"The Internet will disappoint its wilder advocates".

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“The Internet will disappoint its wilder advocates”

INTRODUCTION

The internet brought huge expectations and radical ideas when it was introduced. In this report there are balanced arguments for and against the motion. Furthermore there are a range of different viewpoints, the users and the organization, which will identify different positive and negative angles to this debate. Finally a conclusion will address the different views and will finalize the perspective we choose to adopt.

The most useful definition we have come across for what we call the Internet is that it is a) “Worldwide metanetwork of connected computer networks and conferencing systems “ (Quarteman ,1990). If one were to suggest one single occurance which led to the creation of the internet, it would be the soviets unions launch of the Sputnik satellite in 1957 with the implementation the Advanced Research Project Agency Network (ARPAnet). The internet was then an experimental wide area network connected major host’s terminal servers. These were primarily universities and think tanks that were on contract to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agencies. (DARPA), the Civilian arm of the Department Of Defence in the USA. As the number of area networks became more pervasive, many sites (Hosts) became gateways to local networks and the internet began to grow into what it is today.

A connection to ARPAnet was not open to everyone and the costs to connect were considerable, thus other universities and Research Communities developed less costly alternatives such as the familiar BITNET (NETNORTH-EARN). Currently it is difficult, if not impossible to determine exactly how large the internet is, an article written buy John Quarterman in matrix news (feb, 1992 Volume 2) estimated the number of hosts on the internet at 727,000 with a range of 3, 635,000 to 7,270.000 users. This figure has doubled over the years and showing no signs of slowing down. It was originally designed as a way for military institutions to communicate, even in the event of nuclear attack. It “languished” for many years as a haven for academics and scientists and government agencies, educational and large corporate institutions. The internet has become a part of the business landscape just as pagers, mobile phones and fax machine, the internet has become a persuasive business communication tool. The internet has created the capability to interact with each other to gather relevant information, solve problems, anticipate data requirements, communicate effectively across distances, present information visually, and do all this automatically.

The advantages that the Internet offers are broken up into two parts firstly the advantages on the corporate world, which has already been covered.

The second part of the advantages are based on the perspective of the customers these are some of the advantages.

  • No Geographical barriers

This is an area that has benefited greatly from the introduction and steady increase of the Internet. Customers do not need to make journeys to stores that are located in areas of London that are not easily accessible examples of stores that are based in these areas are Furniture companies or designer discount stores which are usually based in more rural areas of London.

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But increasingly more stores are turning to the Internet to trade, breaking a lot of the geographical barriers that may exist. This not only applies to companies in the U.K but to overseas companies such as Amazon who have recently set up a U.K warehouse to deal with some of its distribution issues.

  • Provides another option for customers

 

Customers now have a second option apart from high street stores and catalogue shopping. There are more alternatives, so it is up to the individual to decide which form of purchasing they wish to use.

  • Convenient, quick and easy
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