DNS: Domain Name System - A naming system for computers, servers and other internet resources that assigns them a specific domain name based off their purpose and function. The DNS system helps computers and servers find the IP address of the resources they need. Computers will send requests to the DNS using TCP packets and the DNS will locate and return the IP address under its database. (Ex. .com (commercial), .gov (government), .org (organization), .edu (education), .net (network) )
TCP: Transmission Control Protocol - A system in where online devices send information to each other using packets. The sender will split up, properly label (to/from, 1 out of 4), and then send out the information through the router system. When the receiver gets the information, they will check if all packets are received and either confirm that all packets were received or request the sender to resend the packets that are missing. TCP is a reliable and safe method for sending information across the web
UDP: User Datagram Protocol - A system similar to TCP where the information is sent in packets. However, unlike TCP, UDP does not require the receiver to confirm if all packets are received making it loss-tolerant. UDP is much faster than TCP, however, information can be lost while being sent. UDP is usually used in situations that prioritize speed of quality, such as live - streaming.
IP Address: Internet Protocol Address - A unique numerical value used to identify different users and devices on the internet. IP addresses are assigned by the router that the device is connected to. IP addresses help us send information across the internet, as we can make sure we are sending it to the right person. We currently use IPv6, a system that uses 128 bits to represent the IP address allowing for 2^128 possible unique IP addresses.
Bandwidth: The maximum rate of data that can be send across a channel or path. Bandwidth is usually measured in bpm, or bits per second. (Ex. Someone using fiber optic cables has a higher bandwidth than someone using electric cables.
Latency: The time it takes for data to travel from the sender to the receiver . Latency is usually measured in milliseconds. The higher the Latency, the slower the internet speed is.
Router: A devices that sends and transfers packets across the internet. Routers are like traffic lights which direct data packets to their destination. Routers also assign IP addresses to computers and devices to make it easier to know who and where the packets should be sent
Packets: A form of data that is used to send and transport information over the internet. Packets are labeled with the sender and receiver IP Address as well as the order that they will need to be ordered in once they arrive at their destination.
Computing Network: A networks that connects computers, servers and other internet devices together so that they can communicate and send information to each other. The internet is an example of a massive computer network that connects devices across the entire world.
Scalability: A measure of a system's capability to adapt to changes in performance or costs. A system with a good scalability is able to handle more devices added to the system or devices being removed from the system.
Net Neutrality
Pros:
Freedom of Expression - Anyone on the internet is able to share their (hopefully legal) thoughts and ideas on the internet. ISP's (Internet Service Providers) can't block or censor websites or blogs or news outlets that don't align with their beliefs. For example, Verizon can't block a tech review website that gave a bad review of its internet because Net Neutrality forces all websites and things on the internet to be treated equally. Net Neutrality protects online user's freedom of expression.
Helps Promote Fair Competition and Innovation - Net Neutrality evens the playing field for all companies or businesses and even independent people on the internet. Since all information is delivered at the same speed to the user, a bigger corporation doesn't have an inherent advantage over a small business. We can think of it as two rival restaurants on a roadside, our restaurants as businesses or companies and the road as the internet. If one restaurant could control where the roads went, they could make all the roads go to them and have none of them lead to the other business, monopolizing the roadside. However, if all the roads were equal, the restaurants would have to focus on the company itself by promoting their food, changing their menu or getting better ingredients. Net Neutrality promotes fair competition between businesses, making them focus on self - development and innovation as a way to succeed. A company can't block or slow access to their rivals.
Uninterrupted Access - Without net neutrality, ISP's could control what businesses are promoted while slowing down or even blocked other rival competitors. Having control over the internet lets ISP's profit off of the internet consumer. For example, T - Mobile could charge extra money for things like texting, online banking or email. Consumers could also have to pay for an extra "fast lane" which would just be the original internet relabeled as improved. By making the internet slower, ISPs can profit more, benefiting the companies while making the user experience worse
Cons:
Less Money Available for Businesses to Spend on Innovation - Net Neutrality laws place many restrictions on not only ISPs, but also many other companies that could benefit from having their products or creations more easily accessible than others. Removal of Net Neutrality laws allows for channels of greater bandwidth or latency to be available for premium users who need them, and allows companies to get more money to spend on improving the internet, different services, and new innovations to appeal to the people that benefit from it, hopefully improving the internet.
Unfair to Companies that use less bandwidth - Removing Net Neutrality laws allows for a sort of "price" to be set on bandwidth. For example, streaming companies like Hulu or Netflix could have to pay an extra "tax" as they use massive amounts of bandwidth compared to other services. This means that streaming services and others would have to be much more conservative with the bandwidth they use. The money could be used in as mentioned, to help improve the internet or allow important resource sites like government websites or immigration services to be available without having to have an internet contract.
