What Internet is
The most important technological innovation of our generation, the Internet is actually a network of networks. Originally designed by the U.S. Department of Defense so that a communication signal could withstand nuclear war and serve military institutions worldwide, the Internet was first known as the ARPANet, the most robust communication technology. It is a system of linked computer networks, international in scope, that facilitates data transfer and communication services, such as remote login, file transfer (FTP), electronic mail (e-mail), newsgroups, and the World Wide Web. The Internet greatly extends the reach of each connected computer network (see: network effect, IP).
When you see "internet" written with a lowercase "i," it usually refers to a group of local area networks (LANs) that have been connected by means of a common communications protocol. Many internets exist besides the Internet, including many TCP/IP-based networks that are not linked to the Internet (the Defense Data Network is a case in point).
The meaning of Link
Text or images on a Web page that a user can click on in order to access or connect to another document. Links are most commonly thought of as the technology that connects two Web pages or Web sites. Once you click on a link, it could trigger a variety of events: It could "jump" to a different page or to another place on the same Web page; it could link to a file that will start downloading to your computer; it could trigger the launch of a helper application that will then process the clicked-on file, it could launch your e-mail program so you can send a message, and so on. What actually occurs when you click on a link is determined by the file's MIME type and the way your computer system is configured (or set up) to handle that MIME type. For example, browsers are configured to display all files that have HTML in their MIME extension. Links are also called hyperlinks, hypertext, and hot links, and they are coded in HTML by Web page authors or Web developers. The basic HTML code for using text to link to a Web site's homepage.
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