The way we do business will never be the same as it was just two short years ago, when it seemed that growing masses had started tuning in to something most of us knew nothing about. Remember when you realized that you were missing out on something? After being on your toes and keeping up with technology for years and years, the information superhighway was speeding along without you. Where was everyone going?

Who Knew?

Twenty years ago, who would have thought that the computer would have such a dramatic role in the everyday operation of a small manufacturing plant, job shop or machine tool distributor? Just 10 years ago the fax machine was getting a foothold in reshaping business transactions and communications.

Moreover, there has been considerable change in the way parts are produced -- JIT, ISO, SPC, CAD and a host of other systems have emerged and been embraced by companies worldwide to help produce parts faster, less expensively and with improved quality. The complexion of business has cycled, and is beginning to change again.

Unless you've been stuck on a life-raft on the ocean or up on top of a mountain for the past couple of years, you've at least heard about the Internet. Newsbytes about this phenomenon can be found virtually anywhere. Articles have been written in hundreds of publications (add one) -- there are even television shows and movies about it.

However, to the vast majority the Internet is some cryptic computer gizmo only for experts and has something to do with games, pornography and generally nothing of any real value beyond entertainment. This couldn't be farther from the truth. in fact, most people don't really know what it is, let alone how it works, and more importantly how to apply it.

Misconceptions have to be overcome, and a willingness to adapt to the changing business environment must become part of the learning process.

Dayton Rogers' home page gives a complete overview of their services, which include short-, medium- and long-run stampings, precision metal fabricating and laser cutting.

What is the Internet?

In a nutshell, the Internet is probably the most powerful and important technological advancement for business since the introduction of the desktop computer -- some say since the invention of movable type. However, in order to benefit from what it has to offer, a basic understanding of what it is and how it works is essential.

Quite simply, it's the world's largest network of computer networks that can talk to each other using a common language. How large is large? Estimates range from 10 to 15 million computers, with 24 to 40 million users worldwide, with the majority of them right here in the U.S. and Canada.

All it takes is a computer and a modem to add information to the Internet. Having these basic tools you can link your ideas with trillions of other electronically connected ideas. They are contained in a growing web of data with no visible structural support. The World Wide Web.

How big is the World Wide Web? A recent (now outdated) estimate quoted an approximate figure of 900 Terabytes of information available. How big is a Terabyte? It equals about 1 million Megabytes, which equates to about 450 two-page letters. That's a tremendous amount of information.

But don't think everything you can find is text. The Internet also has graphics, software, audio and even video available. The array of what's on-line is staggering, and is currently expanding at a rate in excess of 10 percent per month.

Leaps and Bounds

What's the fastest growing sector of the Internet users? Business and industry by far. Experts predict that in five years, your company's Internet connection will sit right next to the fax machine.

The technology of the Web creates visions of new business for space-age entrepreneurs, who have flocked online to pursue a myriad of opportunities for marketing, selling and servicing new clients in new businesses. However, the opposite may be true for established manufacturers doing business in a traditional fashion. To remain competitive into the future, traditionalists will have to avail themselves to all that the web has to offer, and make it part of the business domain.

Tom Peterson, webmaster, is one of a new breed of cyberspace entrepreneurs whose company, web-worx, has grown into a service provider with an in-house team of skilled HTML programmers and designers as well as an overseas consultant.

You might think, "Okay, so it's big and its got all kind of information -- but I'm not a computer expert, so I've got to become one." Not so! Software and technological assistance today gives anybody who can turn a computer on and can read the ability, with practice, to effectively use the information superhighway.