CHAPTER 8: THE INTERNET

Unit Structure
8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Overview Learning Objectives A brief historic of the Internet How to access the Internet? 8.4.1 8.4.2 8.4.3 8.5 Internet Service Provider Types of connections Devices that connects to the Internet

Common services provided by the Internet 8.5.1 8.5.2 8.5.3 8.5.4 8.5.5 8.5.6 8.5.7 The World Wide Web E-mail File Sharing Streaming Media Voice over IP Online Communities E-Commerce

8.6 8.7

Legal Issues associated with the Internet Summary

8.1 OVERVIEW
This chapter will introduce you to the Internet, to what it allows you to do and to the latest developments associated with it. The chapter will describe the following:

A brief historic on the origins of the Internet. An overview on what is generally required to access the Internet. An overview of the different services available with the Internet. An introduction to the legal issues associated with the Internet.

8.2 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

To understand the origins of the Internet. To understand what an Internet Service Provider is and what it does. To understand how connections to the internet are achieved. To be accustomed with the different devices currently used to access the internet. To understand and be able to differentiate between the different services provided by the Internet. To understand the dangers associated with the Internet and to understand the legal framework supporting this medium.

8.3 A BRIEF HISTORIC OF THE INTERNET

1958: The Advance Research Agency Program (ARPA), in the U.S.A, created the Information Processing Technology Office which started investigating the potential of universal networking. Using as basis packet switching, a technology Paul Baran had recommended earlier to the U.S. Air Force, they started to work on the new network. Packet switching routes packets of data over a network from the originating node to the destination node (as opposed to circuit switching which sets up a dedicated connection between two nodes on a network). This optimises the use of the channels available in a network, allowing for more data to be sent per unit time.

1969: The worlds first operational packet switching network went live at UCLA (University of Callifornia, Los Angeles). The network was named ARPANET. The ARPANET was designed to be robust and reliable, such that it could survive network losses.

1978: The British Post Office, Western Union International and Tymnet, built on the ARPANET to produce the first international packet switched network, the International Packet Switched Service (IPSS). Connection to IPSS could be done by using a Packet Switch Stream (PSS) modem or a packet Assembler/Disassembler and a dedicated PSS line. The Assembler/Disassembler was used to reconstruct data from packets received or to break a stream of data into packets.

1985: The National Science Foundation in the US constructed a university network backbone based on a TCP/IP (now the standard protocol for the internet) wide area network, called the NSFNet. The TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) works as follows: TCP does the packeting of messages and reassembling of the message IP handles the addressing The open network allowed academic researchers in the US to access supercomputers. The NSFNet went online in 1986 using the TCP/IP-based technology from ARPANET.

1993: The first published specification for HTML was published in 1993 by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). 1993 also saw the release of the NCSA Mosaic browser which was a graphical browser. This application is known as the killer application for the Internet since it triggered the explosion in popularity for the Internet. HTML is the most common language used to write web pages. A Browser is a software that allows users to access and surf on the Internet (or World Wide Web).

IETF created an HTML working group in 1994. Since 1996, HTML has been maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The leader of the Mosaic team at NCSA then created his own company, Netscape, in 1994 and its flagship product, the Netscape Navigator.

In 1995, Microsoft entered the market with its Internet Explorer and began what was known as the browser wars with Netscape.

By mid 90s there were more than 300 million Internet users in the world.

1995: In 1995, Telecom Plus, a joint venture between Mauritius Telecom and France Telecom, began offering Internet services and associated value added services in Mauritius. This is when the Internet was commercially launched in Mauritius.

8.4 HOW TO ACCESS THE INTERNET

8.4.1 Internet Service Provider An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a company or organisation that provides Internet access facilities and related services to customers. Services offered beyond Web access could include domain name registration and hosting, e-mail accounts and services, chat rooms and Web page hosting. ISPs compete by offering competitive price packages and unique services. Telecom Plus was the first ISP in Mauritius but nowadays we have several other ISPs operating in Mauritius such as DCL and Network Plus.

8.4.2 Types of connections The different possible types of connections and access to the internet include: Dial-up ADSL LAN Leased Lines Broadband Wifi Wimax Satellite Cellular Networks

Dial up The client uses a device known as a modem to connect to the Internet Service Provider over normal telephone lines. Dial-up connection is typically slow.

ADSL Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) still uses telephone lines but a different modem is used to make use of frequencies not typically used by normal telephone calls to obtain higher bandwidth.

Figure 8.1: ADSL and Dial-up connection

LAN Connection can be obtained by connecting a computer to a Local Area Network (LAN) which is in turn connected to the rest of the Internet. The connection speed is typically much faster but is dependent on the connection between the LAN and the ISP.

Figure 8.2: LAN connection

Leased Lines A leased line will offer a direct and permanent connection to the ISP. Leased lines can offer a range of data connectivity.

Broadband Data connection over a high capacity medium is referred to as broadband. Optical fiber connection is the best know type of broadband connection; it uses light pulses instead of electric pulses to transmit data. Mauritius is linked to the Internet through an submarine optical fiber cable known as the SAFE cable.

