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The Internet PortalThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks, consisting of millions of private and public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections, and other technologies. The Internet appears to its users as a single worldwide network accessible to the general public. The protocol that makes it possible to use the millions of networks composing the Internet as if they were one network is a special type of packet switching known as IP or The Internet Protocol. A computer that connects to the Internet can access information from a vast number of servers and other computers. An Internet connection also allows the computer to send information through the network; that information may be saved and ultimately accessed by a variety of servers and other computers. Much of the information widely accessible through use of the Internet consists of the interlinked hypertext documents and other resources of the World Wide Web (WWW). Web users typically send and receive information using a web browser. Other software for interacting with computer networks includes specialized programs for electronic mail, online chat, file transfer and file sharing. Information is moved around the Internet by packet switching using the standardized Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP)which defines how packets are moving in any platform especially the transport layer. The Internet Protocol Suite consists of several layers of protocols. The lowest layer (the link layer) deals with protocols that transmit data over specific technologies, such as Ethernet or Wi-Fi. The highest layer (the application layer) supports specific applications, such as e-mail and file transfer. In between are the Internet layer, which provides for transmitting packets over any conceivable technology, and the transport layer, which provides for various services such as reliable delivery of packets or real-time streaming of packets. Selected article
The history of the Internet dates back to the early development of communication networks. In the 1950s and early 1960s, prior to the widespread inter-networking that led to the Internet, most communication networks were limited by their nature to only allow communications between the stations on the network. Some networks had gateways or bridges between them, but these bridges were often limited or built specifically for a single use. One prevalent computer networking method was based on the central mainframe method, simply allowing its terminals to be connected via long leased lines. This method was used in the 1950s by Project RAND to support researchers such as Herbert A. Simon, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, when collaborating across the continent with researchers in Santa Monica, California, on automated theorem proving and artificial intelligence.
Selected pictureWardriving is the act of searching for Wi-Fi wireless networks by a person in a moving vehicle using a Wi-Fi-equipped computer, such as a laptop or a PDA. It is similar to using a radio scanner, or to the amateur radio practice of DXing. NewsWikinews Internet portal
WikiProjectsMain project: WikiProject Internet Related WikiProjects: Blogging • Websites • Early Web History • Internet culture What are WikiProjects?
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Dr. Douglas C. Engelbart (born January 30, 1925 in Oregon) is an American inventor of Swedish and Norwegian descent. As a World War II naval radio technician based in the Philippines, Engelbart was inspired by Vannevar Bush's article "As We May Think". Engelbart received a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Oregon State University in 1948, a B.Eng. from UC Berkeley in 1952, and a Ph.D. in EECS from UC Berkeley in 1955. At Stanford Research Institute , Engelbart was the primary force behind the design and development of the On-Line System, or NLS. He and his team at the Augmentation Research Center developed computer-interface elements such as bit-mapped screens, groupware, hypertext and precursors to the graphical user interface. In 1967, Engelbart applied for and later received a patent for the wooden shell with two metal wheels (computer mouse). Engelbart later revealed that it was nicknamed the "mouse" because the tail came out the end. He would also work on the ARPANET, the precursor of the Internet. In later years he moved to the private firm Tymshare after SRI was transferred to the company. McDonnell Douglas took over the copany in 1982, and in 1986 he left the company. As of 2007, he is the director of his own company, the Bootstrap Institute, which founded in 1988 and located in Fremont, California.
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