Please read the information below and print out your worksheet. It will be due tommorrow.

 IS CYBERSPACE REAL?

Where do you go when you visit a chat room? Where do you go when you visit a Web site? You are in "CyberSpace", not actually a real place to go to, but in reality means 'computer space". It is where people communicate and exchange information through computers connected to the Internet.

ORIGINS OF THE INTERNET

The first recorded description of the social discussions that could be enabled through networking was a series of memos written by J.C.R. Licklider of MIT in August 1962 discussing his "Galactic Network" concept. He envisioned a globally interconnected set of computers through which everyone could quickly access data and programs from any site. In spirit, the concept was very much like the Internet of today.

According to the website, "The Power of Many"; the worlds population is at 6.45 billion. The site estimates that approximately 729 Million, or about 10% of all people in the world currently use the Internet or have access on a semi regular basis to the Internet.

ARE THERE BARRIERS IN CYBERSPACE?

The flow of digital data through the network of interconnected computers that is both not 'real' since one could not spatially locate it or feel it as a tangible object and clearly 'real' in its effects are what represent cyberspace. In essence, there are no boundaries.

Website locations. While individual servers host websites, in reality websites don't actually exist in anyone place. Think about it: Can you pull up this website here and at home? Of course you can. So do various websites have barriers?

Language barriers in cyberspace. As the world is limitless, so are the barriers you will find through language in cyberspace. A student in France will make a website in the French language. Tommorrow, you could make one in Spanish. Does this mean that there are barriers in cyberspace? Only if you do not know the language the site is in.

Translation sites, however can fix this problem. Go to www.phs-il.org. On the right hand side of the screen is a "Literal Translation" button. Change it to a language of your choice. What barriers are there now?

Wealth however can cause barriers in cyberspace. The United States is one of the leading industrialized nations in the world. This means that we have a higher level of income per family than many other countries do. This then gives us more potential to possibly own a computer or have access to one. We could say that people in the U.S. have a lower barriers to computers and the Internet than in other 3rd world countries, where incomes are a lot lower.

How is cyberspace information transferred?  In some cases it is through phone lines. In some cases it is through satellites flying in space. Does this cause barriers?

World's 30Most Populous Countries: 2007

WHAT KIND OF ACCESS TO THE INTERNET TO PEOPLE IN EACH OF THESE COUNTRIES HAVE???

ASSIGNMENT:

Print the worksheet below and complete it. It will be due tommorrow.

CYBERSPACE AND THE INTERNET