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The Web
The Internet was not planned. In the early 1960s, the USA and the former Soviet Union did not have a friendly relationship. The Americans feared a nuclear bomb could destroy their communications centre. So in 1960 they designed a new computer network. It could function if parts were destroyed. This was the basis of the modern Internet. In 1990, the Internet lost its military connections and everyone could use it. However, the Internet was difficult to use until a British computer scientist designed the Web.
The World-Wide Web is now the largest part of the Internet. The Web is the best way of exploring the Internet because it has pictures and sounds as well as a text. The Web started in 1990, and provides information about everything, from art to leather. There are hundreds of thousands of Web pages and this number is growing fast. By the mid-1990s, there were 23 million Web users in over 100 countries.
Today, the fast development of the World-Wide Web offers new possibilities to everyone. More and more schools are coming on-line. The Web gives students a chance to get up-to-date information. Many schools are creating their own Web pages. Some young people are making good use of their computer knowledge. John Bridges is only fourteen years old and is still at school. But in his free time, he runs his own company. He designs and creates Web sites for other companies. Some of his clients don't know he is a schoolboy. Others know but they are happy because they like his work. It will be easy for students with good IT skills to get a job when they leave school.
The Internet is changing the way we live. We can go shopping through the Internet. We can read newspapers, listen to the radio, even watch TV. There are more and more things you can do when you are connected.