The Internet, a network of computers covering the entire planet, allows people to access almost any information located anywhere in the world at any time. Its effects on business, communication, economy, entertainment and even politics are profound.
Like many other revolutionary inventions I will be talking about in this blog, the Internet has no one single inventor, but rather it has evolved over time. The Internet was first created in the United States more than 50 years ago as a government weapon in the Cold War. For years, scientists and researchers used it to communicate and share data with one another. Today, we use the Internet for almost everything, and for many people it would be impossible to imagine life without it.
Invention of The Internet
DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), the research and development arm of the U.S. military, created ARPANET in the late 1960s. This network of computer-to-computer connections was intended for military and academic research. The objective was to develop communication protocols which would allow networked computers to communicate transparently across multiple, linked packet networks.
The first name given to this project was the “Internetting” and the networks that resulted became known by the shortened form, the “Internet”. The system of protocols which was developed over the course of this research effort became known as the TCP/IP Protocol Suite, after the two initial protocols developed: Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP). These are terms that are still in use today in the computer world.
Originally, the idea for this type of networking by computers was thought of in 1962 by JCR Licklider at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He truly was the first person to envision and describe a world that was linked by computers for the express purpose of sharing information. In the US, the first Internet attempts were begun for universities and research departments at the government level. This was considered to be a great way to share ideas, information, and resources.
Initially the engineering challenges involved with creating the Internet were very complex. The first, and main, challenge they had to overcome was inventing the design of a packet switching network. They were faced with the task of creating a system that could make computers communicate with each other without the need for a traditional central system. Other challenges included the design of the machines, data exchange protocols, and software to run it. What eventually grew out of this endeavor is a miraculous low-cost technology that is swiftly and dramatically changing the world. It is available to people at home, in schools and universities, and in public libraries and "cyber cafes."
Conclusion
The Internet is not owned or controlled by any company, corporation, or nation. It connects people in 65 countries instantaneously through computers, fiber optics, satellites, and phone lines. The Internet lets people from around the world change ideas, and share information at any hour of the day or night. Today the Internet provides a person with a way to study, read and learn about anything that is of interest to them.
Did You Know?
Today, almost one-third of the world’s 6.8 billion people use the Internet regularly.
Sources of information
http://www.livescience.com/33749-top-10-inventions-changed-world.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet
http://education.illinois.edu/wp/commercialism/history-of-the-internet.htm
http://www.computerhistory.org/internet_history/
http://transition.fcc.gov/cgb/kidszone/history_internet.html
