h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The link doesn't work - the .com domain is brought but doesn't work.

Mmmm. It worked last week when I checked it. Must've changed their IP address or something. Shame about that.

Anna

Which address doesn't work? And what is an IP? I have so much to learn.

There was a link to the official Irn Bru website. Which I know, 'cause this is my first officially subedited article as an official subeditor *grin* many thanks to the authors for not writing about String Thoery, my that was a tough one to edit (my second officially edited article is on that very topic), anyway, I'm rambling...

IP is short for "IP address" which itself is short for "Internet Protocol address", Internet Protocol being short for TCP/IP which is short for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol.

In english, IP is the way your computer talks to other computers on the internet, and an IP address is how it finds a specific computer. When you type in a web address, for example "www.h2g2.com", your computer has to look up the corresponding IP address for that server, which will be something along the lines of "174.34.98.254". It can then connect to that server.

For this looking up process to happen, your computer makes use of what is called a Domain Name Server, of which there are many. These, don't ask me how, know how to turn a text address into an IP address.

And there you have it.

Thank you very much for the info. When my headache subsides, I shall read it again. But as I can't even remember how to do fishes or smiley faces, I must be a lost cause.

I think there is a computer somewhere [not very powerful, but with one hell of a net connection] which converts http://www.h2g2.com/u96596 to 20.104.234.49/u96596 or something. When that goes down, the net goes down. BTW, the four numbers of an IP address are always less than 256, for boring technical reasons.

During a trip to the U.K. I came across this drink and liked it. What really got me was that the makes have the same last name as I do and I have ancestors from Scotland. So I kept the bottle for 2 years so far and the website address is http://www.irn-bru.co.uk seems like a joke kinda site kinda odd i didnt check out the website 2 years ago oh well.