Before the internet was available everywhere, and before almost everyone had a phone in their homes, whenever people needed to contact someone else, they would have to write a letter and send it in the mail to the person they needed to communicate with. Not only was snail mail slow, but it wasn’t very reliable.

After phones were available, sending a letter was no longer the easiest way to communicate with others. By simply dialing a number, people could contact their friends and family. However, phones were not always reliable either. Some people didn’t have access to a phone while others chose not to have one. Once the Internet was accessible, social networking became the easiest and most reliable way to communicate with others.

Social networking happens when people gather into groups online with others who share common interests or friends. Although social networking is possible in person at school or at work, it is most commonly done online. Social networking sites allow people to contact others even when they live on the other side of the world. Social networking sites make communication faster and easier.

Over time, communicating with others has become faster, easier, and more dependable. With the creation of the Internet and other advances in technology, contacting people, even if they live far away, is not a hassle and can be done by almost everyone.

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Netscape was an internet company as well as a popular web browser in the late 1990s and early 2000s. After enjoying popularity as the most used internet browser on personal computers, it lost out to Microsoft’s internet explorer. By the end of 2006 less than 1% of people were using the Netscape internet browser.

Along with their internet browser, the folks at Netscape Communications developed the Secure Sockets Layer Protocol (SSSL) and JavaScript; one of the most widely used programming languages still to this day. So although the web browser is virtually extinct, a lot of the technological backbone still exists today.

In 1998, Netscape communications was acquired by America On Line (AOL). Instead of a monetary amount, a 4.2 billion dollar stock swap occurred. This made it a tax free deal. Unfortunately the subsequent releases of unstable version of Netscape explorer by AOL further drove users away and into the arms of Microsoft internet explorer.

In May 2003, after Microsoft was found guilty of monopolizing the market, AOL was awarded $750 million. They were also given the right to distribute Microsoft internet explorer for free to all its users for seven years. This part of the deal meant the demise of Netscape explorer. Netscape was officially disbanded in July 2003.

In 2004 Red Hat announced the acquisition of a large amount of the Netscape Suite. The company announced its plans to release the browsers code as an open source. A final version of the Netscape browser was released in 2008 however at it only occupied 0.6% of the user market. No further versions are expected to be released.

Video chatting is fun and this Android based phone puts all the power into the user’s hands. A high definition camera captures the user’s face and movements while simultaneously transmitting conversations. The phone is so much more. Users appreciate the high definition screen which really brings their conversations to life. Bright screen colors and power-saving technology make using the phone for video chatting simple and beautiful.

Using the Galaxy S for video chatting is simple as well. The user-friendly menus, touch screen capabilities, and access to a full QWERTY keyboard make logging in easy. Starting the conversation via text is simple with the patented Swype technology. The camera is powerful enough to share surroundings or other props with those viewing your chat session.

At the end of the day, video chatting is fun simply because you can see the faces of those you are talking to. A parent on a business trip can easily check in with the kids. Businesspeople can share the latest information with their partners. The sky is the limit with this super powerful, super easy to use, fun video chat smartphone.

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With all of the mobile and wireless technology today, it is easy for someone on the go to remain connected to the internet. They do this via a network of access areas called ‘hot spots’.

A location which is enabled for wireless internet use has been connected into a local area network of many different internet connection points. This is done through the use of a router and an internet service provider with the use of Wi-Fi technology.

A Wi-Fi hotspot can cover very small areas of just a few meters, to very large areas, like a public park or an airport. Because of the frequency in hot spot locations, businesses can cater the area that is to be covered with Wi-Fi to meet their needs and budget.

Hot spots can be found in many places, including:

• Cafes and restaurants
• Public areas, such as a food courts and parks
• Train stations, bus stations and any other form of public transport
• Airport terminals
• Hotels and resorts (most have it included in the room costs)
• Hospital cafeterias and waiting areas
• Libraries, schools and colleges
• Supermarkets, shopping malls and any other sort of open market place
• RV parks and camping grounds

As you can see, there are many options for utilizing the service if you travel regularly. Or need to conduct business meeting in public places, such as a business lunch. An added bonus is that many places are now offering free Wi-Fi as a gimmick to pull in more business.

Wi-Fi and hotspots have certainly made surfing the web even more accessible for those constantly on the go.

