One of the booming businesses today is any business involving the internet. I
recently interviewed one Micheal Schmelder, an employee of Peripherals Plus Technologies
(PPT), to broaden my perspective on this subject. PPT is one of the largest companies in
Lancaster that serves as computer consultants, but most of all, 'internet providers' for their clients.
'We create web pages, and provide the memory space for those pages, to our clients', says
Schmelder.
A graduate of Millersville University, Schmelder has been working at PPT since January,
1990. He works as an account manager, and provides his clients with anything that needs to be
done with a PC, including software, hardware, and networking. 'A network is a whole bunch of
computers in a company hooked up together to form a base. This provides an easy, fast way of
sharing information in the company', Schmelder explains. His biggest client is Armstrong Inc.,
where he spends most of his time when he's not in the office of Peripherals. 'Armstrong is my
biggest account. I need to constantly keep them in sync with todays growing technological
advances, which sometimes, can be real challenge', Schmelder says.
So how do these networks that companies use relate to the internet or world wide web?
Schmelder explains, 'The number one use of the internet for a company is advertising. Putting
your company's network on the web ties the company to the public and home office in an easy,
inexpensive way. In actuality, the company is sharing it's information with the world. This is
refered to as an 'intranet''. This provides the company with an easy way of advertising to the
public.
When PPT first started their business in 1989, they had only one internet connection, their
own. They used it primarily to look up information that they...