1.4. The Internet and the World Wide Web

The Internet was initiated almost four decades ago with funding supplied by the U.S. Department of Defense. Originally designed to connect the main computer systems of about a dozen universities and research organizations, its chief benefit proved early on to be the capability for quick and easy communication via what came to be known as electronic mail (e-mail). This is true even on today’s Internet, with e-mail, instant messaging and file transfer facilitating communications among about a billion people worldwide. The Internet has exploded into one of the world’s premier communication mechanisms and continues to grow rapidly.

The World Wide Web allows computer users to locate and view multimedia-based ...

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