Applications

telnet
Web-enabled Applications

I have talked about different applications which can be used on the Internet, but most of these are applications which run (or run largely) on the user's computer. It is also possible to run applications which reside entirely on a server on the Internet.

telnet

One of the strengths of the Internet which became obvious early on is the nature of the connection between computers. Instead of dialling up a modem, making some transaction, and then hanging up again, most of the hosts on the Internet are permanently connected to one another. One of the things which this permits is for a user who is away from the computer where they normally keep their files and software can log on to that computer remotely. The utility which enables this is telnet. Once you have logged on to a computer with telnet, you can run any application on that computer that you would be able to run while connected directly. Or, people can make computers accessible to other users over the Internet as a public service. For example, you can log into the Library of Congress cataloguing system online, and look up books.

Web-enabled Applications

Just as the world wide web has made accessing files and information more easily, it has also made is easier to access and run applications remotely. For instance, using an online bookstore involves a specialised case of running that company's inventory application. There are an amazing variety of applications available on the web. In fact, there is a new class of companies active on the Internet known as application service providers. Applications available through ASPs include testing your web site for errors, testing your computer for viruses, running an online database, and even basic office automation tools such as word processing and spreadsheets. The hope that ASPs have is that people will move from buying software outright to renting the right to use it.

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