INTERNET AND E-MAIL
Learn Internet and E-mail Terms and Definitions

All computer users, at home and at work can link into the global computer communications network known as the Internet. Bits flash to and fro between the computers to provide people with a huge variety of services. People can send each other messages by electronic mail or e-mail; they can visit web sites on the World Wide Web to obtain information, entertainment, commercial services, and software of all kinds; and they can take part in discussion groups and via the computer that link directly to the Internet. Home computers link via a modem and phone line to a service provider.

TERMS AND DEFINITIONS
E-MAIL
SEARCH ENGINE
BACKBONE
WEB SITE
BROWSER

E-MAIL (ELECTRONIC MAIL)
Every person has an e-mail address which takes the form of his or her name, the @ (at), and a domain name, such as jsmith@mammoth.com. The domain name contains the name of the person’s service provider or organization or provider and often its country, each separated by a dot. The domain name mammoth.com stands for Mammoth Corporation, which is a commercial organization (com). E-mail offers you more than a quick and easy way to send people written messages. It is possible to use e-mail to send computer data, such as word-processed documents and images.

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SEARCH ENGINE
You can locate useful or interesting web sites by using a search engine. This is an organization with a web site containing a huge database of web site addresses. You key in a subject or a name that describes what you are seeking, and the search engine provides you with a list or selection of web site addresses that fit your inquiry. You then simply click on an address to jump to that web site.

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BACKBONE
A network of routing computers – the Internet backbone – links organization and service providers. The routing computers decode addresses to connect users with each other and to sites throughout the Internet. The links are metal cables, fiber optic cables, or radio links, possibly via satellites.

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WEB SITE
Every web site has an Internet address, which takes the form http://www.mammoth.com/images. This is a web site at Mammoth Corporation showing images. http stands for Hyper Text Transport Protocol, which enables you to use the mouse to click on a word or image on the screen and instantly jump to another part of the web site or to a different web site. www is a code for the web site computer at mammoth.com, the code for the commercial organization Mammoth Corporation. Finally, the code word images takes the user to the part of the web site containing pictures to download or transfer from the web site.

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BROWSER

To visit a web site, your computer must have a browser. This is a computer program that enables you to use all the facilities of the web site, such as jumping from one part of the site to another and downloading material. 

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