Cyberspace

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An Introduction to Cyberspace
Everybody's surfin' now
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Cyberspace

• Overused? sure but what is it?
• Quickly write down any WORDS or PHRASES that
  come to mind
• Nouns, verbs, adjectives, whatever

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• Is it the Internet?
• So what is the Internet?

• Research project in late 1960s (more shortly)
• Inter-connected networks
• Loose association of thousands of different
  networks, run by different organizations, using
  different technologies, all connected together
  (worldwide).

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• Network an ________________
• that allows communications data transmissions
  between/among two or more points.
• hardware
• _________!
• Client/server computing
• communications links

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• Internet ______ for info access info sharing
  and ____________...
• COMPUTERS connect to and communicate with other
  COMPUTERS.
• PEOPLE communicate with COMPUTERS.
• PEOPLE interact with OBJECTS
• PEOPLE interact with other PEOPLE.

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• Metaphors?
• How did we say that people often describe new
  technologies?
• Some surveys and tidbits
• U.S. Commerce Dept. report (announced 2/4/02)
• What do you think continues to be the most
  popular on-line activity?
• Good sites for such info
• www.nua.ie/surveys/
• www.nua.ie/surveys/how_many_online/
• www.pewinternet.org/ Visit now

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• Do new technologies always catch on quickly?
• Examples?

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• The World Wide Web
• Just another name for the Internet?
• An additional set of standards and protocols used
  to access information
• A high-profile example of a __________
• a resource retrieval system of linked
  computer-based documents that allows a user to
  CLICK on a region (called an _______, or
  _________) to obtain another document, or go to
  another part of the current document.
• Click actually, its a ________________
• Info hypermedia form

• Web pages.curious.

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DigressionWhat happens when Web pages/sites are
yanked? What are we losing?

• www.archive.org
• www.disobey.com/ghostsites

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• Internet beginnings (RH-14)
• Event on 4 Oct. 1957 that jolted the American
  public, RAND, and the Pentagon?
• Why did the idea of Soviet space domination scare
  us?
• How did that affect H.S. curricula?
• What group did the DOD create, and for what
  specific purpose?

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• Specifically, what did the Pentagon ask RAND to
  analyze?
• So why not just rely on the current phone system?
• What kind of network did Paul Baran (of RAND)
  propose?
• In non-technical terms, how would it work?
• What was ARPAs contribution to this effort?
• Who else was interested in high-speed computing?
• DoD/ARPA willing to fund but expensive! must
  SHARE!
• But SHARING will mean what?

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• Three main Research thrusts
• Connecting to supercomputers via a
  decentralized, packet-switched network.
• (ARPA creates ARPAnet in 1969 with 4 nodes.)
• How can completely different types of computers
  exchange data packets?
• How to send messages between 2 different
  networks?
• (Milnet was created for military users two
  networks)
• But now need INTERCONNECTED network internet

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• Answer? ARPA-sponsored research in Internet
  protocol.
• Vinton Cerf Robert Kahn
• TCP/IP software
• Transmission Control Protocol
• converts messages into _______ reassembles later
• Internet Protocol
• transports the packets across different nodes and
  across different networks.
• SECRET of Nets success.
• 1970s and 80s
• More and more networks spring up, and
  interconnect Worldwide!

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• So who runs the Internet?
• No one central authority.
• A collaborative, collective enterprise.
• A complex, self-organizing system influenced by
  market mechanisms, government agencies, and
  users.
• Handful of organizations that are influential
  examples, just for culture
• WWW Consortium
• Internet Engineering Task Force
• Internet Engineering Steering Cmte
• Internet Society
• InterNIC
• ICANN Purely optional
• About ICANN
• ICANN troublescommentary

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• Some services/resources
• Email Web browsing IM and chat familiar!
• Electronic Bulletin Boards (BBS)
• Private
• Usually, a single computer that others connect to
  thru phone lines. Hobbyists.
• Public city, state, fed govt agencies (public
  service)
• Usenet worlds largest collection of public BBs
• Motivation where it began

www.google.com then click on Groups button
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• Much net culture started on Usenet
• Respect the local populations culture
• Net citizenship
• Flame and Flame war
• Infamous smilies
• www.netlingo.com/emailsh.cfm.
• www.charm.net/kmarsh/smiley.html

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• IMPORTANT DIGRESSION (our 1st Net CLASH)
• SPAM---
• Original definition (started on Usenet)
• Original reference (as a pejorative metaphor,
  that is!)?
• Who were the original (now infamous) spammers?
• www.robotwisdom.com/net/canter.html
  and Orig Post
• What does Hormel think about all this?

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• SO WHATs the CONTROVERSY here?
• What are the competing interests/rights?
• Who has an interest in all this?
• Some famous court cases and outcomes
• http//www.jmls.edu/cyber/cases/spam.html
• What sorts of spam do you get now?

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• What should you do (and not do!) if you get it?
• Ill assume youve done the readings here, so we
  wont take time to discuss the specifics
• www.cauce.org
• www.cauce.org/about/nonsolutions.shtml
• (why should I have to _________?)
• spamcop.net
• www.junkemail.org
• www.junkbusters.com

• Is spam illegal? Lets see www.spamlaws.com
• More importantly is it an ethical practice?
  Why?
• Spam crusaders (interesting article)

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RELATED DIGRESSIONS Are POP-Ups annoying
you?? www.panicware.com (free) www.webwasher.com
(free) www.webknacks.com (PopUp Eraser
12.95) www.addelete.com (29.95)
Hoaxes, chain letters, urban legends Some
give-aways that something is likely a hoax?
www.snopes.com Hoaxbusters (click on
Hoaxbusters button) Urban Legends and Folklore
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Ok, back to Some Services/Resources

• E-commerce and e-shopping
• 1998 first banner year for on-line sales.
• Where did people typically shop back then

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• Some say e-shopping empowers consumers. How?
• Has it changed customer expectations? How??
• What do you like?
• What sorts of items seem to sell well on-line?
• What would you never want to buy on-line? Why?
• Any risks to consumers?
• www.oecd.org/dsti/sti/it/consumer/
• www.netaction.org/shoppers

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• One mans trash is another mans treasure.
• Ebay!
• What is it?
• Risks with using an on-line auction?
• Ways merchants have reduced that risk?
• Any weird stuff put up for bid in the last few
  years?
• Interesting story.
• Haunted Painting
• Disturbing Auctions Site
• Why do people DO this?
• Well explore that soon!

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• What makes the Net alive, interesting?
• What is still the most popular activity?
• People create programs and documents, and make
  them available for free.
• Net communities have sprung up.
• Internet users beliefs come straight from its
  cultural roots and strong academic traditions
• Share information and ideas freedom of speech
  and freedom to disagree
• Collegial self-governance
• Makes for some interesting clashes
  Stay tuned!

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Backbone A very high-speed Network (fiber
optics)