The Internet

The Internet

A global network connecting millions of computers. More than 100 countries are linked into exchanges of data, news and opinions. Unlike online services, which are centrally controlled, the Internet is decentralized by design. Each Internet computer, called a host, is independent. Its operators can choose which Internet services to use and which local services to make available to the global Internet community. Remarkably, this anarchy by design works exceedingly well.  There are a variety of ways to access the Internet. Most online services, such as America Online, offer access to some Internet services. It is also possible to gain access through a commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP).

The Birth of the Internet:

While computers were not a new concept in the 1950s, there were relatively few computers in existence and the field of computer science was still in its infancy. Most of the advances in technology at the time - cryptography, radar, battlefield communications - were due to military operations during World War II, and it was, in fact, government activities that led to the development of the Internet.

On October 4, 1957, the Soviets launched Sputnik, man's first foray into outer space, and the U.S. government under President Eisenhower subsequently launched an aggressive military campaign to compete with and surpass the Soviet activities. From the launch of Sputnik and the U.S.S.R. testing its first intercontinental ballistic missile, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was born. ARPA was the U.S. government's research agency for all space and strategic missile research. In 1958, NASA was formed, and the activities of ARPA moved away from aeronautics and focused mainly on computer science and information processing. One of ARPA's goals was to connect mainframe computers at different universities around the country so that they would be able to communicate using a common language and a common protocol. Thus the ARPAnet -- the world's first multiple-site computer network -- was created in 1969.

The original ARPA net eventually grew into the Internet. The Internet was based on the concept that there would be multiple independent networks that began with the ARPAnet as the pioneering packet-switching network but would soon include packet satellite networks and ground-based packet radio networks.

The History of the Internet has precursors that date back to the 19th century, especially the telegraph system, more than a century before the digital Internet became widely used in the second half of the 1990s.

The concept of data communication - transmitting data between two different places, connected via some kind of electromagnetic medium, such as radio or an electrical wire - actually predates the introduction of the first computers. Such communication systems were typically limited to point to point communication between two end devices.

Telegraph systems and telex machines can be considered early precursors of this kind of communication. The earlier computers used the technology available at the time to allow communication between the central processing unit and remote terminals. As the technology evolved new systems were devised to allow communication over longer distances (for terminals) or with higher speed (for interconnection of local devices) that were necessary for the mainframe computer model. Using these technologies it was possible to exchange data (such as files) between remote computers. However, the point to point communication model was limited, as it did not allow for direct communication between any two arbitrary systems; a physical link was necessary. The technology was also deemed as inherently unsafe for strategic and military use, because there were no alternative paths for the communication in case of an enemy attack.

As a response, several research programs started to explore and articulate principles of communications between physically separate systems, leading to the development of the packet switching model of digital networking. These research efforts included those of the laboratories of Vinton at Stanford University, Donald Davies (NPL), Paul Baran (RAND Corporation), andLeonard Kleinrock at MIT and at UCLA. The research led to the development of several packet-switched networking solutions in the late 1960s and 1970s, including ARPANET, Telenet, and the X.25protocols. Additionally, public access and hobbyist networking systems grew in popularity, includingunix-to-unix copy (UUCP) and FidoNet. They were however still disjointed separate networks, served only by limited gateways between networks. This led to the application of packet switching to develop a protocol for internetworking, where multiple different networks could be joined together into a super-framework of networks. By defining a simple common network system, the Internet Protocol Suite, the concept of the network could be separated from its physical implementation. This spread of internetworking began to form into the idea of a global network that would be called the Internet, based on standardized protocols officially implemented in 1982. Adoption and interconnection occurred quickly across the advanced telecommunication networks of the western world, and then began to penetrate into the rest of the world as it became the de-facto international standard for the global network. However, the disparity of growth between advanced nations and the third-world countries led to a digital divide that is still a concern today.

Following commercialization and introduction of privately run Internet service providers in the 1980s, and the Internet's expansion for popular use in the 1990s, the Internet has had a drastic impact on culture and commerce. This includes the rise of near instant communication by electronic mail (e-mail), text based discussion forums, and the World Wide Web. Investor speculation in new markets provided by these innovations would also lead to the inflation and subsequent collapse of the Dot-com bubble. But despite this, the Internet continues to grow, driven by commerce, greater amounts of online information and knowledge and social networking known as Web 2.0.

