In 1958 a gallon of gas cost 25 cents Elvis Presley crooned to his fans That’s when the fi rst concept of the Internet began President Dwight D Eisenhower took the fi rst step He started the Advanced Research Projects Agency or ARPA Its plan was to focus on technology Computers were a big part of its mission Back then a computer could fi ll a whole room It might cost a million dollars Many users shared each one ARPA scientists had to work together In 1969 they took a big leap They linked four computers at four universities They called the network ARPANET or DARPANET for Defense ARPANET users could search one computer with another one They could copy fi les They could send data The network grew in the 1970s Soon other networks popped up They linked together too This inter-networking became the Internet 5
The Internet spread around the world As it grew it improved Networks sped up Computers worked faster Computer companies created and sold smaller models Over time computers were bought for both business and personal use Many early Internet users were scientists Some were students Others worked for the government They all needed a simple system to find their way online In 1991 they got one the World Wide Web It used hypertext links to connect web sites And it was free By then the Internet linked nearly a million computers Most early Internet users were scientists sharing data 6
Navigating the Web Soon web sites included more than text They also used graphics video and sound Browsers gave users a way to explore the Internet Search engines helped them fi nd what they were looking for Modern browsers include these and other features main window to view web sites buttons to move back and forth between sites address bar search bar and status bar bookmarks and browsing history HTML source code view add-on programs for news shopping blogging and more 7
