V. Automation of Technological Processes

Автоматизация технологических процессов

 

Текст 1

The History of the Internet

 

The 1990s saw great changes in the way people communicate. People could send mail without going to the post office, and go shopping without leaving home. Words like e-mail and download became part of people's vocabulary. The cause of this great change was the Internet.

The idea for the Internet began in the early 1960s in the United States. The Department of Defense wanted to connect their computers together in order to share private information. In 1969, the Arpanet (an early form of the Internet) first connected computers at four American universities. One computer successfully sent information to another. In 1972, scientists shared Arpanet with the world.

They created a way to send person-to-person messages using Arpanet. This was the beginning of e-mail.

Over the next few years, there was a lot of progress made in the world of computing, but most people were not using the Internet. Then, in the 1980s, personal computers became more common. In the early 1990s, two important things happened: the birth of the World Wide Web in 1991, and the creation of the first Web browser in 1993. The Web made it easier to find information on the Internet, and to move from place to place using links. The Web and browser made it possible to see information as a web site with pictures, sound, and words.

Today, millions of people connect to the Internet to send e-mail, visit web sites, or store information on servers. Computers are now an important part of our lives and are changing how we learn, work, shop, and communicate.

 

1. What was the great change in people’s life?

2. How and where did the idea for the Internet begin?

3. What was an early form of the Internet?

4. What was the beginning of e-mail?

5. When was the birth of the World Wide Web?

6. How do millions of people use the Internet today?

7. How are computers changing our lives?

Текст 2

The Internet

 

The Internet, a global computer network which embraces millions of users all over the world, began in the United States in 1969 as a military experiment. It was designed to survive a nuclear war. Information sent over the Internet takes the shortest path available from one computer to another. Because of this, any two computers on the Internet will be able to stay in touch with each other as long as there is a single route between them. This technology is called packet switching. Owing to this technology, if some computers on the network are knocked out (by a nuclear explosion, for example), information will just route around them.

The most popular Internet service is e-mail. Most of the people, who have access to the Internet, use the network only for sending and receiving e-mail messages.

In many developing countries the Internet may provide businessmen with a reliable alternative to the expensive and unreliable telecommunication systems of these countries. However there are still both commercial and technical problems which will take time to be resolved.

The most important is security. When you send an e-mail message to somebody, this message can travel through many different networks and computers. The data is constantly being directed towards its destination by special computers called routers. Because of this, it is possible to get into any of computers along the route, intercept and even change the data being sent over the Internet.

 

1. What is the Internet?

2. Where and when did the Internet begin?

3. What is called packet switching?

4. What is the most popular Internet service?

5. What is the most important problem with Internet?

6. Why is it possible to change the data being sent over the Internet?

7. How can you get into any of computers and change the data?

 

Текст 3

Going Online

 

All over the world, people are gaining access to the Internet. More and more people are using computers to go online. This change has happened quickly. For example, in 1997, there were fewer than eight million Internet users in Japan. Just five years later, there were almost 65 million. During that same period, Internet use around the world grew by 600%. The Internet is affecting many lives, and it is changing how we communicate. But are these changes good or bad?

The Internet can be a great tool for communication. Everyone agrees on that. People can use e-mail to keep in touch with family and friends whether they are far away or just across town. Sending an e-mail message is quick, easy, and cheap. People can also use the Internet to find new friends. Do you want to talk about politics or sports or how to find true love? Go online! You will find people who share your interests. Maybe you will make friends in distant places and learn about other cultures. In many ways, the Internet can bring people together.

However, some people say that the Internet has the opposite effect. They claim that it is leading to less communication, not more. These people believe that time online means time alone. "The Internet is taking people away from their families and friends," they say. "It draws people away from their communities, and that is not good."

So, what is actually happening? Researchers are trying to find out. They are studying the effects of the Internet on our lives. They are looking at the behaviour of people who use it and people who do not. At this point, there are two basic ideas about what is happening.

Some researchers who have done studies in the United States have bad news for people who often go online. They report that people who use the Internet on a regular basis are more often lonely and unhappy. They say that these people are spending time at their computers instead of with other people, so they have less active social lives.

Other researchers disagree. They describe other studies from the United States and some from England. These show that people who often go online make more connections with other people because they use the Internet to communicate. And here is a surprise. According to these studies, frequent Internet users get in touch more not just online but by phone and in person, too. They have busier social lives, and they are usually happier. They also watch less TV.

Does going online affect everyone in the same way? Perhaps not. Perhaps the effects of Internet use depend on a person's character. Psychologist Robert Kraut thinks this is so. According to Kraut, the Internet allows social people to become even, more social. It lets them get in touch with friends more easily, and they go out more often. And people who are not social? They may use the Internet to avoid others. They may like going online so that they don't have to talk to anyone. However, this does not mean that the Internet is unhealthy for shy people. In fact, the Internet can help shy people make friends. Researchers find that shy people frequently communicate more easily online than face^-to-face.

The Internet is changing how we communicate. Maybe you can see its effects on your own life. It is less easy to see larger changes in our communities or around the entire world, but changes are happening. It is something to think about.

1. Why do people use e-mail?

2. How does the Internet bring people together?

3. What the opposite effect does the Internet have?

4. Does going online affect everyone in the same way?

5. Why do shy people frequently communicate more easily online than face^-to- face?

6. How does the Internet influence your own life?

7. How do you prefer to get in touch with your friends just going online, by phone or in person?