How quickly things change! Last year when we wrote about the
changing Internet (Benchmarks Vol. 15, No. 4), the World Wide Web was
subordinate to Gopher as an Internet information access method. Many
people thought that the Web would never catch on because it required so
much computing power to use. Little did they know! Today, many people
are phasing out Gopher, Web servers are popping up in the most unlikely
places (like tupperware dealerships)(1)and Jim Clark,
the founder and CEO of Netscape
Communications, the company that sells Netscape one of the most
popular Web browsers officially became a billionaire recently when the
price of Netscape stock rose $9.75 to $110.50 a share.(2)
The World
Wide Web (sometimes known as WWW, W3 or the Web) is one of the fastest
growing segments of the Internet. According to Matthew Gray of
net.Genesis (http://www.netgen.com/info/growth.html),
who has been charting the growth of the Web since 1993, even with the
phenomenal growth of the Internet, the number of Web servers soared to
a point [in June 1995] where one in every 270 machines on the Internet
is a Web server. A chart showing the number of Internet hosts worldwide
is on page 3.
The World Wide Web allows people to combine different types of
electronic data still images, film, video and/or sound clips, and text
into one document that is easily accessible by a variety of people in
a consistent manner, regardless of the type of computer they are using.
One way
to look at the Web is as just another method of accessing information
on the Internet. Another way to look at it is as a revolutionary way of
producing and accessing information, no less momentous for publishing
networked information than Gutenberg's printing press was for
publishing books.(3)
Whatever your point of view, the World Wide Web will affect your
life. More and more organizations, including the UNT Computing Center, are turning to the Web as a way of disseminating
information. Look at commercials on TV now and you're likely to see a
URL (uniform resource locator the address of Web pages, signified by
http:// ...) for the company displayed at the bottom of the screen. Web
savvy customers can find out more information about them and their
products, thus maximizing the effectiveness of their advertising.
Federal, state and local government agencies have also established
presences on the Web, as have colleges, universities, countries, and a
whole host of interesting people throughout the world.
You are no doubt asking yourself, how can I find
out more information about this wonderful resource? The best place to
find out about the Web is probably on the Web itself. There are a
variety of search engines like Yahoo! (http://www.yahoo.com/)(4) that allow you to search for information on any topic you are
interested in. Yahoo! has an extensive set of beginners guides at (http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/World_Wide_Web/Beginner_s_Guides/).
If you're looking for something in printed media (like a book) just go to the computer section of your favorite bookstore or library and look for books on the World Wide Web, HTML and/or the Internet. You should be able to find something that addresses your area of interest. Good luck, and happy webbing!
(3)Atlas to the World Wide Web (http://www.rhythm.com/~bpowell/Atlas/toc.com), Welcome to Web-World.To report any problems or questions about this server please contact us by sending mail to www@unt.edu. Thanks!
