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Happy Birthday, Internet!

Posted by samzenpus on from the not-a-kid-anymore dept.

NobodyExpects writes "I'd like to wish a happy birthday to the Internet! Today marks its 40th birthday! In fall 1969, computers sending data between two California universities set the stage for the Internet, which became a household word in the 1990s. On September 2nd 1969, in a lab at the University of California, Los Angeles, two computers passed test data through a 15-foot gray cable. Stanford Research Institute joined the fledgling ARPANET network a month later; UC Santa Barbara and the University of Utah joined by years end, and the internet was born."

23 of 213 comments (clear)

  1. Looking forward... by alain94040 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Before everyone starts posting stories about how they grew up on their Apple II using a 300 baud modem, let's have a forward looking discussion.

    The Internet as we define it today was born 40 years ago when two big computers were hooked up with a cable and exchanged data. Let me ask: what are the milestones that will matter 10, 30 years from now? Some guesses (pick your favorites):

    - wires, what wires?: The Internet goes wireless, with the invention of Wifi (circa 1991 - yes, really that old)

    - device, what device?: The Internet goes ubiquitous, we don't even have to carry those bulky iPhones around (circa ???)

    - telepresence: I see you, you see me, in HD, anytime, wherever you and I are. Maybe we can even shake hands. Definitely coming in the next decade.

    - oracle: all knowledge, all questions, answered all the time (that might change the way we think of our education system!)

    Who said innovation is slowing down? We are still in the stone age of the Internet.

    1. Re:Looking forward... by Shakrai · · Score: 5, Insightful

      all knowledge, all questions, answered all the time (that might change the way we think of our education system!)

      Yes, by providing even less incentive for people to actually study anything ;) To quote a friend of mine: A masters in Google and a doctorate in speed reading.

      --
      I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
      We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
    2. Re:Looking forward... by Quothz · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Let me ask: what are the milestones that will matter 10, 30 years from now?

      Amazingly, you missed the invention of DNS and the World Wide Web, arguably the two most popularizing developments.

    3. Re:Looking forward... by commodore64_love · · Score: 5, Interesting

      $1000 for an Apple II isn't that bad. Certainly cheaper than the first Macintosh at around $4000. Hmmm. I guess that's why most home hobbyists owned the cheaper $400 Ataris and $200 Commodores.

      Milestones:

      Killer App (circa 1993) - The hypertext web browser. Prior to its invention few people had a reason to get internet. They were satisfied to just keep using local bulletin boards, but once they saw the Mosaic web browser running on their friend's or their college's IBM or Mac or Amiga, they immediately wanted it.

      Carterphone decision (circa 1981) - It eliminated the monopoly AT&T had on the modem and brought competition. People always ask why is competition is needed? This is a perfect example. From the 1950s to the 1980s the only speeds available were 110 bit/s and 300 bit/s. The monopoly caused stagnation. After the breakup of AT&T multiple companies began a "speedwar" that rapidly moved speeds from 300 to 56000 in only ten years time. If AT&T still had a monopoly over 300 baud modems, the 90s's web explosion would have been impossible (too slow).

      Usenet/Fidonet (circa 1982) - They weren't originally part of the internet, but they helped set the standards. Most of the emoticons ;-) and abbreviations (ROTF-LOL) we use today originated on these early text-only forums. And they allowed people to communicate not just locally, but all around the world like today's web. And it was free (no long-distance charges).

      DSL/cable internet (circa 2000) - Allowed people to escape the 56k barrier and download videos, as well as streaming TV shows.

      That's about all I can come-up with. Most of the advancement has been gradual.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    4. Re:Looking forward... by IorDMUX · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Before everyone starts posting stories about how they grew up on their Apple II using a 300 baud modem,

      Too late. Did you watch the movie? There's some heavy handed "Get off my lawn"-ness going on in the article itself. To quote:

      a lot of the youngsters nowadays have no real idea how primitive things were a few years ago.

      "This is the first one I could say was my computer [...] You would have to plug it in because there was no battery, and you would work forever to get very little out of it..."

      today's children have no concept of a life before computers.

      Regardless, I say Happy Birthday, Internet! I can't wait to find out what sorts of wonders you will bring to my kids in another decade or so.

      --
      >> Standing on head makes smile of frown, but rest of face also upside down.
    5. Re:Looking forward... by Runaway1956 · · Score: 4, Funny

      "There's some heavy handed "Get off my lawn"-ness going on in the article itself."

      Quit yer whinin', you young punk. When we moved out of the caves, we had to WALK to the next village to get our packets!! Now get back out into the street where you belong, you're crushing my grass.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    6. Re:Looking forward... by RedK · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Adoption of a true IP infrastructure across the board... no more IP over (insert your favorite old tech, like ATM or GSM), and all the extra overhead it causes.

      Uh... ? What is a true IP infrastructure in your eyes ? Because I don't see anything in IP that permits physical interconnexion like ATM or GSM does. IP will always be over (insert some link layer and physical media here). Otherwise, IP wouldn't work.

