QWhat is the Internet?

A The Internet is just that, a vast internetwork connecting millions of computers. Strictly speaking, the Internet is merely the transport medium for the data that flows over this network. It is very similar to a highway system, in that in and of itself, it really has no value. The value is at the destinations that are accessible via the medium. These destinations are host computers, which individually hold data and information that has value. These host computers together comprise the trillions of bytes of data that make the Internet what it is.

The Internet as a communications medium came out of a DoD project to build a data infrastructure that would withstand a full scale nuclear war. Because the Internet was built with this ideal in mind, it serves very well as a reliable and robust medium for communication.

QWhat is an Internet Service Provider? What is an Internet Presence Provider? How do these differ from AOL, CompuServe and other online services? Which way is better?

A The best way that we can explain the role of an Internet Service Provider (ISP) is to make an analogy between us and a company that you're very familiar with: the local phone company. For this explanation, please keep in mind the answer of (1) above. The phone company does not offer any services of its own in comparison with what it allows you to reach through their service. In other words, they offer the highway system (I know, the highway analogy gets really old), while the people you call everyday are the destinations. This is a similar role to an ISP. We offer you connectivity to the vast network which comprises the Internet. Even though we are also a destination to visit, there a millions of others offering a vast spectrum of services for the end user.

A Web Presence Provider (WPP) is a company which builds destinations on the Internet for others to visit. We help you establish a presence on the Internet, where others may find you. We can simply lay the foundation for your presence, only providing the physical means on which you can build. We also offer turn-key services, ranging from consulting with you and building your destination site, to helping you market your new site where others may search for a company or product.

Both of these differ from online services a great deal. The big online services (AOL, CompuServe, Prodigy, etc.) were originally devised as private networks which served both as the sole medium of communication and the destination for their respective members. Now the distinction is getting more difficult since on line services began offering Internet services.

Deciding which way is better is dependent on what you wish to accomplish. If you wish to have a private resource of information that is only available on the online services, that is what you need. If getting on the internet and seeing what it offers is what you're looking for, you need an ISP. The reason for this is multiple. ISPs tend to offer less restricted access to the Internet, as well as much greater speed. This is because when you log into an ISP, your computer actually becomes a node on the vast Internet. This makes for incredible speed and flexibility. The online services now offer Internet services because of their popularity. Creating a bridge between their private networks and the Internet is a great task, indeed. Building this bridge usually creates a tremendous bottleneck for the online user. This is because the online service must provide an access conduit to reach the Internet. This conduit is never sufficient in performance, due to its overwhelmingly small size in relation to the large user base trying to access through it.

Another difference is that since online services are content providers, they tend to offer more hand-holding in the process of browsing through and retrieving that content. ISPs are like the phone company in the respect that they offer access and provide support for using that access, but not necessarily help in finding information.

We've got dozens of more questions which will be put up here very soon, so keep coming back!