What is Internet

The internet is a worldwide public network of computers on which people can join and use multiple services such as sharing of information. The World Wide Web (WWW) is one of the major services of the internet who hosts information of almost about anything one might like to search for. Search engines are being used to browse through the available sources of information and can make discovering of information an easy to use game. In addition, the internet offers communication services where people can use to conduct friends and family that may live in a different country. Such communication services include MSN, Skype and Yahoo. Chat rooms are another way for communication through which people have the chance to communicate with other people that have never met before, or that live in different countries. E-mails are another form for communicating with family and friends and have now replaced the traditional hand-written letters. Social networking sites are websites that offer people the chance to create a profile for themselves, describing likes and dislikes and the expectations of a person from other people. The purpose of these sites is to enable members to meet other members for relationships, friendships or just simple acquaintanceships. Lastly, the internet can offer services for downloading. Downloading on the computer might include music, movies and programs.

SEARCH ENGINES
Search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN and Lycos are used for searching the internet for information or pictures. For example, you may need to find information about surfing the internet safely. All you need to do is to go to the engine and give a keyword of the topic you are interested in finding information for. In our example you could type in the search bar “internet safety” and the engine would come up with all the information available for this topic.

COMMUNICATION – MSN, SKYPE, YAHOO
Messenger services provide a real breakthrough in communication today. Their use has managed to minimize distances and offer the chance to people who have friends and families living far away from them communicate easily and cheap. These messenger services can be downloaded through their respective websites and as soon as the program is on the hard drive you can add people’s email addresses or usernames and see them. Messenger services offer instant messaging along with audio and video conferencing. Microphones and cameras can be attached on the computer and people can instantly and live conference with others for no extra cost.

CHAT ROOMS – THE MIRC
Chat rooms are being used from people for communicating with individuals from all over the world. Chat rooms offer the most widely used technology for meeting people that belong to your own network of interests. The mIRC is the most popular program that includes chat rooms and teenagers are the most frequent age class to use it. The use of mIRC is easy and anonymity is well preserved since you are only asked to use a username to join.

ELECTRONIC MAIL (E-MAIL)
Electronic mails are another form of communication which nowadays has replaced our traditional hand written letter. E-mails are letters that can be sent through the internet and can arrive almost instantly and without cost. E-mails are an essential part of every company and every person who needs to communicate with people that live far away from them.

SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES
Social Networking Sites are websites through which people can create a personal profile of themselves so that other members of this website can contact them should they like their profile. Social Networking sites are offered for creating friendships, relationships and acquaintanceships. Those websites are very popular and allow you to include pictures of yourself and other personal information. In addition, people can use these websites to express the view they have for themselves and request for people that share the same interests as them.

DOWNLOADING SERVICES
Downloading services are offered either through websites or through peer to peer programs and allow people to download music, movies or programs on to their computer. Peer to peer programs have the form of a mIRC program through which people that are connected at the same time can share music, video or program files that already have on their computer.


What is good for you?
The use of the Internet offers a variety of benefits to everyone who is willing to use it. The enormous amount of information available and the many uses one can have through the internet have made it the most valuable tool in various settings of a person’s life. The Internet has an enormous amount of publications added on it every day and it’s evolving as the most powerful source of information. Also, use of the Internet has made jobs easier and oversimplified tasks that would take an enormous amount of time before. Moreover, the Internet has become a great tool for avoiding the hassles of the bank, offering the chance to make the transactions quickly and safely. It also offers a powerful source for shopping and the easiness of having your products delivered straight to your house, should you decide you do not want to go out. Furthermore, the widespread use of the Internet has opened new areas of jobs in all countries and expanded the availabilities of working from home. Last, the Internet is one of the most valuable tools in educations since it provides an enormous amount of information and is the greatest source of reference for educators and students. The electronic libraries are of utmost importance for University students looking for scientific information for their courses. Another major benefit of the internet is its ability to minimize distances and provide communication services efficiently and without any cost. In general, the Internet is a multi-tool with applications on every aspect of someone’s life.

THE INTERNET (R) EVOLUTION
The available material, programs, websites and other services of the internet are multiplied every day, revolutionizing the technology being used. Its applications grow exponentially and it would be impossible to outline everything in this booklet. The most important aspect of the Internet evolution however, is that its exponential growth allows it to ease and transform people’s life and increase their knowledge.

THE PRECIOUSNESS OF TIME
Some people say “time is money”. Some others say that time is precious and should not be wasted. Whatever applies to you however, one thing is true: Today’s needs and demands of society have taken over our time that feels it’s not enough for doing everything we need to be doing every day. The appearance of the Internet saving matter came as a life saver for many tasks that would take days to complete before. The ability of the internet to store materials, its ability to calculate instantly almost anything, and its worldwide application databases had made tasks much easier and less time consuming in almost every industry on the planet.

THE INTERNET BANK
The advanced technologies of the internet managed to free people from the hassles of losing an enormous amount of time waiting in the line to be served at the bank branches. Internet banking is the easy way of dealing with bank transactions safely and quickly. Internet banking offers a wide range of transactions that can be done including bill payments and transfers. Internet banking is convenient also in that it is available twenty-four hours a day.

THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET
Did you ever find yourself in a position that urgently needed to go out and buy something but was not in the mood or did not have the time to go out and do it? If your answer is yes, then the internet can solve your problem. The Internet enables you to buy anything you need from the comfort of your own house. Many supermarkets take online orders and deliver the stock within the day at your doorstep. Many consumer stores offer online purchases about almost anything you can imagine (shoes, clothes, apparel, accessories). Online shopping can save you time and money since it offers a wide range of specials in much cheaper prices than what you will find in the actual stores.

THE UNEMPLOYMENT AGENT
Another benefit that the internet has brought into our lives is that ever since the internet has been introduced, new areas of jobs and careers have opened up to the public. Web designing, computer technician and programmer, are among the many that are found at their peak demand for employers. Almost every company nowadays, needs to have a website that promotes its products and patents that web designers are among the most highly requested professionals needed. Furthermore, consultants, sellers, dealers and all sorts of professionals are needed to promote and help people over the internet. The training needed is of high education and career opportunities through the web are exquisite. Housewives, mothers and disabled people, can now have a chance to work from their house and earn money that would otherwise be difficult to obtain.

THE TREASURE BANK
The biggest benefit of the internet can be found in the educational sector. Educators can obtain learning material from it, prepare courses online and deliver audio/visual information to students. For instructors it is a valuable source for referencing material and enhancing the knowledge of their students. The Internet provides a great place for conferencing and collaborating with students from all over the world. Students can search for information regarding their school courses via electronic libraries who offer a great variety of journals and scientific articles. The resources available over the net cover almost every aspect of the school curriculum and students have a valuable machine for enhancing their knowledge and expanding their assigned work.

SO CLOSE…YET SO FAR AWAY!
One of the most important benefits offered from the wide applications of the internet is communication. The internet managed to eliminate distances and provide people with a unique opportunity to talk, watch and have fun with their loved ones, friends or acquaintances. Chat rooms, messenger services, emails and conferencing programs are the most common uses for communicating over the internet. People can enjoy the benefits of the cheap communication and maintain close contact with loved ones from all over the world.