HistoryoftheInternet

The internet has become a cultural, economical and life changing technological phenomenon. Enoughcannotbesaidaboutthisincredible technology.However,the internet is notonesingle invention;itisasimpleideathathasevolvedthroughoutthedecadesintosomethingbiggerthanus all.Whiletheinternetwasstartedfairlyrecently,todaywearestillatthetipoftheicebergofwhat thistechnologyinallitsmanyformscanhelpusachieve.Soinessencetheinternethasalreadyand willcontinuetorevolutionizetheworld.Evenasitsbeginningswerehumble,noonecouldhave predicteditsamazinggrowththroughthelastseveraldecades.Theinternethasbroughtussomuch informationandnotonlytothesocialandbusinesselite,buttotheentireworld. Lookingback,theessentialideaoftheinternetisextremelybasic,howeverwithseveralinnovations, theinternethasgrownandevolvedtowhereitiscurrentlyattoday. Typically the 20th century was defined by communications that went from one major source to thousands or millions of people at a time. This type of communications was characterized by televisionandradiobroadcasterswhichsentoutcommunicationssignalstoTVsetsandradios aroundthecountryandworld.Whilethetelephoneevolvedandbecameubiquitousintheworldasa wayforanindividualtoreachoutandtalkwithaspecificperson,thistypeofcommunications usuallyinvolvedmostlytwopeople,orahandfulofpeopleatmostifyouwereon a conference call. However,withtheadvent ofthe internet,anew typeofcommunications technology would be available,wherenotonlycantwopeoplecommunicatesimultaneously,butthousands,millionsand yesevenbillionsofpeopleatthesametime. Again,theoldstyleofcommunication technologiesnotonlylimitedwhowasabletosendamessage (thinkaboutthebig3TVnetworksofthe20 thcentury),butthistechnologydidntallowothersto offertheiropinionorcollaborate.Thisisjustmanyofthereasonsthattheinternethasgrownsofar, sofast.Theinternetisabletohaveanimpactonourentiresocietywhetheritisineducation,our socialcircles,military,business,etc.Whilemostmaythinkthehistoryoftheinternetstartedinthe early90soreventhe80s,theideaoftheinternetstartedmuchearlierbacktothe1950s. TheEarlyBeginningsoftheInternet Inalotofwayswaristhe mother of inventionandduringthe1950sbesidestheKoreanWar,there wasalsotheColdWar.TheColdWarpittedtheUSAagainst the Soviet UnionandtheEasternBloc. NothingwasscarierthantheSovietUnionlaunchingnuclearweaponsagainstUSsoil.Whilethere wereplentyofeventsthatscaredusAmericansduringthistime,oneeventmadeitseemthatthe RussianswerepullingaheadofAmericantechnologyandknowhowthelaunchingofSputnik satellite. WiththelaunchoftheSputniksatellitein1957,AmericafearedthattheSovietUnionwouldnot onlymilitarizespace,butbeabletogainahugeadvantageoverusandthisthreatenedourvery security.InreactiontothelaunchingofSputnik,theUSAtriedtocomeupwithideasinhowto protectusagainsttheSovietUnionanddiminishtheirstrategicadvantages.Oneofthewaysthatwe respondedtothiscrisiswastocreateARPA(AdvancedResearchProjectAgency).Nowknownas DARPA(DefenseAdvancedResearchProjectsAgency),thisagencywasgiventhemissiontocreate technologiesthatwouldhelpgiveourmilitaryahightechedge.Thegoalwastoonceagainleadin thearmsrace,aswellasprotectourcountryandsecurity. WhileDARPAwaslaunchedinthelate1950s,itwasnttill1962thatthefirstideasaboutawebor interconnectednettypeofsystemwereformed.FirstwrittenaboutbyJ.C.R.LickliderofMITin Augustof1962,LickliderwroteseveralmemosinwhathetermedwasaGalacticNetwork.In essence,thisGalacticNetworkwasabletoaccessinformationinelectronicformeitherbydataor programsfromalargenetworkofcomputers.ThekeywasthatallofthecomputersinthisGalactic

Networkwouldbesomewayconnectedtoeachother.Inthatyear,Lickliderheadedupthefirst computerresearchprogramforDARPA. BesidestheideaofaGalacticNetwork,therewereotherideasandeventsthatplayedapartin ultimatelycreatingtheearlyinternet.Anothereventthatfiguredprominentlyintothe history of the internet isacommissionedstudybytheUSAFonhowthemilitarywouldbeabletokeepand maintain control and command of airplanes, bombers and nuclear missiles during and after a nuclearattack.Prettymuch,theUSAFwantedtounderstandthebestwaystocreateadecentralized networkofcommunicationsinordertoruntheirbranchofthemilitaryduringandafteranuclear strike.Theimportantpointwasthatthiscommandwouldhavetobedecentralized,sonomatterthe extendofdamagethemilitarywouldstillbeabletocontrolitsnuclearweapons,airplanesand bombers in order tocounter strike or protect itself. The original study was commissioned and