is a term that should always be written in uppercase as it refers to “The Network” (which connects computers worldwide through the TCP / IP protocol) and without an article that accompanies it (it) to refer to it. There are different types of internet connection, that is, different means by which one can obtain connection to the network of networks

. The first one was the dial-up connection, that is, taking the connectivity of a telephone line through a cable. Then other more modern types emerged such as ADSL , fiber optic , and 3G and 4G (LTE) connectivity for mobile devices.

To access the billions of websites available on the large network of networks, which we know as the Internet,  web browsers (software) are used , being some of the most used Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari, all developed by different technology companies.

2. How did the Internet come about?

It is said that the origin of the Internet is due to a military project developed by ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Networks), a computer network of the United States Department of Defense that sought to create a network of computers that linked the defense investigation centers in case of attacks to maintain contact remotely and its operation was not interrupted even though some of its nodes were destroyed. Anyway, its initial purpose was to find other uses for the computer besides the calculator.

In 1989, a first proposal was made to use computers and links to create a network , later known as WWW (World Wide Web) that refers to a set of rules that allows the consultation of hypertext (http) files .

Sir Timothy Berners-Lee, a British engineer, made the initial proposal for WWW in that year and subsequently, through the implementation of http, achieved the first successful communication.

3. Types of Internet connections

Since the Internet is a network, it can be accessed through several channels.

• Telephone lines  A telephone line can be used that is subdivided into conventional telephone lines (it transmits signals in analogue form but they were currently displaced by others that offer greater benefits) or digital (by using a network adapter, the resulting frames of the computer are translated into digital signals).
• Fiber optic cable).  It can also be a cable connection (which implements light signals instead of electrical signals that encode a greater amount of information and in turn, said cable is made of a material called optical fiber that allows it to transmit data between nodes).
• Satellite  Also, there is the satellite connection (normally we are talking about a hybrid satellite and telephone connection system to reduce the congestion present in terrestrial networks).
• Wireless networks. In turn, we can implement wireless networks (which replace cables with infrared light signals or radio waves to transmit information). In sum, within wireless networks, another method used is that of LMDS (which is an acronym that stands for Local Multipoint Distribution System and consists of using high frequency radio waves).
• Power lines  If we talk about power lines we use PLC (conjunction of three words: Power Line Communications ). Finally, we can use mobile telephony (which refers to mobile communications available to access the Internet).

4. Internet services and uses

Internet opens the doors to thousands and thousands of different services, among them it will allow us to:

• Search for any type of information you need (for example on Google ).
• Buy products of various kinds (for example on Amazon or Mercado Libre).
• Communicate with family or friends who are in other countries or cities through a video call (for example Skype or WhatsApp).
• Play online games (such as the League of Legends) with people of different nationalities and ages, in real time.

Of course, a word that summarizes all these qualities that the Internet has can be connected or related. The Internet has the ability to connect people in different parts of the world and with different interests among themselves.

5. Web browsers

• Chrome  belonging to the giant Google and created in 2008; It is one of the fastest and safest offered on the market today. It is one of the best quality navigation programs today, which also offers its download absolutely free.
• Internet Explorer  It is a service of greater antiquity, already discontinued, but that was at the time the market leader. Its creation dates from approximately 1995, and is launched by the leading Microsoft company . During its first decade of existence it was the most used, presenting the greatest modernity, but today it has become one of the slowest despite its updates; which is why it has lost a lot of users .
• Mozilla Firefox.  It is presented as the alternative launched by the company Mozilla, which caused a furor in its inclusion in the market given the existing compatibility with both Apple and Microsoft operating systems . In addition, it is a fast service since it uses little memory (less hardware requirements ) at the time of performing each search; but it presents the best security offered in the market so far.
• Safari.  created by Apple. Perhaps one of the fastest, absolutely compatible with the operating system of this brand, while the version compatible with Microsoft no longer receives updates; and therefore, the same performance is not obtained either.