This week, we looked at the history of the internet. This weeks content intrigued me before we even began as the internet is something that I have been involved with from a young age, yet don’t know much about its history and changes that it has faced over the years. From the 90s to the 2020s, the internet has seen significant changes and continues to evolve to this day.
Dr. Vannevar Bush can be seen as having predicted much of the technological changes that came long after his lifetime. He played a key role in the creation of computers. In fact, he was responsible for the first electronic computer that could solve complex equations/problems. Most of this work took place in the 20s and 30s while he worked at MIT.
I find the following quote from Bush to be very interesting, as he accurately predicted the way that technology would evolve and devices that would exist in the future.
"Consider a future device… in which an individual stores all his books, records and communications, which is mechanized so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and flexibility. It is an enlarged intimate supplement of his memory.
Douglas Engelbert is widely recognised for creating the first computer mouse. In the 60s, Engelbert aimed to create a method of easier navigation of technology and created the first prototype of a mouse, which consisted of a wooden block with wheels on it, almost like a mini car. Although a simple idea, this led to one of the most fundamental pieces of hardware for computers that is still used by millions today. Without this invention, we may have never been able to click, select, scroll and more on a device. I love learning about the inventions like this as some people may overlook its significance, yet without something like the computer mouse technology would have not developed into what it is. This may have led to no computers and, in turn, no internet.
Douglas Engelbert’s first mouse- composed of a wooden shell and wheels.
Advanced Research Agency
DARPA is a branch of the US Military responsible for handling the technological aspects of their operations. It was created under the name of ‘Advanced Research Agency’ in 1958, with Defense being added to it’s title at a later date. They have a range of responsibilities, including using technology to create things that can be used to defend against war, such as missiles. In fact, they have been credited with playing a major role in creating the internet, producing technologies that played a fundamental role and inspiration that led to its creation.
As mentioned above, DARPA played a key role in the creation of the internet. ARPANET was the first network that connected over a wide area. It was initially used to assist with DARPA operayions, connective its workers to allow more seamless communication. However, it ended up being used as more of an academic-based network, which is what led to it being recognised as beneficial for a wide range of users outside of DARPA. From here, developments towards the internet that we know today truly seemed possible and began.
The origins of e-mails can be cridited to Ray Tomilson. Using ARPANET, he created a network in which people could exchange messaged with eachother. Initially nessaged were purely internal in ARPANET, but later there was more demand for there to be a wider range of options for destanations. As a result, the @ symbol was created to seperate a persons username and the destination of their message.. Although formatted slightly differently, this system and the @ system are still used to this day.
