Who runs the Internet? How can you connect to a computer thousands of miles away? How does my email leave my computer and end up at my aunt's house, two states away? At any point in time, how many people are on the Net? What website has the most content on it — and how did it all get there? How do search engines find and access all that information? Journey to the Center of the Internet answers these questions while demystifying technology, allowing anyone to understand the "stuff" that makes the Internet run. With its title borrowed from the classic Jules Verne novel Journey to the Center of the Earth, this guide captures that same spirit of adventure and discovery as it charts a course through the Internet, helping readers experience the Net in a fun and meaningful way. Designed to be read in conjunction with the included CD, the book features a CD icon that directs users when to open the CD to view detailed animations of concepts presented in the text.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 Home Computer Terms
Chapter 2 History of the Internet
Chapter 3 Bones, Backbones, and More Bones
Chapter 4 How a Net Connection Works
Chapter 5 Getting Your Computer Onto the Internet
Chapter 6 How Information Moves Over the Internet
Chapter 7 How Everybody Knows Your (Domain) Name
Chapter 8 Ways to Connect to the Internet
Chapter 9 How Alternative Connection Methods Work
Chapter 10 URLs 101
Chapter 11 Understanding the Types of Domains
Chapter 12 Browser Basics
Chapter 13 Talking the Talk and Walking the Walk
Chapter 14 Facilitating File Facts
Chapter 15 Online Extras
Chapter 16 Security Stuff
Chapter 17 Setting up Your E-mail Client
Chapter 18 Newsgroups and Other Nifty Online Stuff
Chapter 19 Netiquette
Chapter 20 How to Find Information Online
Chapter 21 Online Audio, Video, and Other Stuff
Chapter 22 Unfriendly Fire
Chapter 23 Bert Returns

Glossary
Index