Tutorial 2: Basic Communication on the Internet: Email

Email: Electronic Mail

Email is a form of communication where electronic messages are composed and transferred across a network.

Emails are sent and received using protocols or rules.

• SMTP: Sending protocol, determines the path an email takes to reach the intended mailbox.
• POP: Receiving protocol, handles incoming mail.
• IMAP: Receiving protocol, retrieved messages from a remote server or large local network.

To route an email message to an individual, you must identify that person by the user name and the name of the mail server that manages email sent to the domain: This is known as an email address: user@domain.com

Most email programs have tutorials that explain how to use their interface.

Gmail Beginner's Tutorial: 

Common Email Program Features  

To, Cc, and Bcc
From
Subject
Attachments
Message Body
Signature

 Netiquette

1. Avoid writing messages in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE YELLING, unless you want to be yelling... 
2. Keep your messages simple, short, and focused 
3. Always include a descriptive subject line and a signature 
4. Don’t assume that everyone you know likes to receive jokes or family pictures. Check with the recipients first. 
5. Use caution when attempting sarcasm or humor in your message
6. Use a spell checker, read your message, and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before sending it.
7. Use common courtesy, politeness, and respect in all of your written correspondence.
8. Don’t overuse graphics and formatting. 
   

 Email Programs

Free

Opera Mail
Outlook Ex.
 Zimbra 

 

Cost

Microsoft Outlook
IBM Lotus Notes  

 

Common Features

Filters for Spam

Forwarding

Quoted message

Reply

Threads

The Internet and the World Wide Web

Network Connections

Server: A computer that accepts requests from other computers connected to it and shares some or all of its resources.

Client: Other computers connected to the server.

• The network operating system is the software that is run on the server.
• "Client/server networks commonly are used to connect device in a local area network (LAN): Devices are located in close proximity."

Ways to Connect: Wired v. Wireless

Wired: 

Twisted-pair cable is oldest type of cable comes with heavy electrical interference: A small flow of unwanted electricity in nearby objects, including other wires, created when a wire carries an electric current and generates an electromagnetic field around itself.

Category 1 cable: the type of twisted-pair cable that telephone companies have used for years to transmit voice signals. It is not a current cable standard.

Coaxial cable: 20 times faster than Category 1 cable, but much more expensive.

Category 5 cable: Carries signals between 10 and 100 times faster than coaxial cable and it's easy to install.

Category 5e cable, Cat6, and CAT 7: Is constructed of higher quality materials than the Category 5 cable.

Fiber-optic cable: Is most expensive type of cable; transmits pulsing beams of light through very thin strands of glass. It has the fastest transmission rate and doesn't use electricity.

Wireless:

• Is becoming more common as costs continue to drop. 
• Welcome in organizations that occupy old buildings. 
• Popular with companies whose employees use laptop computers. 
• Used by schools in classrooms, libraries, and study lounges. 
• Used in homes. 

Web Addresses

A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is a four-part address that tells the Web browser:  

•  The transfer protocol to use when transporting the file.
• The domain name of the computer on which the file resides.
• The pathname of the folder or directory on which the file resides.
• The name of the file.

Inventing the Internet

1960s: ARPANET was created by  the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency as a research  project for national defense. 

1969: DARPA researchers connected first computer switches. Grew to 20 in three years.

1970: Cerf and Kahn develop a new set of protocols. IP and TCP become standards.

1974: The term "Internet" is coined by Cerf and Kahn.