Wi-Fi This term is used to describe a technology for wireless LAN connection. Wi-Fi offers relatively high bandwidth within a limited geographical area (of around 100 meter in diameter) called a Wi-Fi Hotspot. Devices need to have a special wireless network card to connect to this type of network. A special modem that includes an Antenna called an access point transmits the signals in a Wi-Fi area.

Figure 8.3: Wi-Fi access

WiMax The Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) provides wireless broadband access over a long distance. WiMax can cover areas of a few kilometres in radius and will provide relatively high data rate. A special modem is also needed for WiMax. In Mauritius, WiMax was introduced by Network Plus.

Figure 8.4: Wi-Max as opposed to Wi-Fi

Satellite Before getting connected to the SAFE optical fiber cable, Mauritius was linked to the Internet via Satellite connectivity. Several artificial satellites orbit around the earth and provide data connectivity across the globe. Several countries are still linked to the Internet through satellite connection. However, this type of connection provides relatively slow bandwidth and is subject to a delay.

Figure 8.5: Satellite dish for Internet access through satellite

Cellular Networks At around the same time there was the explosion in the use of the Internet, cellular mobile networks started blooming. If GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) did not provide a high enough bandwidth to make browsing using this type of connection a good experience, subsequent improvements such as the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS, 3G) made Internet access through cellular networks as simple and efficient as with wired networks.

8.4.3 Devices that connect to the Internet Initially the Internet connected Mainframe computer and Super Computers. Then we were able to use Personal Computers (PC) to access the Internet. Nowadays, we can also access the internet through a range of other devices such as: Television sets Mobile phones Game consoles

Figure 8.6: Web access on mobile phones

Web over TV is common in several countries and has been launched in Mauritius by the Mauritius Telecom under the product name MyT. Connection to the internet using mobile phones has been possible with GSM but with GPRS and 3G and improvement of the display features of mobile phones, Internet access on those devices is now a reality. Game consoles such as the Wii (Nintendo) and the Sony Play Station (PS3) also provides access to the Internet. We can expect more and more devices to enable connection to the Internet, allowing for a network of diverse electronic devices.

8.5 COMMON SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE INTERNET

The Internet has opened the way to a whole range of services that has allowed new companies offering related services to be created. Below are listed some of the common services offered through the Internet.

8.5.1 The World Wide Web The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext (such as webpages) available over the Internet. The hypertext could be very basic and contain text and hyperlinks or can be more advanced containing images and dynamic contents. A web page is accessed either by following a hypertext link or by typing directly the URL of the page.

The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the web site.

An example of a URL is: http://www.utm.ac.mu

http specifies that we are using the hypertext transfer protocol

www specifies that we are accessing the World Wide Web service

utm the server name

ac generic top level domain name, here for academic (.com for commercial, .org for organisation etc)

mu second level domains, here mu stands for Mauritius just like fr would stand for France.

Web pages can also be accessed through search engines such as Google. A search engine is a mechanism which will look for information on different web sites and databases distributed all over the Internet.

Search engines are often used for marketing of web sites.

8.5.2 E-mail E-mail is a short for electronic mail. This service allows for the composing, sending, storing, forwarding and receiving of messages over the internet. Senders and recipient of e-mails (or emails) will typically have an e-mail address such as myname@mail.com. E-mails are extensively used in the corporate world and have greatly helped in allowing for faster interaction among companies who are geographically very far apart. Email clients, such as Microsoft Outlook, are tools that allow the management of email messages. Some email clients are accessible online (e.g. Yahoo, Hotmail and Gmail) and will store received and sent messages on a server.

Nowadays emailing is plagued by a phenomenon known as Spamming, which are bulk unwanted messages often used to market a product. Fortunately filters can be added to get rid of Spam messages.

8.5.3 File Sharing File sharing services allow for the sharing of data files over the Internet. There are different ways in which files can be shared over the Internet. Files can be stored on web servers and downloaded

just as one would download an html web page, which is using hypertext transfer protocol. This way of sharing a file is very insecure because just about anyone can download the file. Files can also be stored on protected servers accessible through a web browser or specialised tool. The file can then be accessed using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). This protocol allows the setting of a password so as to control who have access and can download the files. Another way of sharing files over the internet is by creating a virtual private network (VPN) and then sharing folders across the virtual private network. Finally, one of the most popular and controversial ways of sharing a file is by using Peer-to-peer networks. Those networks interconnect computers to each other in a tree like structure. Specific tools are used to connect to such networks (e.g. Kaaza, Gnutella, Bittorrent etc). In such networks there is no clear definition between a server and a

client as you could be downloading a file from one computer and the same computer would be downloading a file from your computer. The user will search for a specific file without knowing on which computer (or node) it is located and the search will go down the network, visiting more and more computers to find the specified file. If the file exists on several computers, parts of the file can be downloaded from several computers so as to accelerate the download.

