Using the Internet

What Is the Internet?

The Internet is a shared network of PCs that transmit data and make the electronic exchange of information possible. Documents are stored on servers (specialised PCs) on the Internet.

Many of these documents are Web pages, part of the interlinked World Wide Web. They use Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) to deliver information in a format readable by your Web browser. Millions of documents, pictures, software files and entertainment files are available on the World Wide Web.

What Is a Hyperlink?

Imagine you’re reading a newspaper. On page 1, you may read something like “For more details, see page 3, column 2.”

A hyperlink on a Web page works the same way, except that the jump to related information occurs electronically, with a click of the mouse to launch the hyperlink. You can move instantly from page to page, Web site to Web site. Linking files together is what gives the Web its name, weaving and connecting idea to idea, all over the world.

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Getting Started