overseenbyPaulBeran,amemberoftheRANDCorporation. AstheRANDCorporationcompleteditsfinalreportofthestudy,PaulBeransuggestedthatone waytoachievedecentralizationandaccomplishthegoalsputforthbytheUSAFistoinstituteatype oftechnologycalledpacketswitchinginanetwork. ThePacketSwitchingTheory WiththeGalacticNetworkbyLicklider,thesolutionofferedbyPaulBeran,therewereotherearly playersthatinfluencedthecreationof the early internet.Anotheraspectcalledpacketswitching theory,whichwasdevelopedbyLeonardKleinrockatMITin1961alsoplayedahugepartinthe earlyorigins. Theideaofpacketswitchingisthatapacketofdatawhichincludedbothitsoriginanddestination could be sent from one location to the other. While this might seem like a simple idea, the technologyatthetimewasdifferentspecificallythetypeandhowdatatraveledwhenusedinthe phonecompanyscircuits.Oneofthedifferencesinpacketswitchingtechnologythanwhatwas beingusedwasifapacketofdatawaslostatanygivenpointinitsjourney,thepacketcouldbe easilyresentbytheoriginator.Thiswasnotthecasewithdatabeingsentatthetime. Whilepacketsofdatabeingsentwhichincludedtheoriginanddestinationwasabigimprovement overthecurrentcircuitsystemusedbythetelephonecompanyanothercomponentofcreatingthe internetthatresemblestheoneusedtodaywastheideathatadecentralizedsystemofcomputers(a network)couldcommunicatewithoneanother.Duringthe1960sthereweremanyexperimentsthat tried to create productive and efficient networks of computers. If you remember, at this time, computerswereveryspecializedmachinesandsomewerehugetakingupanentireroom.In1965 anexperimenttookplaceinwhichaTX2computerthatwaslocatedinMassachusettsconnected withaQ32computerinCalifornia.Thisexperimentwassuccessfulanditisconsideredtothisday tobethefirsttimeaconnectionoftwocomputerswasmadeusingalowspeeddialup phone line. Theexperimentspecificallyprovedthatnotonlycantwocomputersconnecttooneanother,butit alsodemonstratedthatcomputerscanbothexchangeprogramsanddatawitheachother.Whilethe experimentwassuccessful,itwasclearthatthecurrentsetoftelephonecircuitswerenotpractical andthatpacket switchingtechnologywouldbeneededtoadvancethistechnology. TheFirstInternetARPANET The original internet was known as the ARPANET. The ARPANET was pretty much the first configurationofanetworkofcomputersandwhileinitsveryearlystages,theARPANETwasa hugespringboardofinnovationtothetechnologieswenowusetoday.Thephysicalconstructionof theARPANEToccurredin1968anditusedtheHoneywellminicomputerforitsbase.Infact,it tookanetworkof4HoneywellminicomputerstocreatethefirstARPANET,thesecomputersor nodeswerelocatedatfourseparateuniversitiesincluding:theUniversityofCaliforniaatSanta

Barbara,theUniversityofCaliforniaatLosAngeles,SRIatStanfordandtheUniversityofUtah. Whilethenetworkwasoriginallysupposedtohavealinespeedofonly2.4kbps(thousandbitsper second),technologywasalreadyavailabletoboostthelinespeedto50kbps.Itisalsoimportantto notethatduringthe1960s,importantcontributionstocomputingandcommunicationschangedour world completely, unfortunately, these innovation, inventions and contributions are unknown or unnamedtoday.AsthefirstinternettheARPANETwasinplacein1969,theinternetstartedto buildupsteamandpracticalityduringthe1970s. TheInternetProgressesIntothe1970s Theinternetgrewinleapsandboundsduringthe1970s.Afteritsinitialstartinlate1969,the ARPANETasitthenwasknownwasabouttoexperiencerapidchangesnotonlytoitsownnetwork, buttothemassiveamountsoftechnologyandinnovationhappeningaroundtheworld.Oneofthe keyinnovationsthathelpedgrowtheinternetduringthe1970sisanapplicationstillconsideredto betheinternetskillerapp. As the 1970s where under way, plenty of experimenting took place with ARPANET. In fact, another19computerswerehookedupintotheARPANETnetwork.By1972,thelistofcomputers hookedintoARPANETtotaled23hostcomputersthatmadeupthebackboneofthenetwork.And whilemanycomputerswerehookedup,thelinespeedstillcontinuedtobe50kbps.Duringthe earlydaysmuchinnovationtookplaceandprotocolswerebeingdeveloped,theinitialhostprotocol wascreatedcalledNCPorNetworkControlProtocol. Itturnedoutthat1972wasabanneryearfortheinternet,infactthatwastheyearthatthekillerapp thatnotonlyspreadtheuseoftheARPANETinitsearlydays,butcontinuedtofuelgrowthoverthe comingyearsanddecadestookplacetheapplicationthatchangedtheinternetforeverwasEmail. RayTomlinsonisknownasthecreatorofEmail.Createdin1972,RayTomlinworkingforBBN Corporation created the foundation for the basics of sending