The first recorded description of the social interactions that could be enabled through networking was a series of memos written by J.C.R. Licklider of MIT in August 1962 discussing his "Galactic Network" concept. He envisioned a globally interconnected set of computers through which everyone could quickly access data and programs from any site. In spirit, the concept was very much like the Internet of today. Licklider was the first head of the computer research program at DARPA, starting in October 1962. While at DARPA he convinced his successors of the importance of this networking concept.1
Widespread development of LANS (local area network), PCs and workstations in the 1980s allowed the Internet to flourish. Ethernet technology, which was developed by Bob Metcalfe at Xerox PARC in 1973, and is most likely the dominant network technology used today.
In March 1989, Tim Berners-Lee, a computer scientist working at the European Particle Physics Laboratory CERN, made a proposal for an information management system.
In October 1990, Tim had specified the three fundamental technologies that remain the foundation of today’s Web, and are likely to see in parts of your Web browser:
- HTML - HyperText Markup Language: The publishing format for the Web, including the ability to format documents and link to other documents and resources.
- URI - Uniform Resource Identifier: A kind of “address” that is unique to each resource on the Web.
- HTTP - Hypertext Transfer Protocol: Allows for the retrieval of linked resources from across the Web.
In April 1993, CERN announced that the World Wide Web technology would be available for anyone to use on a royalty-free basis.
The Internet today is a widespread information infrastructure and has changed the world by becoming one of the most powerful communication tools the world has ever known. Its history is complex and involves many aspects. Its influence reaches not only to the technical fields of computer communications, but throughout society as we move toward the increasing use of online tools to accomplish electronic commerce, information acquisition, and community operations.
The Web has fundamentally altered the way we teach and learn, buy and sell, inform and are informed, agree and disagree, share and collaborate, meet and love, and tackle problems ranging from putting food on our tables to curing cancer.2
More about Tim Berners-Lee
