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The internet, modems and Macs: History and Hardware

© Jude Coughlin

A while ago I was asked to write an article about connecting the Mac to the internet/other computers using modems. I will leave the specifics of any connection to the internet to the specific organization through which you connect. Basically you get to choose the organization, they then get to choose the connection method. What I can do is write an article that gives you some idea of what is going on so you can at least help out, also give you some general knowledge so you can be more confident when you have to do this yourself.

General Knowledge

The internet grew out of an attempt by the U.S. military to provide a computer network that could survive bombing and other acts of war against its Defense Data Network and the suite of protocols (basically a set of agreed rules) it used to interconnect the different networks, called the TCP/IP suite. When other networks such as ARPANET and various business networks started using the TCP/IP protocols to connect their computer networks together, the "Internet" grew. The World Wide Web (WWW) was born when a new protocol was added, the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP). This was a protocol that allowed the transfer of a text file, plus instructions of how to display it and other associated files, as well as a means for the user of the WWW to move from file to file. Browsers were written to retrieve and display files written in this new protocol, and advances were made to the protocol allowing pictures, sound and other multi-media additions to the protocol to be added, meaning more and more files were stored using the HTTP protocol.

The great leap for the Internet came about with the improvements in modems (see Hardware below) and the addition of new protocols such as Slip and PPP (Software in next week's article) which allowed Personal Computers (PC's) to be connected to the Internet with a link that made using the WWW a realistic prospect.

In summary the "Internet" is really a collection of government, educational and commercial computers permanently connected together to form one network using the TCP/IP protocol suite. The World Wide Web is nothing more than a collection of documents stored upon these computers using the HTTP protocol. Finally your ISP is just an organization that has both a network connection to the internet, and a bank of modems it's willing to allow you to use as well as the appropriate software to allow you to connect to the internet.

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