MIT2114/2214 The Internet

A CMIT Module

Gary Stringer

University of Exeter
Creative Media and Information Technology (CMIT)

Exeter, UK

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Abstract

The Internet is a remarkable phenomenon. Essentially, it is just a large number of computers connected together in such a way that communication between them is both reliable and fast. Phrased in this way, it is wholly unremarkable. But the Internet is also the people who use it, to communicate and to share information, even to build relationships and communities. It's a culture that has grown within a virtual space, and that has permeated many aspects of our everyday lives. This module will provide an overview of the Internet, from the mundane networking of computers to the new societies created within it.


Table of Contents

About this Module...
1. Introduction to the Internet
What is the Internet?
The Internet in the Academic World
Connecting using an ISP
Who governs/regulates/controls the Internet?
Who owns the Internet?
2. The World Wide Web
What is the World Wide Web?
Why do we use HTML?
How do I make a web page?
3. Mail, News and More
The Nature and Use of Email
Reading the News
Transferring Files
Telnet and SSH
Terminal Services, Remote Desktop, etc.
4. Writing and Publishing
Hypertext and the Reader
Writing effective hypertexts
Good HTML Guidelines
5. Information Online
Evaluating Internet Resources
Searching Effectively
How Search Engines Work
Interactive Data on the Web
6. Safe and Secure Surfing
Introduction to Security
Internet Wildlife
Defence Mechanisms
So is online shopping safe?
Protecting your Identity
7. Multimedia: pictures and sound
Graphics files and formats
Adding sound
Using Video
Other Types of Multimedia
Interactive media
8. Virtual Communities
Origins of Synchronous Communication
Virtual Landscapes
What makes a Community?
Are Online Communities Different?
9. An Internet history
The Internet in its Thirties
Exponential growth
From Nerds to Newbies
World Wide Web
The Internet Ethos
10. Future Internet: where is cyberspace heading?
Predicting the future by examining the past
Developing useful metaphors
Metaphors from Science Fiction
Metaphors for Information Retrieval
Trends in technology
Cultural Trends
A. Useful Resources
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

List of Figures

1.1. Growth in number of Internet hosts
1.2. The Internet Society and Associated Organisations
2.1. How HTTP works: retrieving a web page
3.1. How email works
3.2. A typical newsreader (screenshot)
3.3. RSS Live Bookmarks in the Firefox Browser
3.4. A typical podcast aggregator
3.5. A command-line FTP client
4.1. A map of a hierarchical hypertext
6.1. A phishing alert in Firefox 2
7.1. Defining a Bitmap Graphic
7.2. Defining a Vector Graphic
7.3. Vector and Bitmap Formats Compared (1)
7.4. Vector and Bitmap Formats Compared (2)
7.5. Eight-Bit Colour
7.6. Twenty-Four-Bit Colour (True-Color)
7.7. Lossy Compression - High Quality
7.8. Lossy Compression - Low Quality
7.9. Analogue vs. Digital Sounds

List of Examples

2.1. The parts of a URL
2.2. A minimalist web page
3.1. A few emoticons (or smileys)
3.2. Commonly used email abbreviations
5.1. Meta tags in an HTML document