What is The Internet?

The Internet is a massive network of networks, a networking infrastructure. It connects millions of computers together globally, forming a network in which any computer can communicate with any other computer as long as they are both connected to the Internet. Information that travels over the Internet does so via a variety of languages known as protocols.

What is The Web (World Wide Web)?

The World Wide Web, or simply Web, is a way of accessing information over the medium of the Internet. It is an information-sharing model that is built on top of the Internet. The Web uses the HTTP protocol, only one of the languages spoken over the Internet, to transmit data. Web services, which use HTTP to allow applications to communicate in order to exchange business logic, use the the Web to share information. The Web also utilizes browsers, such as Internet Explorer or Firefox, to access Web documents called Web pages that are linked to each other via hyperlinks. Web documents also contain graphics, sounds, text and video.

The Web is just one of the ways that information can be disseminated over the Internet. The Internet, not the Web, is also used for e-mail, which relies on SMTP, Usenet news groups, instant messaging and FTP. So the Web is just a portion of the Internet, albeit a large portion, but the two terms are not synonymous and should not be confused.

Networking Overview: Networking is a common synonym for developing and maintaining contacts and personal connections with a variety of people who might be helpful to you and your career. It is an especially important aspect of career management in the financial services industry, since it is helps you keep abreast of:

·                    Career opportunities in your own firm

·                    Career opportunities in other firms

·                    Industry trends

·                    Pending developments in your firm and their ramifications for you

·                    Sources of technical expertise that you can tap

Networking Essentials: The art of networking has several essential aspects:

·                    Meeting people who can be of help to you.

·                    Collecting and updating contact info, like phone numbers and e-    mail addresses.

·                    Keeping in regular contact with those in your network.

·                    Thanking people for their help.

·                    Helping others when asked.

Networking in Finance: Networking is particularly active in the financial services industry for a few important reasons:

·                    Layoffs created by mergers or the business cycle

·                    Changes in strategic direction that reduce the importance of your position or department

·                    Mergers or internal political struggles that damage your career prospects (e.g., when a mentor is forced out, or when you are made subordinate to a similar group coming over in a merger)

·                    Financial professionals’ eagerness to shop their talents around

·                    The need for trusted advisors on professional and career questions

Networking and Job Changes: Networking is also especially important in the financial services industry because managers who move to new positions (either within or across firms) often bring along a whole team of subordinates. In many instances, these teams remain intact through several moves, even if they are across several different employers. Skilled networking is critical to getting on board with such a team and advancing your career in the process.

Networking and Problem Solving: Deft networking also allows you to tap technical expertise when you are faced with business problems that exceed your capacity, or that of your colleagues or staff, to solve. Knowing whom to contact with a particular business question or problem is like having a consultant at the ready to assist you. Career advancement often depends heavily on being able to get quick, accurate answers to problems from your personal networks.

Networking and Continuing Education: In using your network of personal contacts to assist with problem solving, you should be increasing your base of knowledge. Additionally, you should utilize your network for educational purposes even when there is not a specific problem at hand. Keeping in touch with knowledgeable people and discussing their fields of expertise can be an informal but extremely rich source of continuing education.

Mentoring Programs: Some companies and organizations offer formal mentoring programs in which younger, less experienced employees are introduced to older, veteran employees who will provide career advice and guidance. These programs can be structured to varying degrees, possibly with meetings on a regular basis, and possibly with formal agendas for these meetings. Whether or not the company or organization in question sponsors a formal mentoring program, savvy younger employees should attempt to establish informal mentoring relationships with more senior employees, such as their supervisors or more experienced colleagues.

Networking Challenges: Employees who work at remote locations away from headquarters, who spend weeks or months at a time at clients' worksites (a particular issue with auditors and consultants, such as those employed by the Big Four), or who telecommute are particularly disadvantaged regarding networking, since they have limited face-to-face contacts with other key personnel in their companies.