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Communication
networks in the 1960's were linked similar to a
chain where each was dependent upon the link before
for it's information. If one point in the chain
were unavailable, the whole system was useless. The
idea then was to set up the network more like a
fishnet where information can find it's own path
through the network even if a section was
unavailable. This idea of a decentralized network
would eventually lead to what we know today as the
Internet.
The
BBN led the project with Frank Heart as the head,
working under contract from Bob Taylor. Bob now
works for DEC, which were also vital team members
of the ARPA project. The primary team was focused
on the actual making of the IMPs (subnets) and the
protocol design (as well as tiptoeing around
AT&T). The original concept of Why is actually
as simple as "Because we wanted to see if it could
be done ... there was no why really". In fact, it
took years to even convince the general computer
community to back the project. Most were against it
in the beginning.
A
very good and accurate book to read up on this is:
When Wizards Stay Up Late. Another source is
a publicized report (In Memoriam: J.C.R. Licklider
1915-1990) written by Bob describing his early
career with the man who had the original vision of
the goal of computer science in general as well as
the Internet, J.C.R. Licklider. There were no major
government industries forcing this to be done...no
cooperation at all from the phone company (AT&T
fought it all the way), just as simple love for
this brand new field and an overwhelming desire to
see what could be done next. At any time they could
have just thrown the project away and very few
people would have cared.
The
first network (in 1969) was between four university
computers from Utah to California. The plan was
unprecedented; University of California Los Angeles
professor Leonard Kleinrock and a small team of
graduate students hoped to log onto the Stanford
Research Institute computer hundreds of miles away,
and send it a message. They would start by typing
the word "logwin" and see if the letters appeared
on the remote computer screen.
"We
set up a telephone connection between us and the
guys at Stanford...
"We
typed the L and we asked on the phone, 'Do you see
the L?'
"Yes,
we see the L," came the response.
"We
typed the O, and we asked, 'Do you see the
O?'
"Yes,
we see the O.
"Then
we typed the G, and the system
crashed..."
Just
three decades later, those few computers linked
together would grow into millions of computers,
6.64 million host computers in 1996 to be exact,
representing 150 countries with over 120 million
host computers after the turn of the century.
Instead of three letters, more than 10 trillion
bytes of information cross the net each month (1996
Network Wizards). According to various forecasts,
between 40 and 70 million households will have home
computers by the end of the year 2000. (Cyberstats,
John Pike, Federation of American
Scientists).
In
The Beginning...
In
1957 President Dwight D. Eisenhower began the
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in
response to the Soviet Union's launch of the
satellite Sputnik. Under the direction of Dr.
J.C.R. Licklider, ARPA began research in to making
the use of computers more interactive, laying the
foundations for what would become the ARPANET. By
1972, the ARPANET was ready for a public
demonstration. In the basement of the Washington
Hilton Hotel a terminal was set up and the public
invited to come in and use the APRANET to run
applications from another part of the country. In
1973, the ARPANET went international with
connections to University College in London,
England and three years later Queen Elizabeth went
"on-line" with the first royal e-mail
message.
ARPANET
had 213 hosts in 1981 with a new host added
approximately once every 20 days. TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol:
TCP makes sure data arrives correctly and in the
proper order. IP specifies the way in which data
will be communicated between two computers on a
network) was developed, and for the first time the
loose collection of networks comprising the ARPANET
was seen as an "Internet".
The
1980's was the decade of tremendous growth in the
Personal Computer and minicomputer industries
allowing many companies to join the Internet for
the first time. Near the end of the decade,
concerns for privacy and security in the digital
world developed. Terms such as "hacker," cracker,"
and "electronic break-in" were begun largely in
response to the November 1, 1988 program called
"The Internet Worm" which was a computer virus
injected into the network temporarily disabling
approximately 6,000 of the 60,000 Internet hosts. A
Computer Emergency Response Team was formed after
this incident to address security concerns raised
by the Worm.
In
1990, the ARPANET was decommissioned to make way
for the vast network-of-networks called the
Internet. At the University of Minnesota, computer
programmer Mark MaCahill wrote a program he called
"the first Internet application my mom can use".
Gopher was freely distributed on the Internet,
making point-and-click navigation on the World Wide
Web possible.
1994
was the Internet's 25th anniversary, and was
celebrated with pizza as Pizza Hut accepted an
order for a mushroom, and pepperoni with extra
cheese over the net. More than $1 billion was spent
through Internet shopping malls, with the number of
transactions continuing to rise as more and more
businesses get their page on the Web.
