The internet is huge. Telling you everything about how the internet works would take an entire book, if not more than one. Since there is no one centralized authority that is responsible for managing the World Wide Web, in a sense inexplicable. However, the basic workings of the World Wide Web can be simple to explain. Anyone who owns their website should have an idea of how their site fits into the broader picture of the internet.

An apt analogy would be that of a forest. Think of each computer on the internet is like a shrub or a redwood and dont forget that some sites are noxious weeds No this analogy wont work so well, I will leave it there. Maybe this one will work better Picture the Internet as a postal system. Each home which receives mail or domain name has an address IP. People in these homes programs send and receive mail packets which contain information images, email, etc. which the residents then open. The internet works very much like this.

In the field of networking, these individual entities are known as nodes, each having a domain name and IP address. Paths connect these nodes together to form the internet which is the conglomeration of all of these pieces and the infrastructure which connects them; all of the nodes and all of the paths. Servers and clients PCs, latops and the like make up the parts of the internet which are most visible to those of us standing outside. These devices store and interpret the data which the internet conveys around the world. There are very important pieces of hardware and software which operate behind the scenes to make it all work together and be useful to us.

As I pointed earlier there is no centralized controlling authority over the internet, instead there is a sort of hierarchy which governs the internet. This is known as the domain system. Top level domains sometimes called TLD are the familiar website endings like .com, .org. .net and so on. These domains are kept track of by a fairly small number of systems which are controlled by a small number of non-profit organizations. Company networks and the like form the second level domains for instance, Microsoft.com.

Going further down this hierarchy we have wwwMicrosoft.com, which is a subdomain but is often termed and thought of as a host or domain of its own. A host is the name for one certain computer usually a server. The host name might be, but is usually not preceded by a www. The domain is the name sans the www. At the bottom of this hierarchy are individual hosts also servers that actually store information and process requests for it.

These hosts, together with network components like routers and the like make up a network. All of these networks together are collectively known as the internet. There are some other elements which are less obvious but no less important. When you click on a link also known as a URL or Uniform Resource Locator, your browser sends a request over the web for a connection and data. This request and the data which is returned are broken up into pieces called packets.

You may have noticed this at work before without realizing it. When a page loads slowly, almost as if it is being painted across your screen, this is due to the packets taking too long to arrive. When they take very long, a timeout occurs. These packets may be sent in any order and are reassembled once they reach your computer.

The reason that all of these packets find their way to their destination is because they are tied to an IP address which denoted the host the computer which holds or "hosts" the data. Since those numbers are hard for humans to remember, domain names are associated with these IP numbers to make matters easier for us.

About the Author

Discover and learn niche affiliate marketing tips to help you earn more from your affiliate marketing programs

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Celebrate New Year this year by sending friends and family free e-cards. Free e-cards are rapidly growing in popularity. The use of the Gregorian calendar, based on the Roman model, has made the celebration of New Years Eve on December 31st and New Years Day on January 1st official in the majority of the world.

New Years Eve is a time to bid farewell to worries of the past year and welcome the many preferably auspicious events of the future, while the observance of New Years Day marks the beginning of the year, and is both a secular and a religious holiday. It is a day of obligation in the Roman Catholic Church, and a day of worship in other denominations of Christianity.

New Years Eve gives people the chance to usher in the coming year in a boisterous manner, liveliness with drinking and merriment lasting long into the night.
In modern practice, New Years Day follows a night of celebration to welcome the New Year, and may be associated in the minds of many people with a late rise and pangs of regret at the extent of the previous nights merriment.

However, this day is also seen with a deep sense of renewal, a freshness of mind, and the start of searching for, and in many cases granting oneself absolution for the events of not only the night before, but the previous year in totality.

As a result, entire cultures are presented with a new level of resolution about the people we are and the condition of our lives, not to mention a great deal of excitement about the future.From noisemakers to fireworks, shouts of joy and uninhibited laughter, a very prominent New Years Eve custom is to make as much noise as possible.

Some say these traditions are the modern tools to fulfill a custom passed down from the Romans: attempting to frighten away the dying year to make way for the young, so-called Baby New YearIn many forms, an old, bearded man in a heavy coat is seen holding the hand of a fresh-faced infant on the covers of magazines, greeting cards, and other periodical publications.

