| The first working computers in the 1950s and 1960s were large mainframe machines. |
| In some ways, they were like large calculating machines. |
| The U.S. government, the military and businesses and institutions used them for specific tasks. |
| For example, they might be used to handle the payroll. |
| As more uses were found for computers, |
| the need to transfer data from one computer to another became a concern. |
| In 1969, the U.S. government sponsored a program |
| to explore ways for computers to transfer data over telephone lines. |
| The first Internet was created with four computers linked together. |
| Of course, computer use increased beyond anyone’s expectations. |
| Standards were developed that describe how data was to be transferred between computers. |
| A common language for commands and communications emerged. |
| Operating programs such as MS-DOS, UNIX, Macintosh and Windows came into existence. |
| The Internet quickly expanded beyond government and military uses. |
| The PC became the standard form of computer. |
| Private agencies acted as hosts for Internet usage. |
| Around 1982, there were 213 hosts; |
| by 1986, there were 2,300. |
| Today, there are millions. |
| The role of computers expanded so quickly that the U.S.S.R., |
| which had discouraged computer use, |
| found itself left behind by the U.S.A. |
| Part of the reason for the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 |
| was that they had fallen too far behind the United States |
| in high tech areas to ever catch up. |
| One of the most popular uses of the computer is electronic mail, or e-mail. |
| You can send a letter by computer over the Internet to anywhere in the world in seconds or less. |
| And it doesn’t cost anything extra. |
| Now data can be transferred great distances almost instantaneously. |
| Another major Internet use is the World Wide Web. |
| In the early days, all web pages were text only. |
| In the 1990s, it became possible to make web pages interactive and multi-media. |
| Interactive means that readers could click on items on the web page and get more information. |
| They could also communicate directly with the web-page owner. |
| Multi-media means that web pages were no longer text only. |
| They could also have graphics, film (video) and audio. |
| This has helped to turn computers into popular entertainment. |
| Nowadays, people spend hours every day surfing the net. |
| However, there are some problems. For some people, computers are addictive. |
| Many businesses are trying to control employees using the net during working hours. |
| Since the Internet includes just about every kind of information, not all of it is good. |
| You can find directions on how to become a criminal or a terrorist. |
| There are scam artists who want to cheat you out of money. |
| There are also aggressive, pornography salesmen, |
| not to mention people who want to kill your computer with viruses. |
| Since the Internet is not closely regulated, it’s up to individual users to follow computer etiquette. |
| Parents need to supervise their children’s use of the net. |
| Although the Internet has some disadvantages, |
| many people see the net as one of the greatest inventions of modern times. |
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