Communications Systems and the Internet

Telecommunications
Communication is so important to the "Information Revolution" that the government has just decreed that I.T. should be renamed I.C.T.
Telecommunications is the link between communications and computer technology.
Examples are the Internet, mobile phones, satellite, microwave transmission, cable.
Communication is very easy these days, maybe too easy (see the example of the recent petrol panic)
Networks
LAN - Local Area Network (an isolated network e.g. in an office block or a school)
WAN - Wide Area Network (a network over a wide area)
The Internet is an example of a WAN
A "Service Provider" is an organisation which gives customers access to a WAN. Demon, Freeserve and BT Click are Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

What is the Internet?
1967: APRA (the Advanced Research Projects Agency) at the US Department of Defense created the ARPAnet: a computer network resilient enough to withstand nuclear attack which would allow the military to communicate in the event of war.
1971: Email is used on the ARPAnet for the first time and its inventor is astonished to discover that it quickly accounts for over 50% of traffic on the network.
1974: The Transmission Protocol Program (TCP) is invented but it is not until 1982 that the Internet Protocol (IP) is added to create TCP/IP - a development which might not sound exciting but it is this protocol which, today, still allows computers to communicate with each other over the Internet.
1976: The Queen sends her first Email, 17 years before the Whitehouse goes on-line for the first time.
1989: The World Wide Web is invented in the UK by an Oxford undergraduate called Tim Brenners-Lee. The WWW proves to be the "killer application" needed to make the Internet truly popular.
1990: The ARPAnet ceases to exist. Long live the Internet!
2003: Around 500 million people using the Internet and rising (see the latest estimates at: http://cyberatlas.internet.com/big_picture/geographics/article/0,1323,5911_151151,00.html)

The Internet is a "Live" Medium
The Internet is live 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Increasingly, it is the Live events which grab the attention of the media e.g. recent cases of a birth and a suicide live over the Internet. It is a broadcast medium, with many radio stations and news services now broadcasting on the Internet. The best web sites are those which are constantly updated but, many other web sites aren't. It is an irony that the live medium is also a massive resource for out of date information. Unless an ISP removes a web site because an account has expired, web sites can, in theory, remain on the Internet forever. This is the reason why the Internet is getting bigger - new sites are appearing much faster than old ones are disappearing. There is no limit to how big the Internet can get!

Social Implications of the Internet
* National Boundaries are becoming less important
* Censorship is becoming very difficult
* The English language is becoming even more dominant
* The Internet is becoming an entertainment medium
* The Internet is becoming a marketplace
* You can always find someone who shares your interests
* People are spending a great deal of time talking to people they have never met
* Intellectual property is becoming a major issue
* Internet crime is growing and it is proving difficult to detect
* There are a great many privacy concerns
* It is becoming difficult to separate truth from fiction (Don't believe everything you read on the Internet)

Who owns the Internet?
Nobody and everybody.
You own your computer, the telephone company owns your phone line and your service provider has the right to control what you have access to and it will ask you to abide by their AUP (Acceptable Use Policy). If you don't like this, start your own ISP.
If you create a web site, you own it and you have "intellectual property" rights over it.
You can also own a domain name
If you start a web forum (e.g. a newsgroup or a chat room) you can say that you own it and you can act as a "moderator" by laying down rules that your guests must follow. If they break your rules, you can remove their access.
There are no rules on the Internet but there is such a thing as "netiquette" - good manners and consideration for other users, which it is wise to observe on the Internet. Failure to do so could, in extreme cases, result in retaliatory action from other users or a complaint to your ISP.

What is the WWW?
The World Wide Web consists of web sites, which are linked together. Each web site contains a number of web pages.
Web pages are written (for the most part) in a language called HTML (Hypertext mark-up language).
The WWW and Email are the most popular ways of using the Internet but there are lots of other things to do, such as:
* Newsgroups (Email discussion forums)
* IRC (Inter Relay Chat)
* Video Conferencing
* FTP (File Transfer Protocol) - sites containing files to download
* Internet broadcasting (including many radio stations)
* Online services (such as AOL and Compuserve that have areas available only for those who pay for access)
* Online Gaming
* Gopher, WAIS, Archie, Veronica, BBSs, Telnet - were once all very popular but are becoming less so, since the emergence of the WWW
Most of the above requires extra software (that can be freely downloaded from the WWW). FTP requires an FTP client, Newsgroups require a newsreader, and so on. Major web browsers, such as Internet Explorer and Netscape offer both web access and a simple Email program, together with some ability to access newsgroups and FTP.
Some additional software may be needed to reduce access - filtering software (e.g. Net Nanny) is used by some parents who worry about what their children might see and do. No filtering system is 100% reliable though.