and reading messages over the ARPANET.Whilethisinitialinventionwasextremelycrude,overtheyearsmuchinnovationwent intomakingemailsmoreuserfriendly.EmailnotonlygavetheARPANETagreatapplication,but addedasocialdimensiontothisburgeoningnetwork. ANewProtocolIsCreated Today, when we connect our computer to the internet, weare able to talk with millions upon millionsofcomputers.AndwhilethefirstARPANETnetworkconsistedofonly19computers,the one big disadvantage was that the protocol being used NCP (Network Control Protocol) only workedwithspecifictypesofcomputers.Imaginetodayifyourcomputerloggedontotheinternet and was onlyabletotalk withToshiba,AppleorSonycomputers.This was the problem that ARPANETwasfacingintheearly1970s.Thereweremuchmorethanafewdozencomputersthat wouldliketoconnecttotheARPANET,howeverNCPwasonlyabletoutilizeafewdozenatbest. SincethiswasamajorflawwithNCP,anewprotocolneededtobecreated.Anew,moreinclusive typeofopensourceprotocolneededtobedeveloped.ThisnewprotocolturnedouttobeTCP/IP.It wasoriginallycreatedin1973anditwasfirstusedtocommunicatebetweencomputersin1974.In fact,VintCerfandBobKahn,twointernetpioneerswereconsideredthefirstindividualstoutilize TCP/IP protocolandinafewyears,NCPwasnolongerneeded,makingARPANETrequiring TCP/IPinstead.ManythatarefamiliarwithinternetprotocolrecognizeTCP/IPsinceitisstillinuse tothisveryday. ARPANETGrowsBeyondtheUnitedStates Whiletheearly1970swouldprovetobetheformativeyearsfortheearlyinternet,asthe1970s unfoldedmanyinnovationstookplacethatexpandedARPANETsreachpasttheshoresofAmerica andaroundtheworldforthefirsttime.ItwastheSputniksatellitethatoriginallygottheideaoffthe

groundandlessthan20yearslateritwasthesatellitethatledtothedevelopmentofthefirst transatlantic link.The ARPANETexpandedwithout the helpofafixedlineforthefirsttime, instead using satellite radio waves to transmit data packets. This first satellite link was called SATNET.SATNETeffectivelyconnectedboththeUSAandEurope(Norwaytobeexact)andthen Norway connected the rest of Europe to the network of computers. While the military started ARPANET,itgrewbiggerthanjustamilitaryproject.Infact,thesatellitesthatwereusedinthe SATNETprojectwereownednotbytheUSmilitary,butaconsortiumofseveralcountries. MakingtheConnectionEasierandQuicker WhiletheARPANETandSATNETexpandedthereachofthefirstinternet,connectingcomputers totheinternetwasstillahodgepodgeofcablesandquiteunorganized.Thisleadtothecreationof theEthernetcable.TheEthernetcableisstillusedtoday.Infact,manyhomecomputersstillusea fixedlinethatconnectstheircomputerviaanEthernetcabletotheirmodemandthentotheirISP (internetserviceprovider).Ethernetoffersaneasy,economicalandpracticalwaytomovedata quicklyfromonecomputertoanothercomputerordeviceathighspeeds.Ethernetcablesnotonly madeconnectingaLAN(localareanetwork)moresimple,butincreasedthespeedatwhichthese computerscantalktooneanother. BesidesEthernet,anothermajorinnovationdevelopedduringthe1970swasUUCPwhichstoodfor (UnixtoUnixCopy).ThisinnovationwascreatedbySteveBellovin.Itwasaprotocoldevelopedfor computersthatrunontheUnixplatform.Duringthe1970s,WindowsandMacOSsdidntexist, mainlymoretechnicaltypesofplatformswereavailableUnixbeingone.UUCPwasusedbyUnix computerstoeasilysendandreceivefiles.AsUUCPdevelopedmorethroughouttheyears,itgrew intowhatisnowknownasUsenet.Usenetisanewsgroupnetworkstillusedbymillionsofpeople tosendnews,datafilesandemailthroughouttheinternet.Asthe1970scametoaclose,the ARPANETchangeddrastically.Whileitstartedwithonlyafewcomputers,by1979ithadaround 111computerslinkedintothenetwork,howeverthelinespeedcontinuedtobethesameat50kbps. Asthe1980swouldstart,therewouldbehugechangestotheinternetasweknowittoday. TheInternetContinuestoGrowinthe1980s Whilethe1970ssawtheverybeginningoftheinternetcalledtheARPANETandinnovationsin packet protocol, Ethernet, UUCP and SATNET, during the 1980s, the internet will change drastically,nevertobethesame.Bytheendofthedecade,theinternetwillbewellonitswayof becomingtheinternetmanyofusknowandexperiencetoday. Therearemanyreasonswhyduringthe1980stheinternetchangeddrastically.Firstwasthemany technicalinnovations thatoccurredandmostoftheseinnovationshappenedduetomuchmore smaller,fasterandaffordablecomputersandhardware.Nolongerwerecomputersoutofreachof mostusersandorganizations.Duringthe1980scomputersbecamecommonplaceandwereeasily affordable to universities, businesses and ultimately individuals. But besides the influx