In
the late 1990's the Internet was left in commercial
hands when the NSFNET organization reverted back to
a research project. The Information Superhighway
which once was a means of controlling a
post-nuclear society has become a World-Wide
community.
So
How Does It All Work?
Originally,
university computer systems were linked to each
other by telephone lines. However, in 1984 the
National Science Foundation, through its office of
Advanced Scientific Computing linked newer, and
faster, super computers by thicker and faster
lines. They upgraded and expanded this system in
1986, 1988, and 1990. Other government agencies did
the same even though not on the same scale as the
NSFNET. NASA and the National Institute of Health,
as well as the Department of Energy have also
contributed what have become the "backbones" of the
net. US government agencies are not the only ones
with high-speed and high-capacity lines for the
net. There are backbones today in Japan, Canada,
and Europe, as well as privately owned commercial
Internet backbones specially created for carrying
business traffic. It's not just the backbone
organizations with their high speed computers and
communication lines that carry the Internet
traffic, but the original links between smaller
computers also play a part in the bigger picture of
the whole network. The original concept remains
that if one link in the chain goes down there are
others to take its place.
It's
like an interstate highway system in the United
States. The main highways carry lots of traffic at
high speeds, but there are also smaller roads that
connect towns and cities together. If a highway is
unavailable for traffic, the smaller roads will
become more congested or crowded, but traffic still
can progress.
There
are no toll roads on the Internet as every one who
has an interest in having a connection pays for
their link to the others. In that regard, the
Internet belongs to everyone and at the same time
it belongs to no one. There is no centralized
governing body for the net. It is self-regulating,
self-governing, and the closest example of anarchy
to date.
What
Does It All Mean To Me?
This
explosive technological growth marks a revolution
in our world where information is literally at your
fingertips. With the push of a few buttons on your
personal computer from your own home you can have
access to places that have been unavailable, and
inaccessible under normal circumstances. Russia
first connected to the Internet in 1992 as an
example. You can make airline reservations, buy and
sell stock, hear and see the latest news from
around the world, or your children can research a
school paper. The list goes on.
What
Are Some Ways The Internet Is Used?
One
of the most common uses of the net has been to send
and receive electronic mail. Since the beginning,
this method of gathering information has played an
important part in the development of the
technology. With e-mail, scientists working on a
project in one laboratory are able to communicate
ideas and findings with colleagues across town or
across an ocean.
Similar
are the telephone and video phone applications
which allow users to link up across the net to send
live audio and video. The possibilities for this
are not hard to imagine when rates over a
traditional phone connection can cost dollars per
minute, but a free link to the network through a
university, government, or corporate system can
provide hours of conversation at no
cost.
Discussion
Groups allow users to enter an ongoing dialogue
with other users around the globe on hundreds of
topics. Just think about it; right now there are
hundreds of thousands of people sitting at
keyboards exchanging their ideas with each other
all around the world!
Another
aspect is the transfer of files or programs.
Shareware programs, or software programs which an
author distributes without charge, are available at
many different Web sites for you to download or
copy.
Making
travel bookings, purchasing retail goods, and fact
finding are also an active part of the
Internet.
Where
Do We Go From Here?
What
will the Internet be like in the future? For the
first time in history any one who can afford a
computer can be a part of the information
revolution, and have a voice in the global village.
Like most technological advancements, things get
smaller and faster. The US Federal government is
likely to stay involved to a degree. NREN, the
National Research and Education Network was
approved by Congress in 1991 as a five year and $2
billion project to upgrade the Internet backbone in
the states. (As increased traffic crowds the
Superhighway, widening the road must be made to
keep it all running smoothly.) NREN is nearly fifty
times faster than the fastest network previously
available.
It
is the free enterprise system which will determine
the future of the Internet. Technological
developments will be shaped by the need to
communicate the messages of advertisers. Sites on
the Web will become more attractive with the use of
audio and video to capture your attention as you
view the ads. Just like television, the Internet
will be increasingly consumer-driven. It may even
be that the Internet will take the place of
traditional broadcast methods. Increasingly, cable
companies are expected to become the leading
on-line access providers.
Where
we broadcast television programming locally or even
nationally today, the Internet may become the means
for global broadcasting of live signals tomorrow.
We will become more and more a global marketplace
with the Internet facilitating advertisements to
everyone, everywhere. This
article was written by the author of this site in
1995 drawing from online sources. |
