Internet History Essays - Computing, Technology,

Internet History Starting out as a small military experiment some 35 years ago, the Internet is quickly becoming one of the most popular forms of communication. With a present population of about 40 million users world wide, it seems to have a very promising future. Uncensored and almost impossible to monitor, it's a breeding ground for all sorts of offensive and derogatory information. On the other hand, it is probably the biggest single source of data in the world brought home into your personal computer. Will this form of communication survive in the future, or will it simply die out like many others have in the past? History The first nodes of the Internet were built 36 years ago by the RAND corporation. They faced the problem of keeping communication between U.S. authorities active in the aftermath of a nuclear war. The country needed a command-and-control network. The biggest problem was protecting the main server, which could be knocked out by a single atomic warhead. RAND came up with the solution in 1964. The new network would have no central authority, and secondly, it would be designed to operate in shambles. " During the 60s, this intriguing concept of a decentralized, blastproof, packet-switching network was kicked around by RAND, MIT and UCLA. The National Physical Laboratory in Great Britain set up the first test network on these principles in 1968. Shortly afterward, the Pentagon's Advanced Research Projects Agency decided to fund a larger, more ambitious project in the USA. The nodes of the network were to be high-speed supercomputers (or what passed for supercomputers at the time). These were rare and valuable machines which were in real need of good solid networking, for the sake of national research- and-development projects." (Sterling 1-2) The first was put in place during the fall of 1969. By December of the same year four nodes were installed. They were connected by dedicated high-speed transmission lines. This allowed the computers to communicate and be programmed from one of the other computers. In the year of 1971 there were 15 nodes, and by 72 there were 37. This number kept increasing rapidly as the years passed. The network was also becoming more of a person to person way of communicating. Many military personnel began using it as a way to gossip with friends instead of a way to transmit documents and projects. This became even more evident in the following years. How it works The Internet may seem a very complex form of communication but that is not really the case. First, you must have a reasonably fast computer (80386 or higher) with a modem and a phone line. The next step is to contact your local Internet provider and get him to give you a password and an SLIP address. At this time you will also be given the software to get you started. All of this costs about 140 dollars, depending on how many hours you wish to purchase. "We charge using an hourly rate because it gives our users more flexibility with their time. When run on a monthly payment, you are limited to an hour a day, whereas with our system you can use any amount of time whenever you want" (Schulmeister). The costs are as follows: 10 hrs-$30.00 20 hrs-$50.00 40 hrs-$80.00 60 hrs-$90.00 Once you have your software installed and want to start "surfing the net," you must first login to the server (located at the Northwest Community College) by dialling in its phone number using a specific program. The two local numbers are 638-1543 and 638-1593. Even with the two numbers, the server is often busy because of the constantly increasing number of users in our area. These numbers can be used by a number of people at a time, not just two. Once connected to the college server, you travel down to a larger server in Vancouver, and from there you can access any other computer connected as long as your server has permission to do so. Diagram: How the Internet works Impact on Society The Internet is just starting to have a large impact on society. It seemed to come out of nowhere, popping up in magazines and on the news. The Internet is now becoming an influential communications medium to