of technology,manyneworganizationsweredevelopedtohelpmanagethemanynewusersthatwere utilizingtheinternetinitsgrowingforms.Forinstanceduringthis10yearperiod,theinternetgrew fromabout150computerhostsonthenettoastaggering200,000computersbytheendof1989.As theinternettookoff,thetechnologyandpotentialknownastheinternetwasfinallybeingfulfilled. TheEarly1980s ARPANETstillcontinuedtodominatetheinternetduringthe1980s,butothernetworkswere alreadyestablishedandcontinuedtogrow.WhileARPANETwascreatedbythegovernmentfor militaryuseinitially,moreandgovernmentprogramswereutilizingtheARPANETalongwitha widevarietyofresearchinstitutions.OnenetworkthatfoundtheARPANETquiteusefulwasthe National Science Foundation, they created a network called the CSNET (Computer Science

Network).CSNETwasspecificallycreatedtoconductscientificresearch.Whilemanyorganizations andinstitutionswantedtoconnecttoARPANET,unfortunately,notallwereallowedorcapableof doingso.TheCSNETmadeiteasierforaresearchinstitutiontocommunicatewithoneanother. Finally in 1981, a plan was put into place that finally allowed computers that utilized either ARPANETorCSNETtoconnectbothnets,makinganeasywayforbothnetworkstocommunicate witheachother. Therewereotherinnovationsthatimprovedcommunicationsbetweencomputersaroundthecountry andworld.Oneinnovationthatisstillinusetodayandprovedtomaketheinternetmoreuniform andfacilitateusewasthecreationofDNS(DomainNameSystem). DNS (Domain Name System) was an innovation that vastly improved the way individuals communicatewithoneanotherorotherserversontheinternet.BeforetheimplementationofDNS, longcumbersomenumbershadtobeinputtedinordertocontactanothercomputer.Notonlywasit verydifficulttoremember,butmadetheentireprocesstakealongtime.DNSisasystemthat makesiteasytoconnectwithanothercomputer.Infact,wecontinuetousethissystemtoday.While wemayactuallyinputanameintoourinternetbrowsertovisitasite,eachnamehasanIPnumber (IPstandsforinternetprotocol).SowhenweenterthenameGoogle.comintoourbrowser,whatyou dontseeisthatthecomputeractuallyisnotsearchingtoconnectwithGoogle.com,buttheDNSIP addressthatis216.239.51.99.OnceDNSbecameoperationalandused,nolongerdidindividualsor organizationshavetoremembermeaninglessnumbers,insteadtheyonlyhadtorememberthename ofthesiteoractuallytheserverthatonecomputerconnectsto. AsDNStookhold,otherprotocolswouldbecomemandatory.OnJanuary1,1983,allcomputerson ARPANETandCSNETnolongerworkedwiththeoriginalprotocolNCPandinstead,allcomputers requiredTCP/IPtocontinuetoconnect. BigEventsin1985 Duringtheearlytomid1980splentyofinnovationoccurredandthepricesoftechnologyand hardware became much more affordable. Moores Law, which states that a computer chip will doubleinpowerandhalveinpriceevery18monthswasbeingrealizedandasmoreandmore businesses,organizationsandindividualspurchasedcomputersandastheybecameeasiertouse, manywantedmorethanjustastandaloneappliance,theywantedtotalkandconnectwithothers aroundtheworld.1985turnedouttobeahugeyearfortheinternet.TheARPANETwasgrowing exponentiallyyearafteryearandin1985,therewereover1,000computers(hosts)connectedtothe network.Whilethisnetworkwasinitiallycreatedformilitaryuses,otherorganizationsfoundittobe useful including universities, businesses and more. The Department of defense came to the realizationthatitsmilitaryprogramsthatwerealsoonthenetworkwouldbealiabilityandeasyto attack.SotheARPANETwassplitintotwo,onenetformilitarypurposesnowcalledMILNETand the existing ARPANET which was now dedicated to other disciplines without any military componentsonit.ItshouldstillbenotedthatARPANETcontinuedtobesupportedbytheDOD (DepartmentofDefense)eventhoughmilitaryorganizationsdidntutilizethenetwork. BesidesARPANETsplittingintwo,anotherinnovationoccurredin1985.CSNETwhichduringthe 80smoldedintotheARPANETcontractedMCICorporationtoupgradethenetwork.Theline speed from its earliest days was 50 Kbps, in 1985 it was only 56 kbps, however with new innovationsintechnology,circuitscouldbeimplementedthatofferedamuchfasterdatatransfer speed25timesfaster.ThenewlinesthatwereimplementedwerecalledT1lines.Theydelivered data transfer speeds up to 1.5 Mbps (million bits per second). To use these faster lines, other technologywasnecessary.IBMforinstancecreatedadvancedroutersandacompanycalledMerit, wouldmanagethenetwork.Thenewupgradednetworkwouldgoonlinein1986.Itwascalled NSFNETforNationalScienceFoundationNetwork.However,itisimportanttonotethattheolder

