Satellite TV Alternatives

For seven days this month, my Internet connection ceased to be; apparently (according to the engineer) because the cable-modem box thingy gave up the ghost. Seven whole days with no link to the outside world, except for the telephone of course, which isn’t quite the same is it? Now normally a very short period without Internet access would not cause too much of a problem; fortunately I can complete most of my work off-line so I saw this as only a minor inconvenience.

However, the big shock to my system came with the realisation that for a period of time during those days I was extremely bored. It was fine while I was working, but afterwards without the Internet to distract me, I had nothing to do for the remainder of any working day. The evenings were fine because I have a very active social life, so no problem, but it did get me thinking about how the absence of the Internet might affect the majority of us in one way or another.

Since the ‘arrival’ of the phenomenon that is known as the Internet, we have become obsessed to some extent with the speed in which it lets us live our lives. We rarely expect to get letters from friends, family or businesses – email is there, ready, waiting and fast. We can visit just about any virtual shop in the world, buy more than we could physically carry and arrange to have it delivered, and all this can be done in just an hour of surfing without even getting out of a chair.

I began to wonder about the vast number of companies whose day-to-day business is conducted online, and what would happen if for some reason the whole Internet suddenly ceased to work. The effects would be extremely far-reaching, for example; a substantial amount of daily business communication is conducted via email, the loss of which would severely disrupt and significantly slow down the companies who rely totally on this media to send and receive information where speed is of the essence. Other parties to be considered are the private individuals whose emails possibly compare or even exceed in numbers that of corporate traffic, and business websites; without these virtual showrooms to look at, a customer would have to revert back to the old way of doing things and visit a real one – very hard on the feet!

We are all aware that the rapid advances made in Internet technology over recent years have been nothing short of astonishing. From mobile phones and their ability to send messages and photo images, as well as being able to access the Internet, to email and its almost instant delivery capability. Both have transformed information exchange and communication beyond our wildest dreams, whilst simultaneously creating a mindset that has us expecting immediate answers to any questions we care to ask. It’s up to each individual to decide for themselves whether or not the Internet is for the better. I am sure there are a vast number of people in the world that prefer life the way it used to be, and their opinions must be respected.

However, to be off-line felt like some sort of isolation even though it was only temporary. It’s not something I would want to happen on a regular basis, and whilst I am sure that although we would undoubtedly cope without the Internet if we had to, the question is – would we want to?

Sure, the simplicity and speed of email would be sorely missed; the comparative ease of online shopping; the click of a mouse to pay the bills; the creature comforts that the Internet provides and what we have quickly grown to accept and expect, would eventually be forgotten or committed to a nostalgic memory, but I sincerely doubt it would be an easy transition.

We are all increasingly reliant on the Internet to make life run a bit smoother – and for me, seven days without it was more than enough to prove that.

The internet or the World Wide Web has become the world’s first information source, but do you know its story?

The creation

The idea was devised by the Department of Defense (DOD) in the US. Initially it was created so that officials would have a way of communication, in case of being hit by a nuclear bomb. The internet was supposed to survive the attack, as it consists of a network of interconnected computers. The idea was that as long as the computers exist, the connections should exist. It was called APRANET when it first started in 1969. Slowly, the network started to develop and grow with the number of users, so that it reached 550 users in 1981 and 940 users in 1984. From then on, people started to run wild with ideas of how it should be used and how to develop it.

Its mechanism

As mentioned before, the internet is an interconnected network of computers that exchange data. The data exchange is done through packet switching using Internet Protocol (IP). There are many ways to use the packet switching, but the most popular is TCP/IP and UDP. This stands for Transmission Control Protocol and User Datagram Protocol. UDP is a lousy protocol, meaning that packets which are lost aren’t resent. On the other hand, the TCP resends its lost packets, making it more reliable, but slower than UDP.

Messaging through the net

Emailing has become a staple of the worlds of business, education and more. An email can pass through and get stored in many networks and machines (on its way from the sender to the recipient); making it really fast and reliable. Yet this same feature makes it possible for hackers to tamper with it or alter it. Thus the internal email network is much more secure and heavily relied on, when it comes to pressing protection needs. The internal network is a much smaller and controlled internet.

The reality

Although we use the keywords internet and World Wide Web synonymously, each term is slightly different. The World Wide Web refers to a network of documents, such as images and files, which are usually connected through hyperlinks. The documents travel the internet using the HTTP or the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. Web browsers have to enable hyperlinks, so that users can swiftly move through the thousands of documents posted on the internet.

Have you heard of Hosted VoIP business phone systems? VoIP, or “voice over Internet protocol,” is at its essence the capability to communicate over Internet phone lines versus traditional phone lines. This means many advantages over traditional systems, especially when it comes to business; however, there are some disadvantages as well.

Pros

· Cost effective

Hosted VoIP office systems are very cost effective. This is especially true if your business makes a lot of international calls; with hosted VoIP business phone systems, you generally don’t pay anything other than your Internet access fee, which is usually a set fee every month. With traditional phone services, you pay by the minute, and this cost increases depending on the distance of the call. Hosted VoIP systems are also much more flexible and easier to set up and add to, meaning that they’re cheaper to maintain as well, another cost effective consideration.

· Wide variety of features at little to no extra cost

With traditional business systems, you have to pay for setup and for every phone line installed; you also have to pay extra for any features you use, and may have to pay extra for additional voicemail accounts, adding extra users, and so on. This is usually not true with hosted VoIP business phone systems. Additional calling features such as caller ID and call forwarding generally cost you extra, but this isn’t usually true with plans through hosted VoIP office phone systems.

Call forwarding may be especially useful if, for example, you spend a lot of time out of your office and will need to be able to access your office “on the road.” VoIP generally gives you the capability to stay connected no matter where you are, anywhere in the world.

· Flexibility and expandability — at little to no extra cost

With hosted VoIP systems, you can generally add users, extra voicemail boxes, etc., through an easy-to-use administration web interface; depending on your plan, you may not pay extra for these additions, and you can generally easily manage them yourself.

Cons

There are some cons to hosted VoIP office phone systems, as well, that you’ll need to keep in mind:

· Must have high-speed Internet access

If you don’t have high-speed Internet connectivity, you won’t be able to have one of the many available hosted VoIP business phone systems until your area has access to it. This is increasingly becoming a non-issue as more and more areas throughout the world “get connected,” but there still may be areas where you won’t be able to access high-speed Internet access.

· Sound quality may be lacking

Again, as technology catches up, poor sound quality is becoming less of an issue. However, in certain areas, hosted VoIP business phone systems can sometimes have very poor sound quality as compared to traditional landline phone systems.

· If electricity or Internet are out, you have no phone

Traditional landline phone systems that use phone lines are generally operational for calls on at least a basic level even if electricity goes out in the area; additionally, because they don’t depend on the Internet for connectivity, it doesn’t matter whether or not the Internet has gone out; you can still make calls. However, hosted VoIP office phone systems depend on electricity and Internet connectivity for operation. Lose these, and you’re out of luck until the Internet is back online and electricity is restored.

Overall, the pros offered by a hosted VoIP system far outweigh the cons, and help keep your business running efficiently.