Software:In simple language, software is a program. The person responsible for creating a computer program are programmer.

There are 3 types of software.
1. Operating System: This software allows us to be able to use or operate our computer.
Example: Windows 95/98, XP, Server, Vista, Seven, Linux etc.

2. Application : These software are used to perform specific functions such as;
a) Ms- Word = Document
b) Photoshop=Imaging

3. Utility : Used for managing our computer. In other words, for maintenance.
Example: Anti-virus, Disk clean up, defragmenter etc.

Electronic mail is one of the most popular & powerful communication tools on the Internet. It is an efficient and effective means of network communication. Email allows you to communicate with people across the globe via electronic media. An Email address identifies a person and the computer for purposes of exchanging electronic mail messages.
Eg. sinorita@hotmail.com.us
Sinorita : User name
hotmail : Domain name
.com : Domain name that is commercial
.us : Country Specific

Address Book
An address book is a place where you can store information about the people with whom you correspond.

Signature
The signature can be anything that will be appended to the message.

Inbox
It is element of email which collects all incoming mails.

Outbox
It is element of email which collects all outgoing mails, if it is created and sent in offline.

Trash
All deleted mail from mailbox will be sent to trash box.

CC (courtesy copy/carbon copy)
If the same letter is to be sent to more than one person then the address can be given in CC (Carbon copy)

BCC (Blank carbon copy)
It is similar to CC but the address of other receivers will not be shows to the receiver.

Junk mail
It is the unwanted mail, like subscription, advertisement etc.

Send mail
Ability to send email messages to Internet addresses

Receive mail
Ability to receive mail addressed to your email account

Reply
Respond to message that you have receive

Forward
Send a message you receive on to another recipient

Save
Ability to save messages you have received

Print
Ability to print messages you have received

Attachment
Sends actual documents created with other programs along with (or attached to) your email.

Bounced
If a message has a invalid e-mail address it will be marked undeliverable and will bounce back to your e-mail address (the sender).

Netiquette
It is essential for all users on the Internet to recognize that they are responsible for their own individual actions while using the net. Netiquette is simply the use of common courtesy and polite behavior while using the net. Some basic rules of email netiquette are.

Emoticons
The convention to express feeling or a joke in symbolic from by user in e-mail and Internet are called emoticons.
Smiling :-)
Winking ;-)
Frowning :-(
Surprised :-o
User is asleep I -
Laughing :-D

Free Mail Account
The many sites on the internet offer free email account with varying services. Some of them are yahoo.com, hotmail.com etc.

Mirror
Many larger sites get so much traffic that they have a hard time handling all of the requests. The administrator of the site makes arrangements with another site to mirror the same information. This is called mirror site which reduces the bandwidth across the entire internet. Mirroring makes the information more accessible to users of the Internet. Mirroring also allows for a backup of information. in case the server crashes, is down for maintenance or problem exists anywhere along the path of the information.

IP Address
IP (Internet Protocol) Address is a unique set of four numbers (0-255) that is always in the form of 255.255.255.255. Each computer hooked up to the internet has to have these numbers so that the requested information has a place to be delivered.

Domain Name
A domain name is the computers name that is registered on the internet. The domain name is a unique name that identifies a device on We o internet. Domain names always have 2 or more parts separated by dots-the first part is the specific machine and sub-network and the part on the right is the server and type of server. This is a registered name in the internet. Eg. www.yahoo.com

Domain name server
There is a program called a Domain Name server (DNS) that runs on your ISP's computer. Each IP address on the network should have a DNS entry. This is basically a database that associates a name (DNS entry) to an IP address.

Ping
It is a utility that is used to varify the existence of a host or network gateway: It refers to a command which sends out an ICMP ECH)_REQUEST packet to any network addressable host.
Ping is typically used in troubleshooting networks. By pinging different parts of the network it is possible to isolate the trouble spot/spots.

Listsery
A listsery is a small program that automatically sends the same message to all of the names (Bulk Mailing) on a specific mailing list. This mailing list is created by people signing up or subscribing to the service because they are interested in a certain topic.

Signature file
A signature file is a personalized-customizable-text files that is automatically appended to your e-mail messages that you send.

Home Page (Index Page)
It is a starting page of a website which consists of different types of files (text, graphics, sound, video, etc.) that contain information and probably links to other resources to the internet.