networkCSNETthathadspeedsof56kbpsstillcontinuedtooperate. Asthemid1980scameandwent,trafficontheinternetexploded.From1985totheendof1989, traffic soared from a few thousand computers (hosts), to about 200,000 hosts. In addition, organizationsandindividualscouldcommunicatemuchfaster,whilethefirstT1lineofferedspeeds of 1.5 Mbps, by the end of the decade T3 line was in the works and when it was finally implementedin1991,itallowedfordatatransferspeedsof45Mbps. TheInternetasWeKnowIt While the internet started in late 1969, it revealed its true potential by the end of the 1980s. However,throughoutthe1990s,theinternetwouldcontinuetogrowinleapsandboundsbeyond anyonescomprehension.In10shortyears,theinternetwillhavetransformedfromatoolusedby mainlyresearchandtechsavvyindividuals toa household appliance that was foundinalmost anyoneshomeandwhichturnedintoaneconomicboomthatfueledtheeconomytogrow.While theinternetgrew,itrequiredthehelpofmanycomponentsincludingmoreandmorepowerfulhome computers,software,overalltechnologicaladvancesandapplicationsthatmadeitworthwhilefor commonpeopletouse. TheInternetandtheEarly1990s Duringthe1990sastheinternetcontinuedtotakeoff,therewereplentyofinnovationsthatspurred moreandmoregrowth.Besidesbeingmorepopularwithindividualusers,otherareasenteredinto themixincludinginnovationsthatincludedthesocialsideoftheinternetandthecommercialside thatcontinuedtofuelmoneyandresearchintothisincredibletechnology. Asstatedearlierbefore,thespeedatwhichthetransferofinformationoccurredwasabout1.5Mbps withaT1line,howeverinthelate80sanew,fasterlineofcommunicationswasplanned,itfinally becameoperationalin1991.ItwastheT3lineanditmadecommunicationsincrediblyfastat45 Mbps.WiththisnewT3linetheslower,morecumbersomeCSNETwasnolongerneeded.Itwas finallyretired.However,withthefallofCSNET,anewnetworkrose,itwascalledNREN(National ResearchandEducationNetwork).Itwascreatedtoconducthighspeednetworkingresearch. Intheearly1990s,theinternethadabout300,000hostcomputers,howeverbytheendofthe decadesthenumberwouldbeinthehundredofmillionsandtodaytheamountofcomputerstiedto theinternetislikelyinthebillions.Withsomuchinnovationoverthelastfewdecades,theinternet grewfromacoupleofdozencomputerstobillionsinablinkofaneye.Ithastransformedourworld forever.Besidesthetechnologicaladvancesthatoccurred,theinternetalsochangedoursocietyand prettymuchhashadanimpactoneveryaspectofourlives. TheWorldWideWeb ThevastmajorityofinternetusersdonotstartuptheircomputersandlogontotheARPANET,we usuallyopenourbrowsersandstarttypingwww.WWWstandsfortheWorldWideWebandthis webisoneofthemostimportantinnovationsthattheinternethasseeninitsrelativelyshortlife. TheWorldWideWebisprettymuchaplatformthatmakesiteasytoaccessdataontheinternet. TheWebuseshypertextlinkswhicharepiecesofcodethatlinksonesitetoanother(andinmany casesonecomputerhosttoanothercomputerhost).Usingabrowser,youcaneasilyaccessalinkby clickingamouse,essentiallymovingfromonecomputertoanotherlocatedonawebwithasingle click.Mostoftodayscomputerusersaccesstheinternetviaabrowser,whetheritisMicrosofts InternetExplorer,MozillasFirefoxorotherbrowsers.Thebrowseritselfhelpsausertonotonly accessdata,butviewit.Today,viathewebandabrowser,youcanviewtextandothertypesof mediaandnavigateeasilyfromonepagetoanotherutilizinghypertextlinks. TheWorldWideWebwasactuallycreatedin1989bySirTimBernersLee,SirSamWalkerand RobertCaillau.TheyweredoingresearchatCERN(EuropeanOrganizationforNuclearResearch);

howevertheWorldWideWebwasintroducedpubliclyonAugust6,1991.ThisiswhentheInternet finallytookoff. TheWorldWideWebwasoneofseveraltypesofplatformsdevelopedfortheinternetthatutilized hypertextsystems.Whileothersexistedintheearly1990s,therewereafewreasonsthattheWeb tookoffinpopularityanduse.Firstoff,hypertextlinksontheWebplatformdidnotneedtobebi directional,theycouldbeonewaylinks(anotherplatformrequiredthatlinksneededtobebi directioncomplicatinguse)andperhapsthebiggestreasonthattheWebtookoffwasthatitwas free. It didnt require licensing restrictions. Other platforms required special hardware and this hardware and the use of software cost money making many organizations to choose the free alternative. InordertousetheWorldWideWebproficiently,abrowserisnecessarytoviewtextandmedia.The WorldWideWebtookoffinpopularitywhenthefirstwebbrowsernamedMosaicwasreleasedin 1993.MosaicwasaneasytousegraphicalbrowsercreatedbyNCSA.Itrevolutionizedthewaythat