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At the turn of the century, most users accessed the Internet by a dial-up connection in which computers used modems to connect to other computers using existing telephone lines. Typical dial-up connections ran at 56 kilobytes per second.

raditional communications media such as telephone and television services were redefined by technologies such as instant messaging, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), mobile smartphones, and streaming video.

The Internet changed the production, sale, and distribution of print publications, software, news, music, film, video, photography, and everyday products from soap to automobiles.

With broadband, Internet users could download and watch videos in a matter of seconds, media companies could offer live streaming-video newsfeeds, and peer-to-peer file sharing became efficient and commonplace. News was delivered on websites, blogs, and webfeeds, and e-commerce changed the way people shopped. Television shows, home movies, and feature films were viewed on desktop or laptop computers and even on cell phones. Students researched online, and many parents began working from home for their employers or started their own online businesses.

It was also becoming increasingly easy for users to access it from Internet cafés, Internet kiosks, access terminals, and web pay phones. With the advent of wireless, customers could connect to the Internet from virtually any place that offered remote service in the form of a wireless local area network (WLAN) or Wi-Fi router.

In January 2001 Apple launched the iPod digital music player, and then in April 2003 it opened the iTunes Store, allowing customers to legally purchase songs for 99 cents. Although federal courts ordered that music-sharing services such as Napster could be held liable if they were used to steal copyrighted works, Fanning’s brainchild realized the power of peer-to-peer file sharing and the potential success of user-generated Internet services.

Email was the general form of internet communication and allowed users to send electronic text messages. Users could also attach additional files containing text, pictures, or videos. Chat rooms and instant-messaging systems were also popular methods of online communication and were even quicker than traditional email. Broadband made other popular forms of Internet communication possible, including video chat rooms and video conferencing. Internet telephony or VoIP became increasingly popular f

or gaming applications.