Title: History of the Internet and the World Wide Web

The Internet- A brief history

Why was ARPANet originally created?

Q: Why was ARPANet originally created?
- To help universities share research faster
- To maintain communication during a nuclear war (correct)
- To allow people to send personal emails
- To connect personal computers

Who mainly used the Internet in its early days?

Q: Who mainly used the Internet in its early days?
- Teenagers and students
- Journalists and writers
- Computer experts, engineers, scientists, and librarians (correct)
- Anyone with a personal computer

In the early days of the Internet, it was very easy to use.

Q: In the early days of the Internet, it was very easy to use.
A: false

In what year was TCP/IP invented?

Q: In what year was TCP/IP invented?
- 1969
- 1972
- 1977 (correct)
- 1989

The @ symbol was used for email on ARPANet as early as 1972.

Q: The @ symbol was used for email on ARPANet as early as 1972.
A: true

What major development occurred in 1991?

Q: What major development occurred in 1991?
- The invention of email
- Creation of the World Wide Web (correct)
- The first personal computer was released
- Introduction of social media

By the mid-1990s, the Internet was used by millions of people worldwide.

Q: By the mid-1990s, the Internet was used by millions of people worldwide.
A: true

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Χωρίς τίτλο Text

History of the Internet and the World Wide Web

The Internet had its roots during the 1960’s in a project of the United States Government’s Department of Defense, and was designed to provide a communications network for organisations engaged in defense related research, that would work even if some of the sites were down or destroyed by nuclear war. This project, which was called ARPANet (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) and was created by the Pentagon’s Advanced Research Projects Agency, was established in 1969.

The early Internet was used by computer experts, engineers, scientists and librarians. There was nothing friendly about it. There were no home or office personal computers in those days, and anyone who used it had to learn to use a very complex system.

In order to make the network more global, a new sophisticated and standard protocol was needed. They developed IP (Internet Protocol) technology, which defined how electronic messages were packaged, addressed and sent over the network. The standard protocol was invented in 1977 and was called TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). It allowed users to link various branches of other complex networks directly to the ARPANet, which soon came to be called the Internet.

E-mail was adapted for ARPANet in 1972. The @ symbol was picked to link the username and address.

ARPANet grew during the 1970’s and was upgraded to a high speed network by linking several powerful supercomputer stations called nodes.

Researchers and academics in other fields began to make use of the network, and eventually in 1985 the National Science Foundation (NSF), which had created a similar and parallel network called NSFNet, took over much of the TCP/IP technology from ARPANet and established a distributed network of networks capable of handling far greater traffic. ARPANet was shut down by the Defense Communications Agency in 1989 due to limited funding and support from the military.

In 1989 another significant event took place in making the nets easier to use. A new protocol for information distribution was proposed. This protocol, which became the World Wide Web in 1991, was based on hypertext - a system of embedding links in a text which aim to link this text to another one.

In 1991 the first really user-friendly access system to the Internet was developed at the University of Minnesota. The University wanted to develop a simple menu system to access files and information on campus through their local network.

By the 1990’s the Internet experienced explosive growth. By mid-1994 the Internet connected an estimated two million computers in more than 100 countries, serving some 23 million users. Many commercial computer network and data services also provided at least indirect connection to the Internet. It is also estimated that at this rapid growth everyone in the world will have an e-mail address by the year 2010.

(Based on ‘The Brief History of the Internet’, The Internet Society 1993-2001.)

Read the text again and decide if the following statements are true (T) or false (F).

The Internet was born to provide a communications network which would allow computers to share information on scientific fields.

Q: The Internet was born to provide a communications network which would allow computers to share information on scientific fields.
A: false

This communications network would work even in a nuclear war.

Q: This communications network would work even in a nuclear war.
A: true

The early Internet was very easy to use.

Q: The early Internet was very easy to use.
A: false

The development of IP technology allowed users to be connected with other complex networks directly to the ARPANet.

Q: The development of IP technology allowed users to be connected with other complex networks directly to the ARPANet.
A: true

The @ symbol is related to e-mail.

Q: The @ symbol is related to e-mail.
A: true

NSFNet established a distributed network supported by the military.

Q: NSFNet established a distributed network supported by the military.
A: false

In 1989 the World Wide Web was established.

Q: In 1989 the World Wide Web was established.
A: false

In 1991 the University of Minnesota developed the first really user-friendly access system to the Internet.

Q: In 1991 the University of Minnesota developed the first really user-friendly access system to the Internet.
A: true