THE HISTORY OF THE INTERNET

by, Tomeka Woods

Since it's conception in the early 1960's, the internet has become a creature that has taken on a life of its own. By definition from Dictionary.com: the internet is a vast computer network[->0] linking smaller computer networks worldwide (usually preceded by the word "the" ). The internet includes commercial, educational, governmental, and other networks, all of which[->1] use the same set[->2] of communications protocols (rules and standards). In it's early years of life, the internet was known as ARPANET (The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network). Originally ARPANET was intended for use by the military and research organizations such as The US Air Force and various prestigious universities, as a quicker and more efficient way to share research data. President Eisenhower was able to get the ball rolling in 1958 when he was able to get funds approved to create ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) formerly known as DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). Developing the internet was no easy task and as with any new idea, concept or invention, there are a lot of trials and errors. Needless to say, creating this innovative technology took the brain power of many brilliant minds. The idea of a global network of computers was first proposed by J.C.R. Licklider of MIT in 1962. The theory of how the internet would be formed was called packet switching and was developed by Leonard Kleinrock initially of MIT then later UCLA. Packet switching was a method of a digital networking communication that grouped all transmitted data into blocks called packets. Although Kleinrock developed the theory of packet switching, in October 1965, when two computers did talk to each other using the packet switching technology this was not led by Leonard Kleinrock. This process was directed by Larry Roberts at MIT. Larry Roberts used dial up telephone lines to connect one computer in Massachusetts to another computer in California and networking was born. Simply put, networking is when two or more computers connect. Later another attempt of sending packets was at Stanford Research Institute by Charley Kline at UCLA in 1969. Charley Kline was typing the word "LOGIN" and wouldn't you know it, the system crashed! Poor Charley only got as far as the letter "G". But have no fear! The development of the internet continued on. Now, speaking of the development of the internet, I have to clear up a very common misconception: Al Gore did not invent the internet. ARPANET was started in 1969 and first use of the term "internet" wasn't until 1974. Al Gore was not elected to Congress until 1976. Although Mr. Gore was not part of the invention of the internet, he has been a proponent for the internet and it's development, more than any other elected official. This was noted in a paper by Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf entitled Al Gore and the Internet. Mr. Gore is still a huge present day supporter of the development of the internet. Here we are now, in the 1970's. We have packet switching in place and packets are flowing. Now we needed a more fluent form of communication, so in comes email. In 1972 Ray Tomlinson adapted email for ARPANET. Mr. Tomlinson is the one who chose the @ symbol when connecting the username and address. SNDMSG and READMAIL were the first email programs he wrote. I mentioned the word "protocol" earlier, which means rules and standards. As we journey through the history of the internet, we will come across quite a few protocols. I won't bore you with all of them. Here are a few of the protocols that are very important. Telnet protocol (1971), which made it possible to log on to a computer remotely and ftp protocol (1973), which allows files to be transferred between internet sites. These protocols were published as Request for Comments (RCF) and was a great way for anyone using a catalog system to share