manyaccessedinformationanddataonthewebanditdefinitelyhelpedtogrowtheinternetinto whatitistoday.Withtheuseofabrowser,youcanviewawebpagethatincludesmanydifferent piecesofdataormedia.Before,toaccesseachimageorpieceofdataormedia,youwouldhaveto openanewfileorwindow.AsMosaicgrewinpopularity,theprojectbecametheNetscapebrowser. MarcAndreessenwastheleaderoftheMosaicprojectanditwasthisbrowserthatbecamethemost widelyusedintheearlytomid1990s.Itshouldalsobenotedthatin1995,manyconsiderthe publicofferingofNetscapesstocktobethebeginningoftheDot.comboomchangingtheindustry forever. WhileMosaicandthenNetscapeweredominantintheearlytomid90sasmoreandmoreofthe publicusingMicrosoftWindowssoftwareontheirhomecomputersstartedtogoonline,Microsoft startedabrowserwarsofsortstocontrolthebrowserthatmanywouldusetoaccesstheweb. MicrosoftwasextremelyeffectiveinpromotingtheirIE(InternetExplorer)browser;infacttheydid this by bundling the software with their operating system most notably Windows 98. While Netscapehadabout85%ofthebrowsershareinthemid90s,by2003Netscapewasusedbyless than 1% and is now defunct. Today, Internet Explorer is still the dominant browser used by Windows computers, however other browsers are now available and have been eating into MicrosoftsmarketshareincludingtheopensourceMozillabrowserFirefox,GooglesChrome, Safariandmore. Whileitwasthebrowserthatmadeitpossibleandeasytoviewwebpagessimpleandquickly,other componentsofnavigatingthewebwerenecessary.Forinstance,thewebwasgrowingsofast,itwas hardtokeeptrackofwhatwasonit.Whatwasneededwasadirectory.Withsomuchinformation on the web in the early 1990s many tried to come up with a way to easily search for this informationandretrieveit.Thesolutiontothisproblemwasthesearchengineandtheveryfirst searchenginetomakeitbigwasYahoo! TheFirstMainstreamSearchEngineisCreated Goingbacktotheearly1990s,thewebwasmoreorlessahugedepotofinformation,unfortunately, therewasnoeasywaytoorganizeittohelpthemillionsofpeoplenowabletoaccessthewebfind theinformationthattheywerelookingfor.Yahoowascreatedbytwostudents,onewasJerryYang. InJanuaryof1994,hecreatedJerrysGuidetotheWorldWideWeb.However,itwasntuntil Marchof1995thatYahoo(YetAnotherHierarchicalOfficiousOracle)wasincorporated.While mostconsiderYahoo,asearchengineofsortswhereyoucanfindspecificitemsinawebpage,it originallystartedoutasadirectoryofwebsites.Today,Yahooismorespecificallyawebportal offeringquitealotofservicesthatareweborientedincludingemail,instantmessaging,streaming radio,newsandmore.

Google,TodaysUltimateSearchEngine WhileYahoowastheprettymuchthefirstmajorsearchengine,afewyearslaterGoogletookover thereignsandbecamethedefactosearchengineandoneofthelargestcompaniesintheworld(by marketcapitalization).Googletoostartedatauniversity.Itoriginallystartedasaresearchprojectto makesearchingthewebmoreeffective.Duringtheearlyandmid90ssearchenginesprimarily used meta tags and onpage information to rank and include web pages into the directory. Unfortunately,thissystemwaseasilygamedandtheinformationthatanindividualsearchedfordid notturnuptheresultsthatwererelevant,abettermethodofsearchneededtobedeveloped.Google created what is now known as Page Rank. This is an algorithm that bases the relevance or importanceofawebpageontheweightedsumofthepageranksthatlinkedtothecorresponding page.Themoreawebpagecorrelatedwithtopics,themorerelevantapagewouldbeandthispage wouldberankedhigherforthatspecificsearchterm. Inturnedoutthatfromtheverybeginning,Googlesmainhypothesiswascorrect.Thepopularityof the site and its clean almost baron home page without the clutter of advertising was seen as attractivetomany.However,notonlywasGoogleagreatsearchenginethatdeliveredextremely relevantresults,itwasabletomonetizeitstechnologywithtargetedtextadsthatmadeGoogle.com oneofthemostprofitablecompaniesinthehistoryoftheworld. AccessingtheInternet Whiletheinternetgrewinleapsandboundsduringthe1990s,itwasfueledinpart,becauseitwas moreandmoreeasiertoaccess.Forinstance,duringtheearly1990s,manyaccessedthewebviaan ISPorInternetServiceProvider.Sincebroadbandtechnologywasmostlyindevelopmentinthose yearsorutilizedbybigcorporationsandorganizationsthatcouldaffordT1orT3lines,most individuals utilizeddialupaccesstotheinternet.Forthemostpart,usingacomputerdialup modemusuallygaveyouspeedsofabout14Kbpsto28Kbps.Duringthelaterpartofthedecade, fasterspeedswererealizedwithtoprateddialmodemsthatcoulddeliverupto56Kbps.Duringthe