What is the Internet?

When Apple released its new look Mac OS as a desperate attempt to resurrect itself from the ruins that Microsoft Windows had pushed them to, people thought that the single most important revolution is happening in the history of the world.

It was all about hardware and software back then. For them, the world was changing and computers were quickly becoming the reason for that. This heavy engineering and technology were for the people, the most monumental tech advancement ever.

However, after a few years, a new tide came. And this time, in its wake, was something even more breakthrough. Yes, we’re talking about the internet. Today, without the internet, any computer just looks like a dead piece of hardware. Internet was liberating as it connected even the remotest corners of the world, thus, opening millions of possibilities for humans. Let’s know how this technology came into being and altered the shape of the world.

What Is The Internet?

So, let’s begin with the most basic question, what is the internet? Well, it can be seen as a network of networks connected together, either with a wire or wirelessly that has the ability to send and receive data within itself. This transmitted data, when received can be further used for multiple operations. Yes, we understand that the definition doesn’t give us a clear picture about the internet. For that, let’s take a journey back in time and see how everything evolved.

(Image Courtesy: M&S Consulting)

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History Of The Internet

Whenever someone talks about the history of the internet, they generally start by Tim Berners-Lee and how he changed the world when he created the web. The web was basically a way to access the internet using hyperlinks. However, there is a large chunk of the history of the internet that people generally omit. Yes, the internet existed way before Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web. In fact, the beginnings take us back to the Cold War era. Urgency ran down in all the top Universities of America, who felt, there had to be a way in which they could remain connected in order to keep their research safe, in case the military tried to destroy their computers. As a result of this, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was born. The ARPA was an effective way for the universities to connect with each other and also store their research material, where it was safe from the hands of the military. This way, they ensured that even if the computers get destroyed, the data will be safe on what they called the ARPANET.

(Image Courtesy: The University of Manchester)

From there, it was only a matter of time before people started realizing the utility of such a network. This technology, if properly evolved, could change the shape of the world and alter its direction towards a new era. Over the years, important people pitched in with their little inventions to create the net a more useful place. In 1971, Ray Tomlinson created a system to send an email, and that changed the world forever. From there, the government got interested in this new booming technology, and new rules were being written everyday on how the internet could be made a better place. Then the most important moment in the history of the internet arrived. It was when Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web in 1991. Just a year after that, the world got its first internet browser ‘Mosaic’ followed by the extremely popular Netscape Navigator. Over the years, companies like Google, Microsoft, IBM, and Apple among others started joining the internet and shaped it up to the way we know it today.

So, there you have it. Clearly, the internet has been in constant evolution where many people have decided the way that it will be used. However, with changing times, the internet also needs to become a safer place for us. If you found this article informative, let us know in the comments below.

(Featured Image Courtesy: Emaze)