INTERNET Millions of people around the world use the Internet to search for and retrieve information on all sorts of topics in a wide variety of areas including the arts, business, government, humanities, news, politics and recreation. People communicate through electronic mail (e-mail), discussion groups, chat channels and other means of informational exchange. They share information and make commercial and business transactions^ All this activity is possible because tens of thousands of networks are connected to the Internet and exchange information in the same basic ways. The World Wide Web (WWW) is a part of the Internet.
But it’s not a collection of networks. Rather, it is information that is connected or linked together like a web. You access this information through one interface or tool called a Web browser. The number of resources and services that are part of the World Wide Web is growing extremely fast. In 1996 there were more than 20 million users of the WWW, and more than half the information that is transferred across the Internet is accessed through the WWW. By using a computer ter¬minal (hardware) connected to a network that is a part of the Internet, and by using a programme (software) to browse or retrieve information that is a part of the World Wide Web, the people connected to the Internet and World Wide Web through the local providers have access to a variety of information. Each browser provides a graphi¬cal interface. You move from place to place, from site to site on the Web by using a mouse to click on a portion of text, icon or region of a map .These items are called hyperlinks or links. Each link you select represents a document, an image, a video clip or an audio file some¬where on the Internet. The user doesn’t need to know where it is, the browser follows the link. All sorts of things are available on the WWW. One can use Internet for recreational purposes. Many TV and radio stations broadcast live on the WWW. Essentially, if something can be put into digital format and stored in a computer, then it’s available on the WWW. You can even visit museums, gardens and cities throughout the world, learn foreign languages and meet new friends. And, of course, you can play computer games through WWW, competing with partners from other countries and continents. 3 Just a little bit of exploring the World Wide Web will show you what a lot of use and fun it is. BILL GATES — THE FOUNDER OF MICROSOFT William Henry Gates was born in Seattle, Washington, in 1955. He is an American business executive, chairman and chief executive officer of the Microsoft Corporation. Gates was the founder of Microsoft in 1975 together with Paul Allen, his partner in computer language development. While attending Harvard in 1975, Gates together with Allen developed a version of the BASIC computer programming language for the first personal computer. In the early 1980s, Gates led Microsoft’s evolution from the developer of computer programming languages to a large computer software company. This transition began with the introduction of MS-DOS, the operating system for the new IBM Personal Computer in 1981. Gates also led Microsoft towards the introduction of application software such as the Microsoft Word processor. Much of Gates’ success is based on his ability to translate technical visions into market strategy. Although Gates has accumulated great wealth from his holdings of Microsoft stock, he has been known as a tough competitor who seems to value winning in a competitive environment over money. Gates still continues to work personally in product development at Microsoft.