verylate90snewertechnologywasstartingtofirstcometomarket,thisincludedcablemodems and DSL modems. Cable modems utilized the bandwidth of the TV cable that came to most peopleshome.DSLutilizedtechnologytoturnaregularhomeorbusinesstelephoneconnection intoahighspeedpipetotheinternet.Whiledialupservicewasrelativelyaffordable,usuallyaround the$20mark,broadbandinitsinitialstageswasmuchmoreexpensive,usuallyclosetothe$100or morepricerange.OnecompanythattooktheISPtoanewlevelwasAOL.AOLnotonlycombined awaytoaccesstheinternet,butprettymuchcreatedawalledcommunitywithplentyofinternet applicationsforusebyitsmembers. AOL BesidesYahooandGoogle,anotherhugeforceformakingiteasierforthegeneralpublictoutilize thewebwasAOL(AmericaOnline).Duringmuchofthe1990smanyhouseholdssawtheinternet asaforeigntechnologythatwasnotthateasytouse.HoweverAOLwasfocusedonthesenew,non technicalusers.AOLofferedandstilldoesaveryeasy,nontechnicalwayofexperiencingtheweb andtheinternet.AOLoffereditsownproprietarysoftwarethatincludedmanyoftheservicesthat mostwantedfromthewebincludingemail.SomejournalistswentontocalltheeaseatwhichAOL wastouseasbeingtheinternetontrainingwheels.Whileinthelate1990sAOLhadcloseto30 millionsubscribersthatutilizedadialupconnection,asbroadbandtookover,AOLlostthebulkof theirmonthlysubscribersandnowitsservicehasseenitsprominencemuchdiminished. Overtheyears,AOLhadanenormous influenceonintroducingplentyofwebservices tothe massesincludingemail,chatrooms,instantmessenger,andmore. TheManyApplicationsforInternetUse

TheHistoryoftheinternetwouldnotbecompletewithoutmentioningthemanyapplicationsthat fueleditsgrowth.Throughouttheyears,manyapplicationsandinnovationshavemadetheinternet andspecificallytheWorldWideWebadestinationfornotonlyindividuals,butbusinesses.Hereare justafewofthetechnologiesthathaveaconsiderableimpactonthewaywecommunicateanddo business. EmailtheInternetsKillerApp MostwouldsaythatEmailwasandstillcontinuestobethekillerapplicationthatmakestheinternet irresistibleasatechnologyforbothbusinessandindividuals.Itshardtofathomaworldwithout email;howeveritwasntthatlongagothatwereliedonpostoratmostthefax.Emailhasmade sendingatextmessagehalfwayaroundtheworldinstantlychildsplay.Notonlywasitfast,easy andveryeffective,itwasfree.Originallyconceivedin1972,emailisnowessentialtopracticallyall typesofbusinessesandpersonalcommunications.Westillusuallylogononlytocheckouremail andwhetheryousendoneemail,twoorthousandsthecostisfree.Today,emailhasgrownto includenotonlyatextmessage,butalltypesofmedia,hypertextlinks,etc. Emailhasgrowninotherwaysaswell.Whenitwasoriginallyconceived,youneededyourown server,howevertodaythereareplentyoffreeemailservicesonlinewhereyoucanaccessyourown emailaccount.WhetheryouuseYahooMail,Hotmail,Gmail,accessingmailfromyourcomputer oronlineisusuallyfreeandeasy.Inaddition,webbasedemaildoesnotrequireyoutobeatyour computertocheckyouremail,youcanbeatanylocationaroundtheworldtoread,writeandsend email. TheInnovationoftheForum Forthosethatusedtheinternetinthe80sandearly90s,onewaytoaccessinformationwasthe digitalbulletinboard.Bulletinboardsystemswerelikelittleinternetcommunities.Auserwould dialuptheinternetonaphonelineandeitherupload,downloadorwritemessagestoabulletin board.Beforethewebpage,informationwasusuallyexchangedatthesetypesofdestinations.The earlybulletinboardsturnedintotheforumsoftoday.Today,youcanvisitawidevarietyofforums todiscusscars,music,health,sports,etc.Notonlycanyoucreateathreadortopictotalkabout,but youcanreadotherscommentsorrespondtootherthreads.Theseminicommunitieshelpedtoforge theinternetandstillplayahugeroleinthesocialaspectsoftheinternettoday. OnlineDating Anothersocialaspectoftheinternetthatfueleditsgrowththroughoutthelasttwodecadesisonline dating.Whilemanydontrealizeit,onlinedatinghashadahugeimpactonhowwemeetanddate today.Whilepeoplemetusingdigitalbulletinboardsintheearlyyears,onceAOLbecamepopular, chatroomsbecameonewaytomeetawideselectionofpeopleinstantly.Chatroomswereapopular applicationforAOLusers.Youcanjoinageneralchat,whereyoucantalkto20ormorepeopleina roomatonetimeorjoinachatroomthathadaspecifictopicororientation.Andwhilemanypeople mighthavenotwentonlinetofindadateatfirst,withsomuchdemandforchattingandmeeting people,websitesstartedtospringuptospecificallymeetpeople. SocialNetworking Besidessearchengines,webbrowsersandISPsotherinnovationshelpedmaketheinternetwhatit istoday.Thesocialaspectsoftheinternethavebeenincredibleandtheinternetoverthelastfew decades have touched pretty much all of our lives. However, social networks have taken these aspectsastepfurthermakingiteasierthanevertostayclosetofriends,bepartofalargeonline groupororganizationandmobilizethemassesforawidevarietyofpoliticalandsocialcauses.Two socialnetworksthathavebecomehugeoverthelastfewyearsareMySpace.comandFacebook.com. Bothareprettysimilar,buthaveenoughdifferencestobeuniqueontheirown.Theyallowan

