What is an ISP, and How Do I Connect to the Internet?

What is an ISP? If you have ever wondered how your computer actually links up to the internet, here's how.

An Internet service provider (ISP, also called Internet access provider or IAP) is a company which primarily offers their customers access to the Internet using dial-up or other means of data telecommunication. Sometimes ISP's may offer email accounts to the end user as well. Nowadays we laugh at even the mention of dial-up service. It is so old and archaic that normal dial-up speeds can't even handle the size of most common websites built in the last several years. You may recall that old modem of yours making the loud phone beeps and chirps as you connected to your Prodigy account back in the mid 90's. That's what dial up is: a slow, mundane, noisy connection to the internet through your phone line. Everyone blew a fuse, lost some hair, and even grew a few gray ones while trying to download images or surf the net, only to be cut off because a sibling or child of yours picked up the phone to call Jimmy and see if he could play basketball. Oh great, not again! You mean I have to dial up and redo what I just spent a half hour downloading? Good grief, there has to be a better way. Well, thank goodness for technology and all of it's ever increasing speed and ease.

There are a few larger ISP's around that offer Cable and DSL internet service. Cable is faster, usually around 3 mega bits per second (Mbps) and can be upgraded to 20 Mbps for a fee. DSL services can speed you along your surfing way at about 300 kilobytes per second (kbps), and can vary from 128k up to 3 Mbps. DSL technology and software has improved over time, so if you are getting DSL, be sure to ask your ISP what speed they offer. All computers nowadays are equipped with ethernet cards that can then connect to your cable modem, and then to the internet. Remember, everything you view goes through your Internet Service Provider to your computer. Email also goes through your ISP before it reaches you. ISP's are your gateway to the limitless possibilities of the world. Another great thing about Cable and DSL connections is that they are always on.

You never need to sign in and dial up. If your computer is on, your internet is on. Well, why is knowing how fast an internet connection is so important? When it comes to designing and developing websites, such as the ones built by Rocket Media (click here to view examples from our portfolio), we want to know if our finished product will load fast enough. This is crucial in the web world, since you only have 5 seconds or less to gain somebody's attention. If they are spending that whole time waiting for your page to load, they may already be thinking about trying another option and pass you by.

During the design and coding process of building a website, it is important to keep the file size down. Adding images to your site can improve the overall appearance and visual quality of your presentation. But, images are usually large in file size to begin with, so we optimize them for the web, taking up the least amount of space possible. This enables your page to load faster when viewed. Other factors come into play when loading a web page, such as how much code your internet browser has to read before displaying the actual page. Viewing videos on popular sites sometimes require a certain amount of buffer time before you are able to actually see the video. Videos are usually the largest files contained on a website, and are fast becoming the most popular pages to view on the web. We watch sports highlights, news stories, funny videos and more. Our appetite for more video driven content has been increasing rapidly for years. New, cool looking video players are always popping up. If you think back 10 years, we had nothing like we do now on the internet. Why, you ask? Because the internet service providers, our computers, and our browsers couldn't handle the sheer volume of data that has to be shared to display a video.

Now we can thank our current ISP's for providing us with the bandwidth and speed to have a more enjoyable surfing experience. When I started using the internet in the early 90's, it was pretty boring and slow. I am on the internet more during the day than when I sleep. Most of that is because of my job, but I love getting on a computer and googling something I wanted to know about. I enjoy watching my favorite sports teams and reading up on the game recaps. An entertaining video on YouTube now and then is great, too. This is all possible thanks to my ISP at work and at home, who give me the connection I need to accomplish my work, and to have a little recreation now and then as well. If our internet service was any slower we would get bored and have to spend our time doing something else, like reading a book, or playing basketball...