Parties, in some cases casual, in others black-tie galas, are held to join friends and other loved ones together as the threshold of time is crossed into the New Year. Toasts are made to good health, luck, and continuing prosperity.Fireworks and other demonstrative events are held in cities, where crowds of people throng the streets to cheer and welcome the New Year.

January 1st is a day not only of acknowledging your ambitions, but also of taking a first step in the direction of fulfilling them. So whether you are trying to lose weight as so many of us are following the season, be kinder to your family members, or start your day earlier, New Years Day is the perfect occasion to begin those pursuits.

The problem usually lies in maintaining the resolve come January 2nd.In many countries, it is on New Years Day, not at Christmas, that gifts are exchanged and people gather with family and friends to eat and share each others company and stories.

Evergreens remain standing and decorated in homes around the world, often far outlasting the holiday season. Traditional foods, different in each part of the world, are eaten, many of them representing prosperity, wealth, and good luck for the coming year. In the United States, it is customary to begin carrying out ones resolutions, a list of goals and accomplishments to be strived for throughout the New Year.I send hundreds of free e-cards each year, you too could send e-cards right now also for free.

About the Author

Andrew Gibson is MD of Greeting-Cards.com. It has thousands of free ecards to choose from for birthdays and all occasions. Many people now send Free e-cards to celebrate New Years Day and select them from http://www.Greeting-Cards.com

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If you search online youll find hundreds of companies looking to get your opinion on everything from movies to beverages to fashion to sports and anything else you can think of. These companies are all willing to compensate you for your opinion with either cash or prizes of some kind. The reason they are willing to pay for your opinion is because they use that information to improve existing products, to develop new products and to launch marketing campaigns.

If youre a teen then you are especially wanted by these companies. Research companies are always looking for new members aged 13-25 because this group is known to have lots of disposable income and they can easily turn a new product into a must have fad.

Taking free online paid surveys can be a great way for teens to avoid having to get a "typical" summer job that will leave you overworked and underpaid. And the great thing is you can do this right from your own home and at any hour of the day or night. No time clock to punch and no need to travel.

There are already lots of people making money by taking paid surveys online, but not many know that teens can do this as well. There are many companies out there that will pay people as young as 13 for their opinions.

So, as long as youre over 13 you can register at these companies and start taking their surveys for cash. If youre wondering if this is legal and legitimate I can tell you that yes it is completely legit and legal. The market research companies are begging for people in your age bracket to register with them. They NEED your opinions for their customers, the large companies sponsoring these surveys. Youll be able to earn extra cash and you might even get samples of some of the products that you get to keep.

Heres why they need you. Imagine Pepsi is launching a new drink and theyre aiming to sell it to the 13-18 year old group of people. Would it be helpful to them to get the opinions of 1000 people aged 25-30 Of course not. What they need is the opinions of people aged 13-18 and thats where you come in.

There are some sites that dont accept teens, but they are in the minority. Most online paid survey sites are crying to get more teens on their panels. The sign up page on each site should tell you the age requirements.

Now, the big question; how much money can you make. Of course it varies from company to company and even per survey, but its not unusual to get short 15 minute surveys that will pay you 5-10 and you can even find some that will pay up to 75 Imagine doing a couple of those each week.

The best way to guarantee a steady stream of paid surveys is to register for as many companies as possible and make sure that you complete their profile questionnaire. If you do those two things you should have no problem picking and choosing which surveys you want to take to get paid.

If youre a teen looking for extra cash then you could do much much worse than getting paid for surveys. Anyway, the sites are free to join and the surveys are interesting and fun and they pay you cash.

About the Author

The author keeps a list of over 300free online paid survey companies including paid surveys just for teens.

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The head of a prominent cancer research institute issued an unprecedented warning to his faculty and staff Wednesday: Limit cell phone use because of the possible risk of cancer.

The warning from Dr. Ronald B. Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, is contrary to numerous studies that dont find a link between cancer and cell phone use, and a public lack of worry by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Herberman is basing his alarm on early unpublished data. He says it takes too long to get answers from science and he believes people should take action now especially when it comes to children.

