Internet
About this page
On this page you can find out what the internet is and where it came from, links to recommended search engines and subject directories, information about the 'Invisible Web' and Web 2.0 technologies, and what you have access to through the Library.
Featured Website
Telegraph: World War II ArticlesThe seventieth anniversary of the beginning of World War II is being commemorated across the world this year, and a number of media organizations are drawing on their own historic archives to offer a bit of perspective on that moment in world history. The Telegraph is one such organization, and they have created this fine collection of essays, video clips, photo galleries, and original articles from the fall of 1939. In the "As It Happened" area, visitors can view the original articles from the Telegraph and offer their own comments on these events. On the right-hand side of the page, a video player offers clips from newsreels of the day which document subjects like air raids and the movement of important cultural items away from potential bombing sites. The homepage also contains a "WW2 In Focus" area which features commentaries from former soldiers, evacuees, and reporters revisiting key sites around Europe for a bit of perspective on these events.
(From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2009.)
Recent items
All a twitter : a personal and professional guide to social networking with Twitter,- by Tee Morris. (2010)
- "Twitter! Everyone’s talking about it. Its memberbership grew over 700% in just one year! Now, learn how to make the most of Twitter - in your personal life, your business, everywhere! All a Twitter delivers quick, smart answers to the questions everyone's asking about Twitter: What's it about? What's it good for? Is it worth your time? How do you get started? Where can you find great Twitter feeds to follow? How can you build a worldwide audience for your own Tweets? You name it, Tee Morris answers it - and shows you exactly how to do it, step-by-step, in plain English. No experience? Looking for something new to do with your Tweets? No problem: this is the Twitter book for everyone!" (Amazon)
Adobe CS3 web workflows : building web sites with Adobe Creative Suite 3, - by Joseph W. Lowery. (2008)
- "Maximize your potential as a web designer with Adobe CS3 Web Workflows: Building Websites with Adobe Creative Suite 3, a guide to all the tools in Adobe CS3 and how to use them together to create dynamic web pages. Understand the workflow from one product to another and learn how to use the essential techniques in each program so that you can complete your work skillfully and efficiently. Discover ways you can maximize your productivity with workflows like Photoshop to Dreamweaver, Fireworks to Dreamweaver, Flash to Dreamweaver and Photoshop to Fireworks to Bridge to Dreamweaver." (Amazon)
What is the Internet?
Caption: A graphical representation of how a 'map' of the Internet might look. Footnote [1.]
The Internet is the millions of interconnected home, business, academic, and government networks around the world linked together by telephone lines, cables or satellites. This "network of networks" carries various services such as email, online chat, online games, and the World Wide Web, a collection of interconnected documents and pages, linked by hyperlinks and URLs.
For a very basic introduction to using the internet try this BBC step-by-step guide
The history of the Internet
The story of how the internet came to be such a widespread and relied upon technology is fascinating. The websites below will give you some background on the beginnings of the Internet:
- A Brief History of the Internet, version 3.32
"The most interesting thing about the latest version of The Internet Society's history of the Internet is the list of authors. The history of the Internet is, in great measure, the history of the people who made it. This document is written by many of those people, including Vinton Cerf (TCP/IP), Leonard Kleinrock (packet switching theory), Robert Kahn (ARPANET), Jon Postel (RFCs and IP number assignments), David Clark (simple TCP implementation), and Stephen Wolff (NSFNET), among others. Brief History stresses four areas: technological evolution, operations and management, social aspects, and commercialization aspects." (2006 Internet Scout Project) - Nerds 2.0.1: A Brief History of the Internet
"This fantastic site shines the spotlight on the "nerds" who developed one of the most important technologies of modern day life. It begins with an overview of technologies developed in World War II that would eventually make the Internet possible. A good multimedia animation demonstrates the concept of packet switching, the fundamental communication process involved in decentralized networks. The next section looks at early applications of the Internet in the corporate world, which is followed by the global adoption of the World Wide Web. The last three sections are more references than stories; one highlights many of the founders and key developers that contributed to the Internet's growth. Another briefly defines some terminology, and the last section is a decade-by-decade timeline." (2006 Internet Scout Project)
Related terms:
Invisible web
The invisible or "deep" web refers to web-based material that is not indexed by search engines. It is estimated to be many times larger than the "surface" web. It includes such things as non-text content, unlinked pages, and sites like the Library's mygateway.info subscription databases that require you to login to access their rich content.
Web 2.0
Web 2.0 is a term used to describe the trend to use the World Wide Web not just as a collection of websites, but as a platform for technologies that emphasise creativity and collaboration between and among users and providers. Examples of applications and services that could come under this heading include blogs, wikis, podcasts, RSS feeds, social networking sites such as bebo, and photo sharing sites like flickr.
For definitions of these, or any other, internet or computer-related jargon search in Webopedia from internet.com.
For more detailed explanations and background try Wikipedia.
