people who have grown up with the computer understand it in a way parents do not, but it is parents who have to make a number of decisions and impose controls. This means they have a lot to learn and a short time in which to learn it. Some of what they need to learn will be outlined today.
The Internet is part of the much-touted "information superhighway" that will bring exciting new communications capabilities, and there are still many questions to be answered about what the new systems will entail, what services they will offer, what services the consumer will support, what technologies will be needed, how soon they will be available, and so on. Much about the new information superhighway is uncertain, and comparisons that have been made to existing communications systems and technologies may be interesting and may provide helpful data, but they also may be misleading. In truth, there will probably be no such thing as an information superhighway, and there will instead be a number of different information systems complementing one another and offering different capabilities to different people or for different purposes. We see the beginning of this today with fax machines, cellular telephones, computers, video-teleconferencing, home video systems, and other technologies which have already changed the ways people interact, the ability of the individual to acquire information rapidly, and the work and living habits of millions of people. The future will most assuredly bring more change, more interactivity, more access to information and working programs for computer, and other systems that will offer benefits to us all. The Internet has become an important element in this new era, and it provides information and means of communication for business, individuals, and institutions throughout the world today.
The Internet started as a loosely-unified system used by academics, scientists, and the military. The growth of the I...