"Really at the heart of my concern is that we shouldnt wait for a definitive study to come out, but err on the side of being safe rather than sorry later," Herberman said.

No other major academic cancer research institutions have sounded such an alarm about cell phone use. But Herbermans advice is sure to raise concern among many cell phone users and especially parents.

In the memo he sent to about 3,000 faculty and staff Wednesday, he says children should use cell phones only for emergencies because their brains are still developing.

Adults should keep the phone away from the head and use the speakerphone or a wireless headset, he says. He even warns against using cell phones in public places like a bus because it exposes others to the phones electromagnetic fields.

The issue that concerns some scientists though nowhere near a consensus is electromagnetic radiation, especially its possible effects on children. It is not a major topic in conferences of brain specialists.

A 2008 University of Utah analysis looked at nine studies including some Herberman cites with thousands of brain tumor patients and concludes "we found no overall increased risk of brain tumors among cellular phone users. The potential elevated risk of brain tumors after long-term cellular phone use awaits confirmation by future studies."

Studies last year in France and Norway concluded the same thing.

"If there is a risk from these products and at this point we do not know that there is it is probably very small," the Food and Drug Administration says on an agency Web site.

Still, Herberman cites a "growing body of literature linking long-term cell phone use to possible adverse health effects including cancer."

"Although the evidence is still controversial, I am convinced that there are sufficient data to warrant issuing an advisory to share some precautionary advice on cell phone use," he wrote in his memo.

A driving force behind the memo was Devra Lee Davis, the director of the universitys center for environmental oncology.

"The question is do you want to play Russian roulette with your brain," she said in an interview from her cell phone while using the hands-free speaker phone as recommended. "I dont know that cell phones are dangerous. But I dont know that they are safe."

Of concern are the still unknown effects of more than a decade of cell phone use, with some studies raising alarms, said Davis, a former health adviser in the Clinton Administration.

She said 20 different groups have endorsed the advice the Pittsburgh cancer institute gave, and authorities in England, France and India have cautioned childrens use of cell phones.

Herberman and Davis point to a massive ongoing research project known as Interphone, involving scientists in 13 nations, mostly in Europe. Results already published in peer-reviewed journals from this project arent so alarming, but Herberman is citing work not yet published.

The published research focuses on more than 5,000 cases of brain tumors. The National Research Council in the U.S., which isnt participating in the Interphone project, reported in January that the brain tumor research had "selection bias." That means it relied on people with cancer to remember how often they used cell phones. It is not considered the most accurate research approach.

The largest published study, which appeared in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 2006, tracked 420,000 Danish cell phone users, including thousands that had used the phones for more than 10 years. It found no increased risk of cancer among those using cell phones.

A French study based on Interphone research and published in 2007 concluded that regular cell phone users had "no significant increased risk" for three major types of nervous system tumors. It did note, however, that there was "the possibility of an increased risk among the heaviest users" for one type of brain tumor, but that needs to be verified in future research.

Earlier research also has found no connection.

Joshua E. Muscat of Penn State University, who has studied cancer and cell phones in other research projects partly funded by the cell phone industry, said there are at least a dozen studies that have found no cancer-cell phone link. He said a Swedish study cited by Herberman as support for his warning was biased and flawed.

"We certainly dont know of any mechanism by which radiofrequency exposure would cause a cancerous effect in cells. We just dont know this might possibly occur," Muscat said.

Cell phones emit radiofrequency energy, a type of radiation that is a form of electromagnetic radiation, according to the National Cancer Institute. Though studies are being done to see if there is a link between it and tumors of the brain and central nervous system, there is no definitive link between the two, the institute says on its Web site.

"By all means, if a person feels compelled that they should take precautions in reducing the amount of electromagnetic radio waves through their bodies, by all means they should do so," said Dan Catena, a spokesman for the American Cancer Society. "But at the same time, we have to remember theres no conclusive evidence that links cell phones to cancer, whether its brain tumors or other forms of cancer."

Joe Farren, a spokesman for the CTIA-The Wireless Association, a trade group for the wireless industry, said the group believes there is a risk of misinforming the public if science isnt used as the ultimate guide on the issue.

