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<BR>If you are a cyber business beginner, and draw a blank when people speak 'techno' to you, check out our simple answers to questions like - what is a modem, what is a router, what is a server and what is an operating system.<BR><h1 align="center"><font face="Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">What is the Internet</font></h1>
<p align="left"><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif"><a href="http://www.sitesource.com.au/"><font face="Arial Narrow, Arial Black, Arial, serif"><strong>SiteSource</strong></font></a></font></p>
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What communication can the Internet carry?
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<p align="left"><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Anything
that can be translated into digital information… more.
Digital information is binary, that is ones and zeros. Text can be represented in binary by giving each letter a number. So we can use the Internet to display words on web pages, write to each other using emails or communicate to groups in chat rooms. <a href="http://solutions.sitesource.com.au/">Pictures,
voice, sounds and videos</a> can also be broken down into binary information, so these too can be transmitted over the Internet.
To receive and send these different types of information, you need to run special application programs (on your computer) that help you communicate. To view the pages on a website you will need a browser. Most people use Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer. To read and send emails you will need an email client. Many people use Microsoft Outlook/Express or online interfaces to do this. To view videos you will need a player. Some popular versions are Real Player, QuickTime and Windows Media Player.
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<p align="left"><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">What is a
website?
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<p align="left"><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif"><a href="http://results.sitesource.com.au/">A
website is a collection of pages and computer files</a>, that contain information, which
can be transmitted across the Internet…more.
An Internet browser on your personal computer will display the pages from a website. Other applications may plug into this browser to enable you to view different types of files. For example Adobe reader will allow you to view Adobe PDF files and Flash player will enable you to view Flash movies. Generally a website is a construction of many web pages, like a book. You can browse to different websites and web pages by using links. Often a website has an index page or navigation bar that helps you find the links to pages you require.
Websites are stored on computers called web server. To find the specific web server that hosts the website you want, you require an address. This address can take two forms, either numeric or text. The numeric version is referred to as an IP address and the text version the domain name. An example of a IPv4 address is 216.65.1.129. An example of a domain name is sitesource.com.au.
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<p align="left"><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">What is an
Operating System?
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<p align="left"><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">An operating
system is the program that manages your computer and tells it how to run
the other programs you use… more.
For example, if you want to use an email program, you can’t load it until you load your operating system. There are three major types of operating systems used by computers that access the Internet; Windows, UNIX/Linux and Apple/Mac. The type of operating system you use, restricts the programs that you can run. For example if you use a Windows operating system you can only run programs designed for it. The operating system also restricts the peripherals you can connect to your computer. For example if you use an Apple operating system, you can only connect a printer designed to interface with it.
Different operating systems have different functions. Most people who access the Internet from their Personal Computer, like to use Windows or Apple, while many businesses that have computers storing websites prefer UNIX.
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<p align="left"><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">What is a
server?
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<p align="left"><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">A server
is a computer with a special operating system…more.
This enables these computers to deliver and manage information to and from other computers. Server computers are also often used to control and manage networks of interconnected computers.
On the Internet, there are many different servers. <a href="http://diy.sitesource.com.au/">Web
servers, Email servers, DNS servers, SSL servers, database servers</a>… A web server is used to deliver web pages to Internet browsers. Some popular types are Apache and Internet Information Server. Email servers manage the flow of email communication, many businesses use Exchange to do this. Domain Name Servers regulate how to find computers on the Internet via special addresses. Secure Socket Layer servers provide special encryption that puts codes onto communications between computers making it harder for other people to decode the communication. Database servers store vast amounts of catalogued information, and then users can make queries to get specific answers.
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<p align="left"><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">What is HTML/HTTP?
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<p align="left"><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Hyper Text – Mark-up Language & Transfer Protocol. These are used to create and transfer web page information to browsers…more
HTML is the code that tells a browser how to format & display a web page. For example it can be used to specify the size and style of font, where pictures should be positioned on the page and if tables should be used to format the text.
HTTP is part of the TCP/IP suit of protocols that enable the Internet to work. HTTP is the protocol that web servers use to communicate with client browsers. It enables the information on a web site to be transmitted over the Internet and decoded at the users end.
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<p align="left"><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">What is a
modem?
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<p align="left"><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">A modem converts
computer signals into a format that enables one computer to physically transmit
information to another… more
It modulates and demodulates binary information into a format that can be transferred into the physical world. In the case of telephone lines, this involves transferring binary information into electrical surges. These are then transmitted along a telephone line and demodulated at the other end by the receiving computer.
There are different types of modem. For example a 56K telephone <a href="http://estore.sitesource.com.au/">modem</a> is designed to convert to an electrical signal that is compatible with a dial up telephone service. An ADSL modem, while still plugging into the same telephone outlet, converts to electricity in a different way, so the signal can be sent quicker. It is important to have the right type of modem for your connection.
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<p align="left"><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">What is a
router? </font></p>
<p align="left"><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">A router
is a computer that helps manage the information flow between other computers
on the Internet… more
In the web of connections that makes up the Internet, your computer may be many stops away from the computer holding the information that you want. Routers use the IP address information about the computer you are trying to contact. There are always two or more connections to a router. Your request comes in on one line, and when there is more than one line out, the router uses a table to look up which way to send your signal. It is then sent on to another router, and so on. Until your signal hits a router that is directly connected to the network with the computer you are trying to contact on it.
Routing is a specific program, it can be part of a small specialised computer or function on a bigger computer that performs other services as well. When installing <a href="http://isp.sitesource.com.au/">ADSL</a>, it is often a requirement to use a router to connect to your ISP. In most cases this can be a simple box like unit, as there only needs to be two connections, one into your computer and the other out (via the ADSL modem) to your ISP.</font></p>
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