Portal
A portal is a starting point that offers quick links to other places on the internet.

ICQ
ICQ is an Internet tool (program that runs in the background) that tells you when someone on "your list" is online. It allow you to communicate with them in serval different ways. You can chat, send instant message that pop up on their screen, send URL's, send E-mail, and even transfer files.

Packet
The data as a whole is broken down into smaller parts before it is sent across the internet. These small blocks of information are called packet. Transmission is more efficient by sending these smaller blocks of information and verifying that they each arrive. It takes less time to re-send one small block of information that didn't show up or got mixed up in route than re-sending the entire set of data. Packet contains router information, header information, TCP/IP information and data.

MIMI
The MIMIE, the Multi-purpose Internet Mail Extensions, is a freely available specification that offers a way to interchange text in languages with different character sets, and multimedia e-mail among many different computer systems that use Internet mail standards.

Filter
Filtering e-mail refers to a set of rules that watch for specific patterns or key words in certain parts of an e-mail message and then take a specific action to each e-mail that matches a specific filter rule.

Spam
The Spam is unsolicited e-mail or junk e-mail sent lots of places lots of times.

Bookmarks
The Bookmarks are shortcuts to sites that you have marked for quick access.

Cookie
The cookies contain information that is sent from a web server to a web browser. That information is stored on your hard drive. Some web sites record information that you have entered while at their site and send out cookies (text files) that are stored on your computer.

CGI
The Common Gateway Interface scripts are programs that run on the servers. The programs can very in their complexity and design. CGI scripts are one way to maintain statistics on everything that happens on your web site.

Plug-in
A plug-in is a link to an external application that handles embedded information in a web page. Quick time is a plug-in that allows embedding movies into a web page.

Hyperlinks
The hypertext on the WWW (World Wide Web) which quickly allow you to link one documents or site to another. It’s like having footnotes, annotations and an index of all on the pages.

Early people developed certain kinds of counting device. As man advanced, the counting also became more and more complex. In order to find the solution to counting, the mathematical problems and scientific problems computers were developed. Different kinds of counting devices developed are given in the paragraphs below.

Internet was started in 1970s as ARPANET.
• In 1970s United States defense ministry setup their network to share military information’s. Later a project called ARPANET was started to explore the possibilities of networking. Then later, US based universities were also involved in the ARPANET and they also started their networking along with US defense ministry. After the successful research of ARPANET, it was dissolved and the global network was called as Internet.

• The Internet of the 1980 was not only used for research purposes, but also for archiving and publication of general information.

• In the 1990, the American Government and commercial organizations were added rapidly to the fast expanding network.

• Now, the commercial possibilities were also introduced in the internet and gradually, it has come up to today’s state. B to B ->Business to Business ->target of businessB to C -> Business to consumerC to C -> Consumer to consumer -> auction sites, ebay.com bazee.com
That growth can also be explained by the user friendly software and of course the commercial side. At this moment there appear to be approx. 1.15.75 million users around the world.

What is Internet?
Internet is the large world wide networks of computers (the global network of different sub network) that facilitate data, communication services, file transfer, electronic mail, the World Wide Web and newsgroup with the common protocols.

Internet Services and ToolsEmail : sending electronic messages.
News : Discussion group on virtually every subject.
Telnet : remote login
FTP : transfer of files from one computer to another
Gopher : a method of searching for various text-based Internet recourses.
Internet Relay Chat (IRC): a system for sending public and private message to other users in 'real time- that is, your message appears on the recipient's screen as soon as type it.
CU-SeeMe: a video conferencing system that allows users to send and receive sound and pictures simultaneously over the Internet.

WWW (World Wide Web)
The www is the brainchild of Tim Berners Lee a CERN who had the idea of creating an electronic web of research information. The web is currently the fastest growing Internet information system, with new sources being added regularly. The Web relies on a set of protocols, conventions and software to operate. The web is a distributed system of delivering linked documents over the Internet. It is called a distributed system because information can reside on different computers around the world, yet be easily linked together using hypertext. The Web uses hypertext, to create links from one resource to another. A hypertext link is usually displayed by highlighted and underlined text on the page. A hypertext link or hyperlink can also be graphic that acts as a button lining to another resource.
World Wide Web StandardsHypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) it is the standard protocol used
Meta-search Engines
A web meta-searcher is a tool that helps users locates information available via the World Wide Web. Web meta-searchers provide a single interface that enables users to search many different search engines, indexes and databases simultaneously.

