text: briefly explain the internet tools.?   i have to agree with str1der on this. it seems pretty obvious that you simply want to copy and paste something you know as well as anyone else.  you will get alot more from this assignment if you put a little work into it. if you want to get any kind of a good grade, try comparing the internet tools from 1996 versus those of 2006. some of the changes have been noteworthy... btw - i may actually be your teacher... i'll be watching this link and expect that your assignment will be better than anyone elses:-)  below are some additional thought provoking questions.  browsers: firefox or opera. explain why you left internet explorer off the list. explain the differences between embedding rendering technology into an operating system vs creating a self-contained application.  email: client driven vs web driven. use yahoo as an example for web. thunderbird for the email client. focus on the security issues facing outlook express as part of the differences between '96 and '06  ftp programs. download filezilla and do a little research on ftp clients. microsoft still hasn't copied this very well from anyone else.  gopher - older pre-internet technology. where has it gone... is it still in use today?  telnet - older non-secure version of ssh. another good comparison in the shift from '96 to present day  instant messenger - describe the different protocols in use today. explain why yahoo inked a deal with microsoft. do you think it was a good idea?  anti-virus software. use avg as an example  malware removers - ad-aware is a good example  compare bbses with the internet? browsers vs ansi driven comm tools.  what effect have the hacker and criminal element had on the internet tools in use today? what effect, if any, will these elements have on internet tools in the future?  good luck on your research!