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Before Facebook took over the world of social networking, MySpace was all the rage with those wanting to connect with friends, family and even strangers across the World Wide Web. Through 2006, 2007, and 2008 it enjoyed success as the most popular social networking site on the internet. It was then superseded by its fiercely competitive rival Facebook.

MySpace began as a place for artists, such as musicians and actors to have a space to promote themselves and their work. The first version was launched in 2003 with the project overseen by Brad Greenspan, Chris DeWolfe, Josh Berman, and Tom Anderson. Tom Anderson has widely been attributed with the creation of MySpace and indeed is a very prominent user on the site; however this has encountered much debate over the years. Upon signing up for an account, Tom is the new member’s first friend.

In recent years, although MySpace remains popular, its traffic has suffered a decline. Many believe that the continued falling in membership numbers was attributed to the sites heavy focus as a portal for music and entertainment. This stood in stark contrast to it competitor sites who focused primarily on providing users with a very interactive social networking experience. The platform of music and entertainment only peaks the interest of so many people, whereas socializing involves almost everyone.

In early 2011, MySpace was announced as being up for sale. Its loss of membership and revenue from advertisers rendered the site a burden rather than a viable social networking option. With a hefty price tag of around $100 million it will be interesting to see who buys it.

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Unlike most other great inventions of our time, there is not one person in particular that invented the internet. Instead, the internet was invented slowly over two decades by a group of American government researchers and scientists. These scientists and researchers formed the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). This agency then went on to be known as ARPANET, which is where the world internet is derived from.

Although there were similar research groups formed around the time of ARPANET. The researchers and scientists of ARPA led the way in developing protocols for internetworking. This refers to a series of separate networks being joined together to form a network of networks. It is this protocol that the internet is based upon.

The new concept of packet switching formed the core of the ARPA network. This was a way in which more than one machine could communicate with one another by collecting data into things called datagrams. These datagrams were transmitted as packets onto a network link and then routed to its destination. The innovative factor of packet sharing was that networks link could be shared amongst data packets, thus enabling the transfer of many different datagrams at one time. This enabled the birth of the internet.

This concept of packet switching, so new and innovative half a century ago, is now the basis for nearly all worldwide data communications. The work of ARPA and its associated governmental departments has enabled the world with a method of communication that, at the time of its conception, had only been written about in science fiction books and comics. What once was fiction is now reality.

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It’s happened again. You go to use your mobile phone to make an important call… and it’s dead, even though you just charged it last night. Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could make your phone’s batter life last longer? Just like the internet has evolved over the years, cell phone batteries have evolved just as much – and so have our ways of prolonging our battery life. Here are some tips and tricks you can employ to make your cell phone battery last longer.

1. Charge your phone completely before you use it.
   If you’ve just received your smartphone or prepaid cell phone, you may be tempted to use it right away. Do yourself a favor and let your phone’s first charge be a complete one. Doing so will extend your battery life in the future.
2. Take your phone off the charger when it’s finished charging.
   You may not see the harm in letting your phone remain on the charger – after all, it’s less time using the battery, right? However, leaving your phone on the charger heats the battery unnecessarily and decreases the battery’s overall life.
3. Keep your extra batteries in the freezer at a 40% charge.
   The colder a battery, the better its life, so keep your extra batteries somewhere cold. Battery University recommends that your extra batteries be stored after being charged about 40%.

These tips should help you prolong your overall battery life. For short-term tips, make sure your Bluetooth connections are switched off and turn off your backlighting. Use the lowest volume ringtone possible. Any of these tips should all give you significantly increased battery life.

Using the Web through Your Android

Tablets now make using the Internet even more an automatic habit. The portability of the handheld devices make it easy to check the weather, browse Facebook, send an email, pay a bill, or a host of other tasks while still sitting in bed or while waiting for some actual face-to-face contact with someone.

Androids Access the Cloud

Amazon has an amazing system of storage that is used by the individual and huge businesses alike. You pay for the space you use and can store large amounts of data and information. The Android Tablets are some of the only handheld devices which can access this system. The apps (applications) for being able to use this are available for your tablet. Apple seems to be trying to catch up by what is called iCloud but it is doubtful that it will compare well since the tablets from Apple, as of yet, don’t compare with the Androids.

New Androids to Access the Clouds

Soon there will be new generation of Androids with more power and more internal storage space than currently available. This isn’t good news to iPad fans, but it will cause others to pick up the pace a bit.