I would bet my lunch money that to get to the page you are currently reading, you probably didn't type a 32-bit numeric address written as four numbers separated by periods.
Even if you did, I'm not going to give you a prize, like a trip to Switzerland. I don't have a prize to give away, and I don't have one of those cardboard curtains they use on "The Price Is Right" to show off SWITZERLAND. The reason I mention the numbers is every public site you access on the Internet has a numeric address called an IP address. According to Zdnet's Webopedia, an IP address is the identifier for a computer or device on a TCP/IP Network. Using this protocol, your browser can be routed and re-routed throughout the Internet to a variety of sites, including the The Ultimate Build Your Own Cow Page. What could be more exciting than that?
You rarely, if ever, see these IP addresses. The reason is they are too tough to remember, compared to the normal addresses you can remember. Imagine if instead of trying to remember your friends' e-mail addresses or street addresses, you had to remember their Social Security numbers plus the number of times they have watched "The Price Is Right" while being sick from work or school. As you can tell, those numbers get pretty large.
What you can remember is a domain name, which identifies one or more IP addresses. Actually you can have either multiple IP addresses pointed to the same domain, or you can have multiple domains pointed to the same IP address. For larger sites, you could have more than one IP address if you want to store a bunch of smaller sites on the same IP address, you can do that as well.
By now you are probably wondering, "I realize everyone and their mother likes Plinko, but does Bob Barker like it?" You may also have realized you have IP addresses and domain names, but how does the computer know what matches what? That is called the Domain Name System (DNS), and every Web server can translate domain names into IP addresses. According to the Webopedia, the DNS system is actually its own network, so if a particular domain name cannot be resolved, then it asks another server. So if you can't get to a specific page, don't blame it on your system it's giving the old college try. If you get tired of waiting, you can always build your own cow by clicking the link a few paragraphs before.
Depending on your networking capabilities at work, you might be able to set up your own computer with an IP address and host a Web site in-house. I can host a Webpage via Web sharing, and my computer has its own IP address. If I typed that same numerical address into my computer at home, it would not resolve to my computer's pages. Connecting to the Internet would require registering that IP, plus you would need a domain name, something like rodroddyisgod.com.
It's good to know the terminology just in case you ever face a barrage of questions on a game show or even a simple game of Trivial Pursuit. If you are ever need a quick definition for computer terminology, I suggest you visit the Webopedia. You can find plenty of reference pages and help pages for your computer needs. You may also need the address for "The Price is Right" in the future as well. Bob's not retiring, so geez, don't build a cow about it.
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