Overview
The Internet Computer is a decentralized network that enhances public internet with autonomous serverless cloud functionality, providing a "World Computer" for building web systems and services. It enables the creation of various web systems and services, including Web3 and social media services, using "canister software," an advanced form of smart contracts. This network facilitates direct transaction creation on other blockchains, promoting end-to-end decentralization of online and Web3 services.
History
The Internet Computer (IC) is a blockchain network built by the DFINITY Foundation that aims to run decentralized applications at web speed. It's an attempt to reinvent how users interact with internet applications as its nodes run on specialized hardware housed by various independent data centers. The IC lets developers deploy and run applications through the use of canisters, which are akin to smart contracts. Each canister has a storage capacity of 4GB. DFINITY’s vision is for its new internet infrastructure to support a wide variety of end-user and enterprise applications, such as social media, messaging, and data storage.
