History of the Internet

Paper Summary:

The paper relates that US President Eisenhower created the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) to regain the technological lead in the arms race. The paper discusses how ARPA scientists worked to establish a secure communication channel for the United States government that eventually became public and evolved into the Internet technologies of today.

From the Paper:

"Talk to almost anyone in the world today, mention the word "Internet" and chances are they will not look at you with a puzzled gaze. Had you uttered that word 25 years ago, you might have had different "clueless" answers - unless you ended up talking with an academic, a scientist or military personnel involved in the ARPANET project. The Internet is truly a scientific and technological revolution of our generation. It became a force multiplier in different our daily lives, business, the industry and almost any endeavor there is today. Without the Internet today, we would still be learning new things by reading books; we would still be sending our mail through the post office; we would still use the landline telephone as our primary means - and only, of voice communication; we would still be bringing our vacation pictures to work in brick-like albums; or we would still be doing our shopping at various malls and markets. Now that the Internet is as ubiquitous as the sun on the horizon, we can send electronic mail with attached pictures or videos in a split second; we can post our photo albums online; we can chat with anyone in the world through our PCs; we can go online shopping anytime and anywhere; or we can learn about anything just by surfing."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Cerf, Vinton. Histories of the Internet: A Brief History of the Internet and Related Networks. 5 February 2008. Internet Society (ISOC). 27 March 2008. <http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/cerf.shtml>.
• Griffiths, Richard T. History of the Internet, Internet for Historians (and just about everyone else). 11 October 2002. Leiden University. 27 March 2008. <http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/history/ivh/frame_theorie.html>.
• Leiner, Barry M., Vinton G. Cerf, David D. Clark, Robert E. Kahn, Leonard Kleinrock, Daniel C. Lynch, Jon Postel, Larry G. Roberts and Stephen Wolff. Histories of the Internet: A Brief History of the Internet. 10 December 2003. Internet Society (ISOC). 27 March 2008. <http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml#Initial_Concepts>.
• Stewart, William. Living Internet. 2 February 2008. 27 March 2008. <http://www.livinginternet.com/>.

More papers on History of the Internet:

• Article Review # 115429 : "A Two-Sided History of the Media"
• Analytical Essay # 12378 : "The History of the Internet"
• Analytical Essay # 73201 : "Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of The Internet". "

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