Internet access
We can 'access to the internet in one of two basic ways, dialing into an Internet Service Provider's (ISP) computer, or with a direct connection to an ISP. This type of connections called Dial-up connection.

Internet Chat
Internet chat lets you communicate with people from all over the world (across the network) in real-time. There are many ways to chat with other users. Some examples are:Fun city chat site (http:/www.theglobe.com)Talk City (http://www.talkcity.com)

Extranet
An intranet (Internal TCP/IP Network) that has been selectively opened to a firm's supplier, customers is called Extranet.

Entranet
An Intranet can be defined as a network connecting an affiliated set of clients using standard Internet protocols, esp. TCP/IP and HTTP or as an IP-based network of nodes behind a firewall, or behind server firewalls connected by secure, possibly virtual, network.

Hypertext
The Hypertext allows for the integration of text, graphics, audio and video on a Web page. This can make it very easy to browse and very exciting to view. A web page may have colorful graphics integrated with textual information. Links on a webpage may take you to other web pages, recorded sounds, or digital video clips. A single click on any hyperlink allows you to follow the link to the specified resource.

Computer: It is an electronic device which takes data inputted by user, process it and gives us an output.

User: A person who operates/use computer is a user.

What is Data?
Any types of information saved in the computer is called Data. Example; audio files, video, image, documents, softwares etc.

Data Units: Computer memory, disk space & file size measure in one standard unit is called bits & bytes. Where
0 or 1 binary digit = 1 bit
4 bits = 1 nibble
8 Bits = 1 byte (1 character)
1024 bytes =1 Kilo byte
1024 KB = 1 Mega byte.
1024 MB = 1 Giga byte
1024 GB = 1 Tera byte
1024 TB = 1 Peta byte
1024 PB = 1 Exa byte

Speed is measured in herz. Same as above.

Types of Computer
(On the basis of size and computation power, it is categorized into)
1. Super computers (Fastest –used in research, huge numerical calculation etc)
2. Main frame computers (Have many terminals- used in big business organizations)
3. Mini computers (Smaller than main frames but bigger than personal computers)
4. Microcomputers (known as pc-personal computer)

Monitor: The monitors are the most common output devices. It displays characters and graphics. CRT and LCD are two commonly used types of monitors.

1. CRT Monitors (Cathode Ray Tube)
CRT Monitor is named because it uses large vacuum tubes called a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT). It looks like a common television screen. The CRT monitors are relatively bigger in size than other monitors but it is cheaper.

2. LCD Monitors (Liquid Crystal Display)
LCD Monitors are flat-panel monitor. It uses a special kind of liquid crystal for display. LCD monitors are comparatively light in weight and portable monitors but they are expensive.

Printer
The printer is one of the most common output devices. It provides data program and other results in a permanent readable form. That is in a sheet of paper. The output produced from printer is known as Hard Copy.
Basically, printers are categorized into two types: Impact and Non-Impact.

Impact Printer
An impact printer is similar to a typewriter in which characters are printed by physical striking of type device over an inked ribbon. It is a noisy printer.
1. Dot-matrix printers,
2. Daisy wheel printers,
3. Drum printers etc. fall under the category of impact printer.

Non-Impact Printer
A non-impact printer is a quiet printer because it doesn't strike on the paper to characters. Rather, characters are formed by using heat (in thermal printers), light (in laser printers) and ink-spray (in ink jet printers). These printers are faster more reliable than impact printer but they are expensive.

1. Ink Jet Printers
These are non-impact printers. They print Characters by spraying small drops of ink into paper. Ink jet printers produce high quality output because the characters are formed by dozens of tiny ink dots. They provide the resolution of at least 360 dots per inch (dpi).

2. Laser Printer
A laser printer can produce higher quality output of text or graphics. It looks like a, photocopier. The laser printer uses a laser beam to create images. Speed and quality are distinguishing features of laser printers. The common laser printers provide resolutions of 300 or 600 dpi. And, they can print several pages per minute. But, laser printers are more expensive compared to other types of printers.

3. Potter
The plotter is an output device that ' can create drawings, charts and graphics. Some printers can also produce such graphics but plotters are used when we require a high quality drawing and graphics.
Some common types of plotters are - Drum plotter, Flat bed Plotters, Electro static plotters etc