| nternet is more than pervasive in contemporary | | | | schools from the same region got hooked up, and |
| culture. Rather, it’s the very platform | | | | these four schools were joined by MIT and |
| used by nearly everything. These days | | | | Harvard. Within a year from that, computers |
| it’s nearly impossible to have a business, a | | | | were being hooked up in greater numbers, and |
| club, or to simply find out information about | | | | not only by schools, but by institutions like NASA. |
| something without using the internet. Therefore, | | | | Now the internet is used for endless amounts of |
| the people who conceived of it are owed a | | | | reasons, but then there was no practical reason |
| tremendous debt! This article will illuminate how | | | | for the everyday person to use it. It was used |
| the internet came to be and seeks to give credit | | | | by experts, scientists, engineers, and even |
| where credit is due. | | | | librarians, and the code wasn’t user |
| In the 1960s there was a group of American | | | | friendly the way. Navigating it was hard |
| visionaries from a host of different advanced | | | | work—nothing like the surfing of today! As |
| institutions who saw the promise of computers | | | | well, it was used as a fallout plan in the case of |
| able to share information in scientific and military | | | | nuclear war; should a bomb disable the information |
| fields. J.C.R. Licklider at M.I.T. first proposed first | | | | on one computer the information would |
| proposed a computer network of global reach in | | | | seamlessly be rerouted to a safer location. |
| 1962 and moved to the Advanced Defense | | | | Over the next few years, the internets |
| Research Projects Agency in 1962 to help in | | | | implications were gradually being understood. Its |
| development. Leonard Kleinrock from UCLA | | | | uses expanded and it was made easier to use. |
| developed an important advancement known as | | | | Libraries started developing catalogues around the |
| “packet switching” which was | | | | world. In the early eighties the technology paving |
| essential for the basis of internet connections. The | | | | the way for emails was developed. Later in the |
| first person to connect computers to telephone | | | | decade, the foundations of hyper text (a form of |
| dial up connections was a man named Lawrence | | | | embedding links in text articles) began |
| Roberts from MIT. It was an important, | | | | development. This was completed in 1991 and |
| progressive step, but it also exposed the | | | | became known as the World Wide Web. Originally |
| limitations of this means of communication. | | | | the internet was sponsored by the government |
| Further development was still necessary. | | | | so it took years before its commercial potential |
| Still though, it was clear that progress had been | | | | became utilized. |
| made. In fact, the internet was first truly brought | | | | From today’s perspective, where new |
| online in 1969 when four computers from major | | | | breakthroughs happen almost daily, it’s |
| universities from the South Western United | | | | hard to imagine how many years it took this long |
| States were hooked up. The universities were | | | | to develop a technology that’s become |
| UCLA, the Stanford Research Institute, UCSB and | | | | so essential! |
| the University of Utah. After about a year more | | | | |