The computer was once considered a device for accounting and number crunching. Then it evolved into a device for crunching all types of information, from words and numbers to graphics and sounds. Today and tomorrow, the computer is above all a communications device; its primary use is the transmission of information between people. The Internet is the largest and most important network today that provides this service, that is, the transmission of information between people.

Back in the old days the main form of communication would be through mail. You would send a letter, address it, put a stamp and mail it. It would take days, or weeks, especially if it was international, for the letter to arrive. Of course they improved the mailing system a great deal, by making regular mail work more efficiently. Also, with the introduction of the express mailing systems such as Federal Express, UPS and DHL. However these express services are a lot more costly. They introduced the telephone, which gets people talking all around the world, and of course was a wonderful invention. However long distance calls were still very expensive and not everyone could afford this privilege. For those with family and friends abroad, there was a major gap in the relationship.

The invention of the fax machine introduced a cheaper and faster method of communication. The fax machine transfers documents and letters through a regular line, so to get a message across you just pay the time that it takes for the message to be faxed from one machine to the other. Usually for one page this is about half a minute. However, for a larger amount of pages it's not so useful, and for transferring a lot of information it is not so efficient.

With the introduction of the Internet everything changed. One of the most common uses of the Internet is the e-mail. Through the e-mail we can send messages to other people all over the world in seconds, and in the worst case in minutes. The cost is very low because you usually just pay for an access to the Internet and then you can send as many e-mail messages as you want. The recipient gets the message when he checks his electronic mailbox. He can work on a project such as a document, a business plan, a database file, etc. and send the information to his friend on the other side of the world by attaching the file to an e-mail message. One can also send an email to multiple recipients, without having to write the message again for each person. Through e-mail we can receive news, reports, customer and/or technical support with greater speed than it was previously thought possible. It's faster and does not waste a great deal of the customer's and the service provider's resources. The e-mail service has definitely changed our lives.

The Internet also has more services that have improved communication between people; however, e-mail is the most widely used. Personally, due to the fact that I study in Israel and my family is in Brazil, e-mail is my main form of communication with my home. It's also important to mention that software companies have developed programs such as Internet Phone from Vocaltec and NetMeeting from Microsoft, that provides us with the ability to have a regular phone conversation through the Internet. One can speak to another person on the other side of the world for a price of a local call. This helps many people to stay in touch when they would not have, if not for the Internet.

To conclude, the Internet has turned the world into a "Global Village", where geographic distance is no longer an issue.