From its early days as a military-only
network to its current status as one of the developed world’s primary sources
of information and communication, the Internet has come a long way in a short
period of time. Yet there are a few elements that have stayed constant and that
provide a coherent thread for examining the origins of the now-pervasive
medium. The first is the persistence of the Internet—its Cold War beginnings
necessarily influencing its design as a decentralized, indestructible
communication network.
The History of the Internet
The near indestructibility of information
on the Internet derives from a military principle used in secure voice
transmission: decentralization. In the early 1970s, the RAND Corporation
developed a technology (later called “packet switching”) that allowed users to
send secure voice messages. In contrast to a system known as the hub-and-spoke
model, where the telephone operator (the “hub”) would patch two people (the
“spokes”) through directly, this new system allowed for a voice message to be
sent through an entire network, or web, of carrier lines, without the need to
travel through a central hub, allowing for many different possible paths to the
destination.
The Internet has revolutionized the
computer and communications world like nothing before. The invention of the
telegraph, telephone, radio, and computer set the stage for this unprecedented
integration of capabilities. The Internet is at once a world-wide broadcasting
capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for
collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without
regard for geographic location. The Internet represents one of the most
successful examples of the benefits of sustained investment and commitment to
research and development of information infrastructure. Beginning with the
early research in packet switching, the government, industry and academia have
been partners in evolving and deploying this exciting new technology.
Role of internet in today’s world
Internet has given the field of business
and trade a new face by taking it online. Undoubtedly, online business is
thriving on the net. The Corporate World can reach out to a wider base of
customers, through their websites. The number of active shoppers online is
progressively on the rise and the business world is tapping this fact for the
better. Locating resources like shops, outlets, businesses offering specific
products and services has become easier through Internet. Apart from speed,
reliability and an extensive reach, it also provides the buyers as well as the
sellers with a greater range of products and services to choose from. It also
eliminates the geographical limitations of trade and exchange. Thus, it is
proving to be a fairly profitable mode in the business arena. Advertising and
marketing have also experienced a radical makeover, all thanks to the Internet
and its enormous coverage. A new product can be introduced to a mass audience
within a matter of a few seconds through this high-speed medium. Apart from
garnering the attention of the consumers, sellers also get the all-important
feedback through various programs and polls. Looking at its colossal potential,
Internet has become a highly viable advertising medium, too.
Internet
has made the tendering process smoother, safer and speedier. More secure and
quicker filling up of tenders and execution of orders is now possible through
e-tendering. Organizations using the new age methods undeniably enjoy a
striking edge over the organizations making use of the conventional methods.
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