An Intranet is a private network within an organization. Intranets use Internet data transfer protocols to deliver information. 

The Internet is an intricate pattern of smaller networks linked through special computers called servers all over the world. Individual computers are connected to these servers either through direct lines or telephone lines and modems. The World Wide Web is the medium on which a majority of Internet information is published. 

The main technology defining the Web is HTML.  This stands for Hypertext Markup Language.  Documents written in HTML can be displayed by Internet browser programs and contain hyperlinks that enable you to jump to another location within a document - or to another document entirely, even to a document residing on a server halfway around the world.  When you click a hyperlink, your click generates a request that is sent as an electronic signal to the server where the Web page you're requesting resides. On its way, the signal passes from your computer via your connection to your service provider, and from there over the Internet to the remote server. The remote server processes the request and responds appropriately, typically by sending a Web page back across the same path, ultimately to be displayed on your computer.

What You Can Find on the Internet
Libraries around the world publish uncountable books, periodicals, and reference collections. Hundreds of news services offer stories from around the world plus current sports scores, detailed stock market reports, and weather forecasts, all updated continuously. Many of the world's museums and galleries provide digitized displays of their collections. Pop culture and entertainment sources offer a variety of video images and sound clips. Hundreds of thousands of online shops make the Internet the biggest shopping mall you can imagine.

The Internet is interactive, providing access to discussion groups and forums on thousands of special-interest topics. It's a fast and economical means of sending messages back and forth.  You can even play interactive computer games with strangers thousands of miles away.

The Internet Explorer 4.0 Active Desktop enables your desktop to function like a browser. In addition to giving you instant access to your most-used applications, the desktop can display multiple HTML pages and pictures, either from the Web or from your own local network or hard drive.