Free Essays on Similarities And Differences Between Two Heroes

Similarities and Differences between Two Heroes Although epic and medieval heroes are very different, they are also very similar. Both Beowulf, the epic hero from Beowulf and Sir Gawain , the medieval hero from â€Å"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight† are examples that contain these similarities and differences. Skill is one example that is shown with both Beowulf and Sir Gawain. Beowulf shows skill with his strength. He is able to defeat Grendel with this characteristic. Sir Gawain, on the other hand, shows skill in a different way, by being able to encourage the Green Knight not to kill him. â€Å"Stop, green man! Don’t swing again.† Another similarity between a medieval and epic hero is the involvement of a challenge. Beowulf is involved with the challenge of defeating Grendel. â€Å"Grendel came, hoping to kill (line 365).† Sir Gawain, however, is involved with the challenge of staying alive. â€Å"He (Green Knight) swung his weapon swiftly up, and down, the blade toward the bare flesh (150-153). Among the two similarities mentioned and other similarities as well, there are many differences. In Beowulf, paganism takes place, meaning that many Gods are believed in. â€Å"Raise upwards for their lords, warm with love, when their shield and protector leaves his body behind, sends his soul on high (565-568).† â€Å"Lords† is plural meaning many were believed in. In contrast, Christianity is the religion that takes place during the medieval age. For example, Gawain is calling to Christ because he does not want to be killed, â€Å"A kind of greeting by Christ I’ll greet him better (47-48).† By that quote the reader can get an idea of how Christianity is involved. Finally, women as a temptation is a big difference between the epic and medieval hero. There is absolutely no sign of temptation in Beowulf, only the queen is portrayed. However, in â€Å"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight†, Sir Gawain accepts a magic green girdle... Free Essays on Similarities And Differences Between Two Heroes Free Essays on Similarities And Differences Between Two Heroes Similarities and Differences between Two Heroes Although epic and medieval heroes are very different, they are also very similar. Both Beowulf, the epic hero from Beowulf and Sir Gawain , the medieval hero from â€Å"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight† are examples that contain these similarities and differences. Skill is one example that is shown with both Beowulf and Sir Gawain. Beowulf shows skill with his strength. He is able to defeat Grendel with this characteristic. Sir Gawain, on the other hand, shows skill in a different way, by being able to encourage the Green Knight not to kill him. â€Å"Stop, green man! Don’t swing again.† Another similarity between a medieval and epic hero is the involvement of a challenge. Beowulf is involved with the challenge of defeating Grendel. â€Å"Grendel came, hoping to kill (line 365).† Sir Gawain, however, is involved with the challenge of staying alive. â€Å"He (Green Knight) swung his weapon swiftly up, and down, the blade toward the bare flesh (150-153). Among the two similarities mentioned and other similarities as well, there are many differences. In Beowulf, paganism takes place, meaning that many Gods are believed in. â€Å"Raise upwards for their lords, warm with love, when their shield and protector leaves his body behind, sends his soul on high (565-568).† â€Å"Lords† is plural meaning many were believed in. In contrast, Christianity is the religion that takes place during the medieval age. For example, Gawain is calling to Christ because he does not want to be killed, â€Å"A kind of greeting by Christ I’ll greet him better (47-48).† By that quote the reader can get an idea of how Christianity is involved. Finally, women as a temptation is a big difference between the epic and medieval hero. There is absolutely no sign of temptation in Beowulf, only the queen is portrayed. However, in â€Å"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight†, Sir Gawain accepts a magic green girdle...

Recent Articles analysis, macroecomonics Term Paper

Recent Articles analysis, macroecomonics - Term Paper Example This is a requirement by the constitution of the United States of America to ensure efficiency in all the government operations while being concerned about the economy of the state. As per the Anti-deficiency Act and the constitution, the federal government is permitted to start shutdown of activities related to appropriations that are not yet enacted into legislation. This process of a government shutdown has led to some operations that are usually funded by the annual appropriations being aborted causing loss of casual jobs by some citizens (Cornwell and Lawder). Some operations which receive their funds from the government by law and not annual appropriations may also be disrupted by the funding gap. These are programs that have activities which rely on annually appropriated funds for operations. A good example is the social security which may need funds from time to time to run upcoming operations in this field. When the government shuts down many federal employees lose their jobs as some have their payments delayed. The furlough has an adverse impact on the economy as the government is a major employer in the state, and this would mean increased unemployment rates (Cornwell and Lawder). Since the government shutdowns started in the United States, there have been 18 such funding gaps with President Obama’s government having only one in 2013. This was when the Congress declined to pass crucial funding bills for the ObamaCare program due to disagreement on the funding by the Senate and the White House. A recent threat of the government shutdown has been experienced in late November 2014. Part of the Senate and senior Republican officials are at loggerheads on funding of the Department of Homeland Security. Some of them are asking for a long-term funding of the Homeland Security programs while others are seeking to offer a short-term funding. This follows as President Obama has an immigration order to lift the deportation of illegal immigrants in the United