How the internet works

How does the internet work? Are there actually place on this earth that the labyrinth of cables and wireless signals do not reach? 

Let's take a look into how the internet works as we continue to be baffled by the list of  Countries that do not allow the internet.

The internet is made up of wireless connections, mobile devices and satellites. At the core of the internet however, are fiber optic cables that criss-cross across the vastness of oceans. Today they connect all continents apart from Antarctica and also include most island nations. Did you know that many developing countries for example Africa depend mostly on the mobile connections in order to access the internet. In further research we even found that satellites are in actuality the slowest means of accessing the internet. The satellite responsible for all the heavy lifting of the internet and all like processes is called the Iridium Satellite. This satellite coverage extends over the entire world which makes it a more viable choice when seeking to get connected even though it is not the most reliable in terms of speed. 

The Ob3 Network recently launched four satellites that orbit a lot closer to the earth thereby increasing the dependability of the satellite source for communication. For the ones still suffering from  lack there of of the internet our friends at Google (whom else) have launched a project called Loon that promises to rectify the internet free zones. .....ahh Google, back at it again with the world domination projects. (Gotta love it). 

But, in the rare occasion that the internet superhero' Google don't save the day, there are other technologies hat are seeking to make accessing the internet a lot easier for those without it that remain around the world. You can still escape the internet in under ground tunnels, in some trains, and subways and even caves. However, if there is even the slightest hint of a cell tower nearby this problem can easily be fixed. 

There are place in the world that truly avoid the internet such as India, and can you blame them for saying no and choosing to remain isolated from the web of the world. Maybe one day more communities might partake in the digital detox from the internet and other like systems, but until then, lets enjoy the surf!

Places in the world without the internet

According to the Washington Post, there are over 4.4 billion people around the world without the internet. We know! We couldn't believe the figures either. I mean with the internet dominating our lives and all, we couldn't image how people even function without it. 

Every aspect of our day to day lives involves the internet, we even carry it around in our pockets in the form of a phone. Sigh (sad truth). So who are these 4.4 billion people and where do they hail from. Let's have a look see shall we. 

1. Belarus
2. Burma
3. China
4. Cuba
5. Egypt
6. Iran
7. North Korea
8. Saudi Arabia
9. Syria
10. Tunisia
11. Turkmenistan
12. Uzbekistan
13. Vietnam

Now, we can all sit and speculate as to more than one reason why these non American regions of the world have opted for no participation if not very little in the saga, that is the internet (wink, wink). However, one has to wonder if this type of digital detox may be something that the world might need to partake in more often. After all the people in these countries especially China, do live a lot longer than the rest of the world. Hmmmm, I wonder if their internet lifestlye choices has anything to do with it? Check out our post on how the internet works and see how these countries are managing to evade the internet.

Why Google beat Yahoo in the war for the intenet

Google                                  Yahoo

Website:                        www.google.com                               www.yahoo.com

Founded:                      September 7th, 1998                       March 1st, 1995

Maps:                                Yes                                                          Yes

Book Search:                    Yes                                                           No

Search:                              Yes                                                          Yes

Mail:                                 Yes(15GB)                                              Yes(1 terabyte)

Slogan:                           "Don't be evil"                                 "Do you yahoo"

Purchase or Free:             Free                                                          Free

Registration:                 Optional                                               Not Required

Instant Messaging:           Yes                                                            Yes

Social Networks:              Yes                                                            Yes

Download:                        Yes                                                            Yes

Image Search:                   Yes                                                            Yes

Company Type:               Public                                                       Public

Search Engine Ranking:  No: 1                                                         No. 2

User generated video:       Yes                                                              Yes

Listed On:              August 19th, 2004                                         April 12th 1996

Profile:                              Yes                                                              Yes

Alexa Rank:                        1                                                                  4

Private Messages:             Yes                                                              Yes

Themes:                             No                                                              Yes

Games:                              No                                                               Yes          

Achievements

Google

• Release of Gmail, with 1 GB of free storage, on 1 April 2004.
• Launch of the social networking site, You Tube.
• For Google, one of the main achievements is its innovation and work culture. Google has been voted by the Fortune magazine as the No. 1
• company to work in. The corporate philosophy includes statements such as "Don't be evil" and "Work should be challenging and the challenge should be fun".
• In 2004, Google.org, a nonprofit philanthropic wing of Google, with a start-up fund of $1 billion was set up. The mission was to create awareness about climate change, global public health, and global poverty.

Yahoo

• Yahoo Mail Plus (this is a premium service) accounts with capacity of 2 GB. Later, in 2007, Yahoo took out the storage meters and made the storage limit unlimited. Yahoo has upgraded its mail service by providing various tools and add-ons, such as creating avatar, changing the color of mail window.
• Yahoo is regarded as the most visited websites on the internet by Web traffic analysis companies Comscore, Alexa Internet and Netcraft, with more than 130 million unique users. The global network of Yahoo! websites received 3.4 billion page views per day on average as of October 2007, making it one of the most visited U.S. websites.

So, as we can comfortably deduce by the above data, Google for all intents and purposes is winning the universal war over the most prevalent and in demand real estate in the world; the internet. But, did u know that there are still some places in the world without the internet. I know, I couldn't believe it when I saw it either. Check out our post Places in the world without the internet .