20 years of the World Wide Web
The Internet and the World Wide Web (or WWW) are often mentioned in the same breath or even used as terms interchangeably but, as mentioned above, they are not in fact synonymous.
The World Wide Web is actually the system we use to access the Internet - it is an application built on top of the Internet. To find out more, have a look at HowStuffWorks' page on What's the difference between the Internet and the World Wide Web?
Although the Internet is decades older, 2009 is the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the World Wide Web - created by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989.
Books:
Weaving the Web : the original design and ultimate destiny of the World Wide Web by its inventor- Tim Berners-Lee with Mark Fischetti
- "Named one of the greatest minds of the 20th century by Time [magazine], Tim Berners-Lee is responsible for one of that century's most important advancements: the world wide web. Now, this low-profile genius - who never personally profited from his invention - offers a compelling portrait of his invention. He reveals the Web's origins and the creation of the now ubiquitous http and www acronyms and shares his views on such critical issues as censorship, privacy, the increasing power of software companies, and the need to find the ideal balance between commercial and social forces." (Google Books)
Websites:
- Remembering the Day the World Wide Web Was Born, (Scientific American Magazine Website)
"Twenty years ago, a software consultant named Tim Berners-Lee at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (better known as CERN) hatched a plan for an open computer network to keep track of research at the particle physics laboratory in the suburbs of Geneva, Switzerland. Berners-Lee's modestly titled "Information Management: A Proposal," which he submitted to get a CERN grant, would become the blueprint for the World Wide Web." - The original proposal of the WWW, HTMLized
"A hand conversion to HTML of the original MacWord (or Word for Mac?) document written in March 1989 and later redistributed unchanged apart from the date added in May 1990. Provided for historical interest only. The diagrams are a bit dotty, but available in versioins linked below. The text has not been changed, even to correct errors such as misnumbered figures or unfinished references."
Search Engines
Google:
Bing:
Ask.com:
What is a search engine?
A search engine is software that scours the internet collecting data about every web site and web page that it can, and then stores it in a huge list. When you use a search engine you are actually searching its own database and not the whole internet. We recommend the above search engines.
How do I choose?
Most search engines are similar but they do have some variations that it is useful to know about. For more information about the features of different search engines and how they work, have a look at Berkeley University's Search Engine Tutorial.
Note: These sites are not accessible from the Library's free internet PCs.
Subject Directories
A web directory is like a guide to websites which records a few details about sites and orders them by subject and/or location. Similar to the Yellow Pages but covering everything, not just shops. You can search within a directory just like a search engine, or you can browse by subject. Try these:
- Te Puna Web Directory
Selected New Zealand and Pacific Island web sites - Google Directory
About 5 million sites listed. Selected by the Open Directory Project and enhanced by Google searching and ranking. - Librarians' Internet Index
Compiled by public librarians. Highest quality sites with reliable annotations.
For more recommended directories and their features, have a look at Berkeley University's Subject Directory Tutorial.
Shelf help
| Subject: | Dewey number: |
|---|---|
| Better business writing on the web, by Rachel McAlpine (NZ) | 808.066 |
| Designing & creating websites (also includes blogging and wikis) | 005.72 |
| The Internet and how to use it | 004.67 |
| Markup languages & Cascading Stylesheets | 006.74 |
| Multimedia (including YouTube) | 006.7 |
| Programming for the Web | 005.276 |
| Search engines & using the Web for research | 025.04 |
| Social networking (Facebook, MySpace etc.) | 004.678 |
Magazines:
At the library:
We currently receive 2 internet specific magazine titles, New Zealand netguide and .net: building a better internet, as well as more general computing titles.
Try this Computing Magazines Search for general titles on the library catalogue.
Through our databases:
- MasterFILE Premier
-
Designed specifically for public libraries, this huge EBSCO database provides full text for nearly 1,950 general periodicals covering a range of subjects including current affairs, business, computing, entertainment, education, health, general science, multi-cultural issues and much more. In addition to the full text, it provides indexing and abstracts for nearly 2,600 other titles.
Try a publications search, by Subject & Description for "Computers & software" for a list of computing titles available through this database.
Important: To access this database you'll need to log in with your library card details.
Can I use the internet at the library?
We provide both a free and paid internet service.
Free Internet:
Our free internet service in all libraries offers access to websites we think are useful for information or research. These include websites such as online newspapers, government websites, many NZ websites, plus links recommended in our Kids Catalogue and many more. MS Office (Word, Excel) is also available. Sessions last 30 mins.
Paid Internet:
On these computers, we also offer a "paid internet" service which allows general internet use such as search engines and email.
This is a charged-for service: $1.50 for 15 minutes, $3.00 for 30 minutes and $6.00 for 60 minutes.
If you don't use all of your time in one session, you can use the remaining minutes within 30 days. You will need to sign an Internet Use Agreement before using these computers.
Contact us
This page is written and maintained by Ian McDonald.
I'd be pleased to hear from you about this page - you can email me with any feedback.
Footnotes
- Attributed to Wikipedia user Matt Britt. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License. back