Web Browsers
A web browser is required to "surf the Internet". The two most popular browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.
In a web browser, you would expect to find:
* A History list
* A Bookmarks (or "Favourites") facility
* A Back and Forward Button
* An Address Bar (where you type in the address of the page you want to go to)
* A "Home" button
* A Print facility
* A Save facility
* A Mail button (so you can e-mail the web page to someone)

Email v Snail Mail
* Email is cheaper
* Email is faster
* An email can easily be sent to multiple recipients
* It is very easy to reply to an Email (just click the reply button)
* Video, sound and graphics can be attached
* Viruses can also be attached (cf: The ILOVEYOU virus)
* People only get their Email when they bother to check it - snail mail is delivered by the postman
* Emails can go astray when computers crash
* The problem of Spam
Manners are lost in the Net - BBC report on e-mail etiquette
Spam

Internet Addresses
There are two parts to an Email address separated by the @ symbol (pronounced "at"). The first part is likely to be your logon name and the second part is called the domain name. The domain name can tell you something about the owner of the address. For example demon.co.uk tells you that Demon is a company (co=commercial, com in the US) and that the person is in the UK. All countries, with the sole exception of the United States have codes e.g. Germany (de), France (fr), Australia (aus). Other common domains are org (non-profit organisation), edu (educational institution), gov (governmental organisation), ac (academic institution), mil (military). sch (school).

WWW addresses also use these domains but they are normally preceded with http:// (typing this is optional in most browsers)

Domain names have become important and also a source of conflict due to "cybersquatting". See the case study in the Heathcote book about John Brunt who claimed that his car was destroyed by a carwash at a BP garage. In retaliation, he set up a web site at www.britishpetroleum.co.uk in competition with BP's official site at www.bp.com
Net body rewrites the address book

Should Companies Monitor Employee Email?

Businesses may argue that they should have access to company Email accounts, just as they have access to filing cabinets, and so on
Others feel it is an invasion of privacy/unwarranted surveillance

How should I Choose a good ISP
First of all, avoid AOL and MSN like the plague. Many computer magazines have league tables of ISP speeds and overall performance, which will give an indication of the general quality of the service. In the UK, both Global Internet and Demon offer good all-round service at a reasonable price. It is a good idea to opt to pay your ISP subscription on a monthly basis so you can easily switch to a different provider if the service is unacceptable. Even so, switching providers is inconvenient because it will mean a change of Email and homepage address and software will have to be reconfigured, so it is a good idea to be confident of the ISP’s quality before you subscribe. Additionally, many ISPs charge a "connection fee" which is not refundable.

A good ISP . . .

* Does not constrict you to using their preferred software
* Offers at least 10MB web space for your own homepage (also check bandwidth restrictions)
* Provides 56.6 connections on both X2 and Kflex modems
* Provides a complete news service
* Provides unlimited Email addresses so each member of the family can have his/her own address
* Provides a static IP address at no extra charge
* Has no limit on Email size (so you can send large files by Email)
* Has 24 hour technical support
* Offers a speedy and reliable service with little, if any, "down-time"
* Allows you to read and reply to your Email when using another ISP
* Can always be connected to (no busy tones at peak times)
* Either free or charges a monthly fee (about £10 per month) for unlimited access

Free providers, such as Freeserve and TescoNet generally do not meet these criteria but they provide an adequete service for most people's needs. They don't allow you access to your Email unless you are connected to their service (because they make money on phone calls). Technical support calls will be heavily charged. There may be connection problems at peak times.

What is a Modem?
Modulator/Demodulator
A modem converts data from your computer from a digital to an analogue signal, so that it can be sent over a telephone line and back again. Typical speed of a modern modem is 56,000 bps (bits per second)
A modem can be used to connect to the Internet but it can also be used as a fax machine and it can also connect to Bulletin Boards and to other people's computers (via software such as PC Anywhere).

Faster modems, such as cable modems, ISDN and Broadband lines offer much faster access and would be suitable for a network.

Why is the Internet so Slow?
Even with a fast modem and a good Internet connection, you may still find that some sites are very slow. There can be countless explanations for this such as "net-congestion" (too many users trying to reach the same site at the same time), technical difficulties at either your ISP or the ISP which hosts the site you are trying to reach, or the geographical location of the site. American sites will usually appear faster early in the morning in Britain when most of America is asleep.

If the Internet always seems slow on your computer at home, the solution might be to add an initialisation string in the modem settings (consult your ISP or modem documentation) or you could contact BT to ask them to increase the gain on your phone line.

