Forty years ago today two computers, one at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and one at Stanford, communicated with one another, giving rise to what is now known as the Internet.
Leonard Kleinrock, a member of the team at UCLA, had first shared his idea of a way for computers to exchange data in 1962 in his graduate dissertation, and on 29 October 1969, only 3 months after man first landed on the moon, his idea became a reality.
From 1969 through to the late 1980’s the Internet saw much investment and development, but it was largely used by government and research institutes. The Internet did not become a tool for the masses until 1990 when Sir Tim Berners-Lee, while at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory, created an easy-to-use system that links text, pictures and sound across the Internet called the World Wide Web. Since that time we have seen immense changes in the way we receive and disseminate information, communicate and work.
In a recent interview with the AFP Mr. Kleinrock admitted, “We are constantly surprised by the applications that come along. It’s a teenager now. It’s leaned some things but it has a long way to go.”
The combination of the Internet and the World Wide Web has made it possible for sites like element14 to exist. Sites where users can research, network and collaborate with like minded individuals around the world.
To mark this occasion please share your thoughts on how you believe the Internet will change over the next 40 years (or what you would like to see changed). To participate in the discussion you need to be logged in.