"When you look at the overwhelming majority of studies that have been peer reviewed and published in scientific journals around the world, youll find no relationship between wireless usage and adverse health affects," Farren said.

Frank Barnes, who chaired the January report from the National Research Council, said Wednesday that "the jury is out" on how hazardous long-term cell phone use might be.

Speaking from his cell phone, the professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder said he takes no special precautions in his own phone use. And he offered no specific advice to people worried about the matter.

Its up to each individual to decide what if anything to do. If people use a cell phone instead of having a land line, "that may very well be reasonable for them," he said.

Susan Juffe, a 58-year-old Pittsburgh special education teacher, heard about Herbermans cell phone advice on the radio earlier in the day.

"Now, Im worried. Its scary," she said.

She says shell think twice about allowing her 10-year-old daughter Jayne to use the cell phone.

"I dont want to get it brain cancer and I certainly dont want you to get it," she explained to her daughter.

Sara Loughran, a 24-year-old doctoral student at the University of Pittsburgh, sat in a bus stop Wednesday chatting on her cell phone with her mother. She also had heard the news earlier in the day, but was not as concerned.

"I think if they gave me specific numbers and specific information and it was scary enough, I would be concerned," Loughran said, planning to call her mother again in a matter of minutes. "Without specific numbers, its too vague to get me worked up."

About the Author

Educational Cell Phone Digital Book by Paul Fitzgerald, EMF expert, graduated from NJIT in Newark, NJ. He has been studying EMFs for over 15 years.. He has done over 100 radio shows in 2006 and released his book CellPhone Lies To learn more go to EMF Radiation News.

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Aware Entrepreneurs practice business in ways that contribute to renewal. This runs counter to a common workday experience that leaves individuals feeling drained and depleted.

Recently I compiled a list of five agreements for my team. These five guiding principles create a starting place for discussions about how we might view our work together. They help us to establish an environment where we regularly contribute to each others sense of well-being. They are an invitation to really listen to each other and to support each others experience of joy and happiness.

When we build our work environment and our teams on a primary understanding about the spiritual nature of human beings the atmosphere is decidedly different.

The Five Agreements include: Acceptance, Wonder, Appreciation, Responsibility and Expansion. They are based on two primary spiritual understandings. As you read imagine how your own workday might be different if these understandings were alive and consciously chosen by the people you work with.

Two Primary Understandings

First: We begin knowing that everyone is whole and complete and connected to an ever-flowing life-generating stream of energy. They may be unaware of this stream, they may have forgotten their connection to it, but nonetheless the same life force - carrying wisdom, creativity, joy, clarity, power and freedom - to name only a few qualities of spirit- flows through everyone.

Second: We understand that everyone is doing the very best they can to feel good, to be happy, and to meet their needs in the moment.

Now let us apply these understandings to the way we do work together. Imagine how your experience might be different if the people you worked with shared these five agreements

Five Agreements for Creating Fulfilling Lifestyles Together:

A. Acceptance

In knowing that everyone is doing the very best they can to meet their needs in the moment, we practice acceptance and release blame, shame, and guilt. Together we create a "no blame" work environment. When issues or problems come up we look to find ways to meet needs that work better for all and then create systems to support this.

W. Wonder

We are curious and creative together. We take time to wonder freely and openly about possibilities. We never know when new understandings and insights might lead to unexpected answers and unexplored opportunities. Wondering together allows us to be allies as we face the unknown.

A. Appreciation

We take time to celebrate and express our appreciations regularly. In my office we have created a Team Appreciations Book for recording regular appreciations.

R. Responsibility

We know that nobody makes anybody think or feel anything. We understand that we are each responsible for our own happiness. We commit to our own personal growth.

E. Expansion

We are not fixed, stopped or stuck. We enjoy learning and growing together. We practice source-connection by remembering, connecting with and expressing the qualities of our spirit. We remember who we really are - ever-expanding beings expressing through our physical form in all areas of life - at work, in love and at play.

I enjoy waking up in the morning excited to get to work. I enjoy knowing that the individuals who work with me feel exhilarated and happy to get to work also. I like knowing that, in our work together we each are actively contributing to the creation of fulfilling lifestyles for everyone involved. It is a most satisfying way to do business.

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