Internet History Lesson
Ever since the dawn of time, there was the need to convey information between different
groups of people ( cave drawings, stone tablets, jungle drums, smoke signals, morse code, etc. ).
During the height of both the war in Vietnam and the "Cold War" with the Soviet Union,
The United States Department of Defense actually had a good idea!
On a cold war kind of day, in swinging 1969, work began on the ARPAnet, grandfather
to the Internet. Designed as a computer version of the nuclear bomb shelter, ARPAnet
protected the flow of information between military installations by creating a network
of geographically separated computers that could exchange information via a newly
developed protocol called NCP ( Network Control Protocol ).
One opposing view to ARPAnet's origins comes from Charles M. Herzfield, the former
director of ARPA. He claimed that ARPAnet was not created as a result of a military
need, stating "It came out of our frustration that there were only a limited number
of large, powerful research computers in the country and that many research
investigators who should have access were geographically separated from them."
ARPA stands for the Advanced Research Projects Agency, a branch of the military
that developed top secret systems and weapons during the Cold War.
The first data exchange over the new network occurred between computers at UCLA
and Stanford Research Institute. On their first attempt to log onto Stanford's
computer by typing "login", UCLA researchers crashed their own computer when
they typed the letter "g". They were able to finally connect on a second attempt.
Four computers were the first connected in the original ARPAnet. They were located
in the respective computer research labs of UCLA ( Honeywell DDP 516 computer ),
Stanford Research Institute ( SDS-940 computer ), UC Santa Barbara ( IBM 360/75 ),
and the University of Utah ( DEC PDP-10 ). As the network expanded, different models
of computers were connected, creating compatibility issues. The solution rested in
a better set of computer protocols called TCP / IP
( Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol ) designed in 1982.
To send a message on the network, a computer breaks its data into IP ( Internet Protocol )
packets, like individually addressed digital envelopes. TCP ( Transmission Control Protocol )
makes sure the packets are delivered from client to server and reassembled in the right order.
Under ARPAnet several major innovations occurred: Email ( or Electronic Mail ), the ability
to send simple messages to another person across the network ( 1971 ) Telnet, a remote
connection service for controlling a computer ( 1972 ) and file transfer protocol ( FTP ),
which allows information to be sent from one computer to another in bulk ( 1973 ).
As non-military uses for the network increased, more and more people had access, and it
was no longer safe for military purposes. As a result, MILnet, a military only network,
was started in 1983. Internet Protocol software was soon being placed on every type of
computer, and universities and research groups also began using in-house networks
known as Local Area Networks or LAN's. These in-house networks then started using Internet
Protocol software so one LAN could connect with other LAN's.
In 1986, one LAN branched out to form a new competing network, called NSFnet or
National Science Foundation Network. NSFnet first linked together the five national supercomputer
centers, then every major university, and it started to replace the slower ARPAnet
( which was finally shutdown in 1990 ). NSFnet formed the backbone of what we call the Internet today.
"The Internet's pace of adoption eclipses all other technologies that preceded it. Radio was
in existence 38 years before 50 million people tuned in, TV took 13 years to reach that benchmark.
Sixteen years after the first PC came out, 50 million people were using one. Once it was opened to
general public, the Internet crossed that line in just four short years."
Quote from the U.S. Department report "The Emerging Digital Economy".
The Internet as we know it today, is a worldwide network of millions of computers and it has become
an amazing collection of information, views and culture. It ( the Internet ), can be considered an
almost priceless resource to anyone that uses a computer with a modem.
However, with this resource there are also risks involved. There does also exist on our Internet
vast amounts of what can only be described as "Garbage". We all have probably had contact with the "dark side"
of the Internet either by accident or I'm sorry to say, on purpose.
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