If the Internet is slow on the School Network, it could be because of the activities of other users. This is why you should always close down an Internet session when you've finished with it and you shouldn't download large files.

Check the state of traffic on the Internet at the Internet Traffic Report

Other Ways to Access the Internet
It has long been predicted that the Internet will become even more widely popular when it can be accessed through a TV set. Web TV is now available but recently mobile phones have become extremely popular and it looks as if mobile phones will be the next major platform for the Internet.
The Internet can be accessed via a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol). Bandwidth will have to increase before high quality sound and video can be transmitted by mobile phones.

Intranets
An Intranet is an internal network of web pages and Email that is closed to the outside world (many schools and universities have their own Intranet)
Other Means of Communication
* Fax (facsimile transmission) - a fax machine scans and digitises images on a page and transmits them in analogue form
* Voice Mail - like a sophisticated answering machine, which allows people to leave voice messages
* Teleconferencing - can allow people to hold virtual meetings, or to be interviewed from another country
Advantages of Teleconferencing are that people can have virtual meetings. Video conferencing equipment costs much less than transatlantic air-fares and hotel bills. The meeting can take place in half an hour, which could save three days of travel.

Disadvantages are that many businesspeople like to meet the person they are dealing with face-to-face. It seems important to shake a person's hand and observe body language (their vibes). A recent British Airways slogan was "It's Better to Be There".


E-Mail Fax Voice Phone Text Messaging
Cost Extremely cheap. Should cost nothing at all (although some people pay connection fees) Depends where you are sending the fax to. Long distance/international calls are more expensive. Depends where you are phoning and for how long. 2-5p per text message is common.
Speed of Transmission Very fast. Should only take a couple of seconds for the message to be transmitted. Almost instant. Almost instant Almost instant.
Likelihood that the intended recipient will receive the message Poor. Many people do not check their e-mail regularly. Many business-people who have e-mail addresses complain that their mailboxes are always full of junk and important messages can be lost in the "information overload." Fairly good but faxes can go astray in large organisations Excellent because you can give the person the message and hear an immediate response. Fairly good. Many people carry their mobiles around with them and check them regularly. Younger people will probably monitor their mobiles more closely than older people.
Versatility Excellent. Files (e.g. documents, pictures or sounds) can be attached to e-mails. An e-mail can easily be sent to multiple recipients. A fax machine can send text and graphics digitised from paper. You can talk in real-time but that's about it! Very poor. Text only and there is a maximum length for a message.
Dangers There are many e-mail viruses in circulation. None None (apart from the bill) There is some speculation about the health risks of mobile phones. There have also been reports of mobile phone viruses.

Online Trading
Presentation Notes By Students
Explore at least one of these sites:
http://www.boxman.co.uk/ - CD retailers
http://www.tesco.com/ - online supermarket
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ - Music, videos, software and books
http://www.lastminute.com - flights, holidays, entertainment
http://www.egg.com/ - shopping, banking, credit card

You will notice that:
* Registration is required (they want to know who you are)
* Goods are paid for by credit card (you have a "shopping basket" and you browse until you decide to go to the check out)
* The goods are delivered later
* The sites have "secure" connections to prevent fraud
The advantages of online trading to Businesses are:
* Overheads (e.g. warehouse space, rent) are saved
* No need for an expensive chain of shops
* They can stock more items that a normal shop
* "Just in time" delivery arrangements mean they don't run the risk of having unsold stock
* Market research data can be built up from online registrations
British Airways estimate that, if it could sell only 1% of its tickets on the web, they would save £6m p.a.

The advantages for Customers are:

* Internet stores are open 24/7. No travelling needed. Much more choice than a normal shopping mall.
* You can hear samples of music before you buy



Disadvantages:

* Have to wait for goods. Even then the wrong items could arrive
* No human being to complain to
* Consumer law is different in each country
* "Cybersquatting" - businesses held to ransom (see BP case study)
* Problem of credit card security
* There is a "technological underclass" of people who don't have access to online financial services
* Some people actually enjoy going shopping



BBC News Reports on Online Trading:

Online Shopping gets More Convenient - Local small shops will be able to act as drop off and pick up points for people who shop online
Food Retailers go Offline - Budgeons and Somerfield have abandoned their online stores but Tesco's is still going strong
Pre-Paid Credit Cards - advantages: more secure, aimed at people who don't want to have a normal credit card
How many people are using online financial services - report on a poll finding
Amazon, Toys R Us, play together - joint venture between the two retailers
Canny Scots Shy of Online Buying - Scots are resisting the lure of online shopping Sorce : http://www.thekjs.essex.sch.uk/yates/it08_-_9.htm