8.5.4 Streaming media Streaming media refers to the delivery of media such as music and video files over the internet. Rather than downloading the files, the media data is played directly from the server typically within the browser itself. Media software such as Windows Media Player, Winamp, Realplayer and i-Tunes can also access media stream servers and allow users to stream media from within the software. Audio streaming allow user to preview music tracks but has also given rise to online radios. Anyone can now have his own radio by streaming sound over the Internet. Video

streaming has lead to the concept of Web TV where TV programs are broadcasted live over the internet. The proliferation of Web Cameras (WebCams) has also greatly popularised video streaming over the internet. Web sites such as YouTube, specifically provide all kind of video and audio files to be viewed and streamed from web browsers.

8.5.5 Voice over IP Voice over IP also known as IP Telephony or VoIP, implies the routing of voice conversation over the Internet. Voice over IP unlike audio streaming allows for two way exchange of audio data. Voice over IP has been a service much sought after on the Internet for a long time but the main hurdle to its implementation has been Quality of Service (QoS). The Quality of Service hurdle arose due to limited bandwidth which prevented a smooth communication of high audio quality. However with the increasing accessibility of broadband bandwidth, QoS is becoming less of an issue and companies such as Skype, has popularised the use of VoIP as an alternative to classical telecommunication networks. Several companies such as call centres now rely mostly on VoIP to enable international connectivity with clients.

8.5.6 Online Communities Online communities and Virtual communities are web sites that interlink people who primarily know each other via the Internet or use the internet to share thoughts and tastes. Online communities first existed via groups of technology savvy people who shared their knowledge and

passion over the internet through the creation of web pages and through chat groups and forums. Nowadays however, some specialised web sites allow people to create online profiles without having to know how to build a web page and html. This democratisation of the Internet has taken shape through widely accessible chat programs such as MSN messenger and Yahoo messenger. Also virtual community sites such as MySpace, hi5, Facebook and Orkut have facilitated the creation of personal web page. These much personalised web pages are often referred to as BLOGs.

Blogs are websites where people can post information in a chronological order. Blogs also allow for other people to comment on topics from the site. Virtual communities are evolving further with new software such as Second Life which allow for the creation of a 3 dimensional representation of oneself online (also known as a 3D Avatar). The Avatar can travel in a 3D virtual world online and participate in virtual 3D activities ranging from simple socializing by approaching another Avatar and chatting to attending virtual meetings or conferences. Users can even purchase virtual properties such as objects, clothes, land or real estate.

8.5.7 E-commerce E-commerce or Electronic commerce involves distributing, buying, selling, marketing and servicing of products over the Internet. The web thus becomes a market place where people can buy and sell products. If initially e-commerce meant the exchange of commercial documents over an

electronic medium, nowadays e-commerce encompasses a wide range of activities ranging from ebanking to e-marketing and e-shopping.

e-banking: sometimes referred to as internet banking or online banking allow the customer to do some basic management of its bank account by accessing a secure web page. The customer is thus able to verify its bank account, perform transfers and credit card payment for example from a web browser.

e-marketing: involves activities such as email marketing, where emails are sent to customers to market a product and banner advertising, where banners are added to websites to market something. E-mail marketing, when overused, gives rise to spamming (see SPAM above) but is very efficient in attracting clients to specific products.

A banner (web banner) will attract traffic to another web site by providing a graphical link to the website. Banners nowadays employ different schemes to attract surfers, such as having dynamic images or having games embedded in the banner.

A new way of using the web as a marketing tool is to use search engine marketing. This has been popularised by Google search engine and involves returning marketing links which are related to the word(s) searched for.

e-shopping: allows customers to shop online for products. Customers can choose items from an online list, view details on that specific item, add the item to a shopping cart and perform the

payment. The shopping cart is a virtual representation of a physical shopping cart. It facilitates online shopping since the user does not have to pay each time he purchases an item but can rather add the item to a cart and at the end pay for the total cost of the items in the cart. Payment is then performed by entering a credit card detail or by using an e-wallet. An e-wallet is a virtual representation of an actual wallet. The user can top up his account on an e-wallet and use the e-wallet to perform payments. This makes the transaction more secure.

8.6 INTERNET AND THE SOCIETY

Similarly to radio, and TV, the Internet is part of communication mass media. Misuse of the Internet can be harmful to the users. The rules governing the use of Internet in Mauritius are under the Electronic Transactions Bill Act. E-commerce is also governed by this Act.

Some issues that an Internet user should be aware of: Copyright of web content: Some content from certain sites are not authorized to be reproduced for commercial purpose Non-repudiation agreement: On e-commerce pages for example user that has performed certain tasks cannot deny their actions Netiquette: An Internet should behave properly when communicating

8.7 SUMMARY
ARPANET the first Internet type of network was launched in 1969 at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1995, the Internet was commercially launched in Mauritius by Mauritius Telecom. An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a company or organisation that provides Internet access facilities and related services to customers. The different ways to connect to the internet includes; Dial-up, ADSL, LAN Leased Line, Broadband, Wi-Fi, WiMax, Satellite or through Cellular Networks. The devices that can connect to the internet nowadays include computers, television sets, mobile phones, game consoles. Common Services available from the Internet include: World Wide Web, Email, File Sharing, Streaming Media, Voice over IP, Online Communities and E-commerce. Misuse of the Internet is sanctioned by the law. The subscribers should be aware and advised of the different offences like non respect of copyright act

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