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 Even
though the Internet is a global network, in many ways it resembles a small
town, with similar services.
Let's say you want to send or receive mail. The Internet has an electronic post office that allows you to communicate instantly--no stamps required. There's an online library with millions of books and periodicals you can access any time of the day or night. Chat rooms are the Internet equivalent of 24-hour coffee shops, with people eager to gab anytime you want. The World Wide Web is like a giant mall, where you can shop, order a pizza, preview a movie, download music and meet and greet your neighbors. All of these represent different ways of using the Internet. In the real world we use different types of vehicles for different purposes when traveling over the same roadways. For instance, you might use a car to commute to work and a truck for moving furniture. The Internet works much the same way: different software applications are used to accomplish different tasks: for example, a web browser to access news sites, an instant messaging program to communicate quickly. Some software, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox, actually contain more than one kind of program. Although Internet Explorer is primarily a web browser, it also has a newsreader and a media viewer. (In later articles, we will explain what each of these programs do.) You can also use more specialized software, such as iTunes or Windows Media Player, stand-alone media players, and combine different programs together into a system that works best for you. Now that you have an idea of some of the resources available on the Internet, explore how the Internet impacts modern life in America. The Pew Internet & American Life Project offers fascinating research.
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