The Internet is the ultimate amalgamation of the Information Age and the C- munication Age. It is a technology that took 40 years to become an overnight sensation, moving from the province of computer geeks to household utility in short order, once it was discovered. We have gone from thinking a URL was a form of alien presence to viewing it as a natural footnote to bus advertising. Like the Internet itself, interest in computing, both local and distant, has grown exponentially. Now grandmothers send e-mails to their stockbrokers, meals are planned and the groceries purchased across the Web, and music videos can be previewed or concert tickets purchased—all with the help of the Internet. When our children come home from school, they are as likely to sign on to the Int- net as they are to turn on the television. The Internet is a universal commodity, for those with access.
