THE INTERNET & THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY

This research reviews and examines the concepts and reality of the ôInternet and the Information Highwayö in relation to their value to business and personal users. The primary focus is on the competitive advantages accruing to business firms from the effective use of the ôInternet and the Information Highwayö.

Defining the Technology and Reviewing Its Implementation

The Internet is a network of networks. The Internet structure links the many networks, and it enables users on one network to access users on another network. The Information Highway is not so easily defined. To some people, the Internet Highway does not yet exist in reality. In this conception, the Internet Highway is a vast interconnected structure of fiber-optic lines that provides super high-speed communications between and among users. In this conception, the Information Highway can be developed on regional, national, and international levels. To other people, the Information Highway already exists in the form of the World Wide Web (WWW), which is one of the networks that comprise the Internet. Business firms, academic organizations, governments, non-profit organizations, and individuals create and maintain Sites (Web pages) on the WWW that provide a vast array of information that is accessible to users of the WWW. While vast fiber-optic networks are in various stages of development in many parts of the world, the WWW is a dynamic Information Highw

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he two lines of development leading to its creation were the development of hypertext (the computer-aided reading of electronic documents), and the development of the Internet protocol (IP) which made the global network possible. IP was used first at CERN during the second phase of the STELLA Satellite Communication Project in the early-1980, when a satellite channel was used to link remote segments of two local area networks (CERNET, running between CERN and Pisa, and a Cambridge Ring network running between CERN and Rutherford Laboratory). By 1989, CERNÆs Internet facility was designated to become the medium within which the creation of the WWW would occur. CERN was renamed the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, although the acronym ôCERNö was retained to avoid public confusion (Yi, 2002). HyperText is a way to link and access information of various kinds as a web of nodes in which the user can browse at will. It provides a single user-interface to large classes of information (reports, notes, databases, computer documentation, and on-line help). The hypertext concept was created in the early-1960s. Hypertext (http) allows document creators to insert links and names to point to other relevant items (Yi, 2002). In M
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Information Highway, Particle Physics, Leading B2Bö, Worldwide Web, Europe Atlantic, Internet Gromov, Protocol TCP/IP, Explorer Additional, United StatesÆ, Council FNC, yi 2002, gromov 1997, development internet, business firms, information highway, value chain, activities functions, gromov 1997 development, information technology, web pages, internet development, federal networking council, activities functions involved, involves associated costs, movement product user,
Approximate Word count = 1971
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)