Business and Pleasure?
In today's fast-paced world, as you chase tomorrow, it's easy to forget the achievements of the past. No part of the world moves quite as fastor is as unforgivingas the Internet. Obsolescence is always just a technical innovation away! TCP/IP has soldiered on in this merciless environment for more than 20 years. During that time it has successfully kept up with technological change by constantly adding features and capabilities.Ironically, for all its successes, TCP/IP has remained just out of sight for most people. Most people don't even realize how dependent they have become upon it (or even when they are using it). That's a tribute to the seamless manner with which it supports the Internet and all its content and applications.TCP/IP supports you in ways you can't even imagine. TCP/IP, quite literally, supports any software that communicates across the Internet. More precisely, it supports any software that has the ability to communicate across the Internet regardless of whether it actually uses the Internet. That might sound like splitting hairs, but it is a distinction that needs to be made.TCP/IP might have been designed to support communications across the Internet, but it has far transcended that initially limited role. Today, TCP/IP has become the de facto standard communications protocol in networks around the world, regardless of whether those networks were designed to help you work or play.
At Play
Some of the things TCP/IP lets you do include literally anything that connect to the Internet. When you aimlessly surf the Internet looking for its end, you are using TCP/IP. It doesn't matter whether you're checking your auctions on eBay, searching for your own name, or checking real-time stock quotes: You are still using TCP/IP. When you download digital tunes for your iPod, guess what? You are using TCP/IP! Are you using an Internet phone? Those rely upon TCP/IP, too. Sending the latest joke via e-mail to your friends and family? E-mail uses TCP/IP, too! Defending the universe against an infinite hoard of malicious invaders? Online games use TCP/IP as well. The same goes for chat rooms, instant messaging, and webcams.
At Work
TCP/IP has a practical side, too. Chances are, when sending a print request to the local-area network (LAN) printer at work, you are using TCP/IP. When accessing your file server to compose your letter of resignation, well, you're still using TCP/IP. When checking the latest benefits e-mail from Human Resources, chances again are really good that you are using TCP/IP.