There is no disputing the fact that the development of the personal computer (PC) and the Internet have literally changed the world! Having said that, many in our generation just can’t see what all the fuss is about! Computers may well have changed the world; still, it is safe to say there are many of us that don’t want any part of them!

People are using the Internet these days to do all kinds of things; to find friends, shop, watch television and movies, and even to talk on the telephone! As unbelievable as it all sounds (and perhaps even confusing), the Internet is definitely here to stay.

If you have seen any of your friends or relatives become completely obsessed or overtaken by the Internet, you may very well ask yourself, where did it all get started? If you use, and love the Internet, you may even have a hard time remembering what life was like pre-Internet.

The technology that created the Internet began many decades ago. Software developed for the military, called ARPANET, was the first attempt at having two computers on two different networks communicate through typed messages. This simple experiment was the beginning of the technology that we now call the Internet.

Once programmers were able to get computers “talking” on different computer networks, this Internet technology was applied to more and more business tasks… and then personal tasks. This was helped along by the rise in popularity of the personal PC and Microsoft Windows technology. These made computer use by the everyday person easier than ever before.

From the earliest days of the Internet, people began to predict how much the Internet (initially known as The Information Super Highway) would change our lives. It was not long before the commercial potential of the Internet was discovered.

Initially, sites were very simple and were used for advertising and marketing. Soon though, shopping carts were developed along with secure ways to shop. The Internet has now been used in every imaginable way to make money: people buy and sell on the Internet, it has its own advertising and marketing industry, people meet socially on the Internet, gamble, play cards and video games, and even find marriage partners!

It is hard to fathom today, that such a small seed of curiosity and the innovation of getting computers to speak to one another, spawned such a life-changing and expansive technology!