individualtosetuptheirownpageonthenetworkandtokeeptrackandmakefriendseasily.Also thesepagesaremadetobeupdatedfrequentlywithimages,video,audioandtext. Blogs Blogshavebecomequitepopularinrecentyears.Originally,itwasstaticwebpagesthatwerethe most popular way for sites and developers to post text, images and other media on the web. However,asitbecamemoreandmoreeasiertoaccesstheinternetandmoreandmorepeople wantedtosharetheirthoughtsandideasinsteadofcreateanentiresite,blogorweblogsbecame popular.Blogshelpeitherindividualsororganizationscommunicatetoanaudienceonaregular basis.Theyaremucheasytoupdatethanthetypicalwebsiteandmostblogsoffercommentary, news,thoughtsandtheoccasionalrant.Someblogsalsooffermediaonaregularbasis,sometimes theyarereferredtoaspodcastsforaudiomediaoravlogforvideomedia. Andwhileblogsusuallytakeuparatherlongformofwritingwithmanyentrieswelloverseveral hundredwords,anewtypeofblogginghasbecomemainstreamtwittering.Twitter.comoffersthe ability for many bloggers to send smaller messages (microblogging) to the web easily and conveniently.Themessagescanonlybe140charactersorsmaller.However,Twitter.comhastaken offandithasbecomeaninternationalphenomenon. EconomicInfluenceontheHistoryoftheInternet Enoughcantbesaidabouttheeconomicimpactthattheinternethasbroughttotheworld.Perhaps trillionsofdollarshavebeencreatedinwealthfromtheinternetandbillionsofliveshavebeen changedduetoecommerce.Whiletheinternetstartedtogrowquicklyinthelate80s,itgrew exponentially,oncetheUSgovernmentallowedittoincludecommercialwebsiteswhichbroughtto theinternetecommerce. Theabilityforcommercialenterprisetotakeplaceontheinternethadahugeaffectontheinternet. TheUSgavethegreenlightin1991.However,manyinthebusinessworldbegantotakenoteafew yearslaterwhenaninitialpublicoffering(IPO)ofNetscapestartedtheDot.comBoom.Netscape wasthefirstpopularwebbrowser.ItwentupforIPOwithanopeningstockpriceof$28,howeverit closedatawhopping$75pershare.Thissentshockwavesthroughthemarketasdemandfortech companiesspecificallyinvolvedintheinternettookplace.ManyinternetbasedIPOshadincredible resultsincluding:Amazon.com,Ebay.com,AOL.comandYahoo.com. WhilethemarketandIPOsmademanyrich,italsohadanothereffect,billionsofdollarswere beingfunneledintothetechsectorandspecificallytocompaniesthatweredevelopingtechnologies orinnovatingtheinternetandtheweb.Throughoutthe1990slotsofgrowthintheoverallworld economywasattributedtocomputersandtheinternetanditcontinuestothisday.Infact,theglobal economycanbeattributedtomanyoftheinnovationsoftheinternet.Withmoreandmoreofthe worldspopulationabletodobusinessonline,theworldmarketsaremoreintertwinedthanever before. GoogleGoesPublic Another incredible success story is Google. Obviously, Google is the premier search engine, however it is also one of the largest companies in the world due to its stock value (market capitalization).Inaddition,Googlehasplayedabigroleinhelpingsmallbusinessesadvertisewith theircontextualtextadsnotonlyhelpingmanywebsitesdrawtraffictotheirsite,butalsohelping contentcreators whodevelop their ownwebsites andblogs tomonetizetheirsite. This affect createsmoreandmorequalitycontentontheweb. BusinesshasChangedDuetotheInternet Conductingbusinesshaschangeddrasticallyoverthelast20yearsduetoboththecomputerandthe

internet,nevertobethesameagain.Infact,withemail,VOIP(voiceoverinternetprotocol),cloud computing,onlinebankingandotherservices,itiseasierandmoreconvenientthanevertodo business.Infact,manyofthephysicalbarriersofconductingbusinesshavebeenerased.Today, manycaneasilyworkfromhomeorbecometechnomadsworkingfromeitheracoffeeshoporhalf wayaroundtheworldwhenonvacation.Theworldhasdefinitelychangedduetotheinternets abilitytocommunicatewitheasefrompracticallyanylocation.Inafewshortdecades,theinternet hasgrownfromanetworkofafewdozencomputerstopracticallyconnectingtheentireworlds population.Theselast20yearshaveseentremendousgrowth,whattheinternethasinstoreforthe next20yearscanonlyfathomthemind. (ref:http://www.isoc.org/internet/history