Important and Potentially Life-Saving services mixed in - Since Net Neutrality laws treats all information the same, this means that for example an important call to a hospital about someone dying is treated the same as the 13 year old's Fortnite game. Obviously, this shouldn't be the case, as a human life is much for important than the kid playing video games. Removing Net Neutrality laws also for more pressing and important services like medical emergency's or important diplomatic calls to be prioritized over less important daily internet activities
Internet Censorship
Pros
Helps Stop People accessing Inappropriate or Harmful Content - Internet Censorship allows for age-restricted content to be censored for minors, or blatant fake news or propaganda to not be able to spread. Internet Censorship can be used as a tool to block content on the internet that isn't good for the user using it. For example making sure that sexually explicit content is censored and blocks from kids using the internet.
Helps prevent scams or online thefts - With there being many cases of internet account or information theft or computer malware, being able to at least try, detect and block these scams helps prevent and protect not only the user by the entire internet structure as well. For example, a phishing email scam or fake link or website on the internet could be censored. Especially for younger or older people or sometimes just people who have been tricked by these scams or malware, censoring potential threats and scams will help protect people using the internet.
Cons:
A tool to remove freedom of expression - The internet was built under the premise that anyone can (legally) post whatever they want on. Internet Censorship removes the freedom of expression by allowing anything at any time to be censored and removed. For example, it would be like if the government could make your voice not have any sound if you said any thing bad about it. Internet Censorships removes the right to expression and opinion that people on the internet have.
Abusive use of internet censorship - Similar to the first point, whoever is in charge of censoring the internet is given a lot of power. For example, if Coke could control what users could see on the internet, they could censor all Pepsi ads. Or a government could censor someone's blog post criticizing how they spent their annual budget. Internet Censorship allow basically complete control of the internet, something that could be abused too easily.
After you enter your URL in the search bar, your computer will look for the IP address associated with the URL. If your computer can't find the IP address in its databases, it will send a request to the DNS (Domain Name System) to find the IP address in the domain. Once the computer receives the IP address, it sends a HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) GET request to the server associated with that IP to get the information it needs. The server will then split the information into packets and send them using either UDP (User Datagram Protocol) or TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) through the router system to your computer. The packets are strings of binary labeled with proper addressing (to/from) and also with the order to be assembled when received (2 out of 8). The packets can be sent through electricity (wires), light (optical cables), or radio waves (WiFi) to your computer. If we are using TCP, the computer will then check if all the packets are received or not and will either return that all the packets are received or ask the server to resend the packets that are missing. The information will then finally be displayed for you to use and enjoy.
Routers are an extremely essential part of the internet we use. Without routers, we would either be unable to access the internet or would have to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure. Routers are essential in processes like TCP, where routers are responsible for directing packets to their destination. However, the design of routers makes them need to have good fault-tolerance as well as a lot of redundancy. When we look at the flesh and bones of the internet, all it is is wire and radio wave connections. These connections break very easily, if we only had one wire connecting the entire internet, a simple power trip or cut could damage the entire internet. Making a internet that can still function from frequent breaks is essential to how we use it today. Redundancy is a method we use to make a system more fault tolerant. We can think of redundancy like roads. If I want to get to Toms house but there is only one road, if there is a crash or repair, I wouldn't be able to get there. However if we have multiple paths and connections, or in this case maybe just 1 or 2 extra roads, our system can still function even if that one connection breaks. Routers are also very redundant due to the nature of TCP and UDP. Since routers are not directed by a outside server as to how to distribute packets, packets usually not sent on the fastest path. Multiple connections means more paths, making it generally a faster connection and also less prone to packet loss. In a fragile internet like the one we have, its important to make sure the things that transport our information are fault-tolerant and can withstand an interruption or break.
Digital divide is essentially the inequality between people that do and do not have access to the internet. Due to economic, geographic or other reasons, people can't access the internet, making people with internet access more advantageous. I think a good example of a digital divide in FCPS was during Covid 19. Since we all had to go virtual since we couldn't go to school, people who had slow or no internet access weren't able to attend and use the resources provided by school. Although FCPS is relatively privledged compared to other places in the Untied States, there were many people that had slow internet access or no device to access the internet with. These people were unable to attend school and thus were behind everyone else who were able to join the online meetings. Like FCPS did, a way to solve this could either be loaning computers to everyone or maybe providing public computer places for students to use. FCPS could promote or make more public wifi hotspots, so students could go to schools, libraries or public education buildings to use the internet. If students aren't able to participate in meetings due to internet issues, video recordings are readable lesson plans or syllabus could be available to them. Although Covid has made a lot of students unable to attend school, there are a lot of ways we can solve this digital divide,