the world wide web

let's start things off with something that has become a major part of our lives, especially to IT generation of today - the internet. what started out as a military advantage in the 50's has become this exploding phenomenon, a source of all sources. i shall share with you the origins, the effects it has on us at present day and my personal take on the future for this fascinating tool. then, for those who has been wondering what website rules the web now, i shall reveal the top 10 websites of today. facebook, you think? read on and see...

origins

after the launch of USSR's sputnik, the US got a bit nervous and created Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as ARPA, in february 1958 to regain a technological lead. ARPA created the Information Processing Technology Office (IPTO) to further the research of the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) program, which had networked country-wide radar systems together for the first time. J. C. R. Licklider was selected to head the IPTO, and saw universal networking as a potential unifying human revolution. he then moved the project from Harvard University to MIT, where he bought the first production PDP-1 computer and conducted the first public demonstration of time-sharing.
note: time-sharing refers to sharing a computing resource among many users by multitasking.

this was a revolution in terms of military information. this meant that highly classified information was not stored at just one place, which will make it an easy target by potential enemies. the information is spread out simultaneously, making it highly robust and survivable.

After much work, the first node went live at UCLA on october 29, 1969, on what would be called the ARPANET, one of the "eve" networks of today's internet.

insert: J. C. R. Licklider. USSR's Sputnik. right: PDP - 1

going online today

the growth of the internet today has exploded into the latest craze. it is the newest wave of communication through electronic mail, file transfer, telnet access, transaction applications, and much much more. the popularity of the internet has launched many social and ethical issues. recently, the internet has been critizied for its uncensored information, but has been praised for its educational value. personally, i think is one of the best invention man has ever created. as mentioned before, it is a huge source of information. some, unfortunately, are bad but most are essential, which we can learn from. it is also used for convenience. shoppings can be done at home, socializing is extended even further from using a telephone, banking has been made easier online. almost everything can be done at a click of a mouse now. granted, being cooped up at home isn't a healthy thing to do but the internet has made the world smaller. but what about the future? can it be any better than what it is today?

the future

on january 2005, a survey was made, where technology experts and scholars evaluate the where the network is headed in the next 10 years. the survey finds there is a strong across-the-board consensus that the internet will become so important to users in the coming decade that the network itself will become an inviting target for attack. by a nearly 3-1 margin, the experts in the survey expressed worry about the vulnerability of the internet and the likelihood of an attack on the underlying infrastructure within the next ten years.
Some 66% agreed with the following prediction: At least one devastating attack will occur in the next 10 years on the networked information infrastructure or the country’s power grid. obviously, the attack would of viral nature. a very scary start to the survey, i think. but some interesting predictions from the report are as follows:

• 57% of them agreed that virtual classes will become more widespread in formal education and that students might at least occasionally be grouped with others who share their interests and skills, rather than by age.

• 59% of these experts agreed with a prediction that more government and business surveillance will occur as computing devices proliferate and become embedded in appliances, cars, phones, and even clothes.

• 56% of them agreed that as telecommuting and home-schooling expand, the boundary between work and leisure will diminish and family dynamics will change because of that.

• 50% of them believe that anonymous, free, music file-sharing on peer-to-peer networks will still be easy to perform a decade from now.

for the full report, click here.

okay! enough seriousness and let's move on to the top websites of today! (note: rankings change constantly. the following may not be what you've discovered a few hours from now.)

extra note: (scope measures the number of Internet users visiting a particular site. ex: example.com has a scope of 7% - meaning an average of 70,000 (per million) users visit this site.)

10. youtube.com - it's not surprising really. with millions of videos ranging from music videos and documentaries to just silly randomness uploaded by a bored teenager.
today's scope: 7.93%

9. aol.com - personally, i don't use this site. basically, it's america's msn/yahoo.
today's scope: 6.91%

8. ebay.com - who doesn't know ebay? a successful website that started the internet shopping craze. got something you don't need and want to sell it without opening a shop? ebay is the answer.
today's scope: 6.5%

7. websearch.com - a new find for me, really. can't decide whether to use google, msn or ask.com? this could be the one for you. it uses up to 15 of the most popular search engines at once! i might give it a try.
today's scope: 9.51%

6. facebook.com - yes, that's right people. your precious online profile site isn't the best. hah! (this is coming from a guy who's not sucked in like the rest of you.) but i might eat my words soon though.. in the last 3 months, the scope has risen by 2.12%.
today's scope: 11.34% (damn..)

5. live.com - another search engine made by microsoft. apparently a very popular one to use.
today's scope: 18.2%

4. google.com - again a search engine. you guys know what it is..
today's scope: 21.15%

3. msn.com - beginning to see a pattern here..
today's scope: 26.54%

2. yahoo.com - starting to lose interest? don't just yet! no. 1 is coming up!
today's scope: 33.1%

1. myspace.com - yup. the online profile that gave birth to friendster and facebook. the is site dedicated to share photos, journals and interests with growing network of mutual friends. mostly musicians in the beginning, it has now become the top website by internet users.
today's scope: 20.99%

want to know your personal favourite web site's ranking? click here and find out for yourself!

hope you enjoyed the read.