Did you ever want to know, "what is the Internet?" Here is the abridged answer to your question.

The Internet is correctly defined as a network of networks.

Groups of networked computers, such as those at universities, large governmental agencies and Fortune 500 companies are all connected together. Additionally, small businesses, local non-profit organizations and plenty of individuals and families are also connected to this same inter-network structure, usually through an Internet service provider.

This common linkage of computers via satellite, coaxial cable and phone lines is collectively known as the Internet.

Any computer on the Internet that is properly configured can share information with any other computer found there.

Because the Internet is a world-wide distributed collection of computers rather than one central computer that everyone ties into, there is no central, controlling agency, nor can there ever be. For better or for worse, this creates personal freedom of speech and prevents censorship or governmental control.

The closest thing to a centralized system and the primary reason that all the sites aren't just a bunch of network numbers is due to the Domain Name System (DNS) managed by the InterNIC.

When a new site is put online it has a specific network address that looks something like 207.70.128.240. In order to make the site easier to remember, a unique name is correlated with the number, in this case, www.lcc.net.

When a user types the name in an Internet browser like Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, that name is automatically looked up on the DNS and then redirected to the actual network address.

When applying for a name, the InterNIC makes sure it is not already being used and, once assigned, it is the InterNIC's responsibility to broadcast that information to other computers. Once the $50 annual fee is paid, the domain name, as it is often called, is protected until the owner misses a payment. Like trademarks, domain names are quickly grabbed and fiercely protected.

One of the few requirements of a computer connected to the Internet is that it must speak a common language (or protocol). This protocol, called Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), is what enables small desktop personal computers to converse with huge super-computers across this entanglement of network connections.

The Internet is actually very boring since it is nothing more than hardware connections and TCP/IP. It is the Internet applications that make the Internet come alive.

Early Internet applications that are still used include electronic mail (e-mail), Telnet, Gopher, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Usenet (or newsgroups) and Internet Relay Chat (called IRC or just chat).

Relatively new applications of the Internet include the highly successful, World Wide Web (WWW), instant chat and paging, streaming video and audio broadcasts, Internet telephony and Internet conferencing.

It is these applications that draw the masses of people to their computers each day to connect to the Internet and often share information over the Internet.

Next week the Internet Tutor will discuss what each of these applications does and how they can be used.