      --
      "Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
      Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
    7. Re:Looking forward... by NotQuiteReal · · Score: 5, Interesting

      No doubt Google can deliver far more information faster than ever before.

      This is not a bad thing -- IF you can figure out which information is worthless and which is the the right answer.

      That should be the motivation to learn enough to learn enough so that you can decide which Google results pass "the sniff test".

      Of course the topic of your query has a lot to do with how well you will be able to tell if the results are the real deal.

      I thought I was done, but that last sentence made me realize the "quick answer" future could either hasten or slow an "Idiocracy" future...

      --
      This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
    8. Re:Looking forward... by WoodenTable · · Score: 5, Insightful

      A masters in Google and a doctorate in speed reading.

      This has actually been somewhat true (if you replace Google with Searching, that is) for a lot longer than the internet has existed. One of the most important things to learn at medical university/college, for example, is how to look stuff up. Ever wonder why doctors have giant libraries sitting around in their offices? That's all knowledge they gained in university, then promptly forgot, like any sane person would. They learned the reference system available to them at the time, and know how to use it - where one person gets hopelessly lost, they can find something useful. My mother collected a ridiculous number of books over the years for her practice - and she says her laptop and the internet almost invalidated nearly half of them.

      Some basic training will always be required to understand certain things without a reference, though. Very simple example: nowhere in the wikipedia article on "clouds" does it say they're too diffuse to stand on. :) Don't go skydiving with intent to land on one, folks!

    9. Re:Looking forward... by Nimey · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Are you kidding? The author's probably convinced he's still right, and weeps for the wonders we'd have had if only the government had left Ma Bell alone.

      Maybe not, but you'd think that from the political atmosphere in this country.

      --
      Hail Eris, full of mischief...

      E pluribus sanguinem
  2. Presents by TheWizardTim · · Score: 5, Funny

    I hear the internet wants a pony.

  3. happy b-day by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    thx for the porn

    1. Re:happy b-day by FlickieStrife · · Score: 5, Funny

      I believe the term is "inter-species erotica"

    2. Re:happy b-day by commodore64_love · · Score: 4, Interesting

      >>>thx for the porn

      I still remember my first downloaded porn "video". It was about 64 kilobytes, took about 10 minutes to download, was a grainy 320x200, and only lasted 1/2 a second. It looped repeating the same "action" over-and-over which I'm sure you can guess what that was.

      I then upgraded to a 4000-color 7 megahertz Amiga so I could get something more realistic-looking. ;-) Anyway here's that original movie that I downloaded ~25 years ago (porn) http://girls.c64.org/a_porno_movie_02.gif . And if for some strange reason you want to download it, you can find it here (porn) http://girls.c64.org/a__show.php?squery=&sfield=&cat=ani&style=&offset=41

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
  4. They got started young back in the day.... by Shakrai · · Score: 4, Funny

    Apparently Al Gore had his first child at the age of 21 ;)

    --
    I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
    We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
  5. When did ARPAnet become "internet" by commodore64_love · · Score: 4, Interesting

    When did that transition happen? Late 70s?

    I've been using the net since 1987 (shortly after Star Trek TNG premiered). It's been a fun ride going from 1.2k bit/s and pure text. There were a few graphical bulletin board services added in 1989, but they were little more than vector-based graphics and took several minutes to load! None of them had music or video like we have today.

    --
    "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    1. Re:When did ARPAnet become "internet" by lapsed · · Score: 5, Insightful

      1982, depending on who you ask. The migration to TCP/IP on ARPANET occurred in 1982 and was completed by January 1, 1983. The Internet was designed primarily by Cerf beginning in the early seventies. See Inventing The Internet by Janet Abbate.

    2. Re:When did ARPAnet become "internet" by klapaucjusz · · Score: 4, Informative

      When did that transition happen? Late 70s?

      Winter 1982/1983. On 7 December 1982, 130 out of 315 hosts speak TCP/IP (RFC 832). On 22 February 1983, that's 230 out of 320 (RFC 846).

  6. And one hour later... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    the first spam e-mail was sent.

    1. Re:And one hour later... by chill · · Score: 4, Informative

      No, it was actually about 8 1/2 years later, if you don't count the birthday announcements, etc. May 1, 1978 to be exact.

      http://www.templetons.com/brad/spamreact.html

      --
      Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
  7. wireless Internet is much older by JoeBuck · · Score: 4, Informative

    See the Wikipedia packet radio article as a starting point. There was packet radio using Internet protocols back in the 1970s. The protocol that became "Wifi" was first deployed in 1991, but it was far from the first usable packet radio protocol.

    1. Re:wireless Internet is much older by Cthefuture · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Indeed. I cut my Internet teeth watching 1200 baud data flow in KA9Q NOS via packet radio. It was so slow and synchronous that you could really examine each packet as you were doing stuff, taught me way more about networking than any book.

      --
      The ratio of people to cake is too big
  8. Re:Looking forward... Al Gore by DJRumpy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    He never claimed that. It was just political games and a clumsy choice of words.