Text 10 Online discovery

Computers seem to generate the use of jargon and many abbreviations. Although some of these words are eventually integrated into standard English, most of them remain a mystery to most people. Computing dictionaries, such as the Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (http://wfn-shop.princeton.edu/foldoc/) can help dispel some of the mystery. Take a look at this dictionary and try to learn at least four dif­ferent computer-related terms or abbreviations.

To be able to access the sites described in Online Discovery, you will need access to the World Wide Web. You may have access in a number of different ways, depending on your particular setup. You may, fur example, access the Web through a commercial online service such as America Online, CompuServe, or Prodigy. If you get access to the Internet through your college or university, or through a local Internet service provider, you probably have a direct connection to the Internet; in this case, you access the Web through a browser program such as Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, or Mosaic. Finally, certain types of Internet accounts provide access to the Web through a text-only program called Lynx. If your account provides text-only access, you will be able to access the sites mentioned in Online Discovery, but you might not be able to access all the information present; with text-only access, you will not be able to view graphics.

In the Online Discovery sections, the addresses of all the Internet resources and home pages mentioned in the examples are provided. These addresses are in the form of URLs, or Uniform Resource Locators, which are sort of like street addresses of pages on the Internet.

The URL of the Que Education and Training home page, for example, is htlp://www.queet.com. You can enter this address into your Web browser to retrieve and view the Que Education and Training home page. The way in which you enter addresses and view documents will vary depending on the Web browser you are us­ing. In Netscape Navigator, you simply click the button labeled Open, and in the box that appears, you type the address of the document you want to view.

Look through the text and find the passage where it is told about the ways of access to the World Wide Web. Read this passage and translate in the written form.

Text 11 Today's Information Highway - The Internet

The Internet is a collection of networks - a network of networks - that communicate with each Other by using the same standards (protocols) of communication. The com­puters that make up these networks are of different types. Currently, over one million computer systems - with tens of millions of users worldwide - make up the Internet. Users access the Internet by contacting a computer that connects to the Net. The Internet began in 1969 as a government-sponsored research network called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network).

This network linked Department of Defense (DOD) research centers with university researchers. Scientists working on the ARPANET developed Internet protocols (also called TCP/IP), the standards that enable computer users to exchange data through the Internet. The network grew to include contractors and subcontractors with the DOD. Many universities and colleges then joined. Libraries, other government agencies, and interested businesses also joined. Today, the Internet is growing at the rate of about 150,000 new users a month.

An interesting fact about the Internet is that it was deliberately designed with no central office. Don't look for an Internet Headquarters. The Internet's designers were told to think of the possible consequences of a nuclear attack. If an enemy attack were to take out a node of the Internet, it is designed to route around the destroyed node and not be crippled.

One outcome of this lack of centralization has been uncontrollable growth. There is nothing to stop anyone from adding a new computer or local area network to the Internet. Of course, this factor benefits everyone. The more people joining the richer the Internet's resources. The cost for this enormous growth, however, can be delays. E-mail '.hat is supposed to be sent immediately may be delayed for hours because there is no room on the communication lines to send it.

Look through the text and find the passage where it is told about Internet protocols. Read this passage and translate in the written form.