Where did the internet come from ?, and where is it going.

Where did the internet come from?, and where is it going.
After "thirty five years" in existance,and possibly one of the single
greatest defining creations in human history, there seem to be still
differing theories on the origins of the internet.

Most of these theories seem to disagree on basically three opposing ideas. Original Timelines,first
discoverers,and the developement of the processes that are actually needed,
to define"the internet"as we know it today.I want to explore some of these
theories, some of the players involved and the eventual future of the
internet as we move closer and closer to a tipping point of access, freedom
and the rights of individuals to imformation and knowledge.

My intention is not to make this a huge text filled thread with pages and
pages of technical data or endless paragraphs of imformation, but to explain
in a brief way the original players,possible motives, timelines,
coincedences,and the possible future of what we call "The Internet".

In 1957,in response to the launch of Sputnik,The department of defense
advanced research project agencies or DARPA,wanted to start a program to
further advance the use of exotic technologies.This is one of the original
and earliest theories regarding the origins of the internet.

At roughly around the same time, in 1960, a man named J.C.R.Licklider, an
MIT professor, published a groundbreaking paper called "Man Computer
Symbiosis".The main idea of the paper was computers should be made so they
could "enable men and computers to cooperate in making decisions and
controlling complex calculations and situations without the dependance on
predetermined programming".Licklider was speaking about real time
interactive computing.Something we all take for granted today.

Then in 1961, another MIT professor named Leonard Kleinrock wrote a paper
called "Information Flow in Large Communication Nets."Notice the word
"net".Then again, in 1962 ,J.C.R.Licklider wrote another paper with the help
of a man called W.Clark,called "on-line Man Computer Communications."Notice
the word "on-line".

So it would seem,soon after DARPA invisioned a new program,
mysteriously enough, professors at MIT started writing groundbreaking papers
regarding this new type of technology idea, regarding computers and
communication.

AT&T Bell Labs did some of the first digital transmission and switching in
1962, seven years before the "US Internet" began. When the Department of
Defense (DoD) commissioned the Advanced Research Project Agency's Network to
do research into networking, it was AT&T that provided 50kbps lines.

In February 1966 the ARPAnet project was born, headed by a man named Charles
Herzfeld.Remember this name I will come back to it later.The director of
ARPA's information office, Bob Taylor,ran the program.

He was director of ARPA's Information Processing Techniques Office (1965–
69), founder and later manager of Xerox PARC's Computer Science Laboratory
(CSL) (1970–83), and founder and manager of Digital Equipment Corporation's
Systems Research Center (SRC) (1983–96).

Bob Taylor claims that ARPAnet was not created for ther purpose of alowing
people to communicate freely over large distances in real time,but to create
a type of time sharing technology,where computers could be linked together
to process large amounts of information using their combined processing
power.

Bob Taylor also claims that its creation was not motivated by
considerations of war.He also states, which is interesting, that only
himself and his boss Charles Herzfeld originally new about the launch of
ARPAnet.

Strangely enough, in 1968 the national physical laboratory in Great Brtian
set up the first test network on the principles of "packet switching",packet
switching is digital network methods that group data, any data, into blocks
called "packets".Shortly after this discovery, ARPA funded a larger project
regarding this technology.

In 1969, AT&T's Bell Labs developed Unix which was "the operating system
behind the early Internet, and was one of the key operating systems in the
middle and late ARPANET."

The next big name in the origins of the internet is Vinton Cerf, whom some
call one of the fathers of the internet.He worked on earlier versions of
Arpanet TCP protocols at the university of California between 1968-1972.He
moved to Stanford in 1972.At the same time another man named Bob Kahn was
working for a contracting firm , which he left to join ARPAnet.

Then in October 1972 ARPAnet demonstrated their system for the first
time.Following that demonstration, an international netwroking group was
established.Headed by Vinton Cerf.

In the spring of 1973 Vinton Cerf and Bob Kahn discussed the problems
interconnecting multiple packets that were not identicle, and the basic
concept of TCP was presented.Transmission Control Protocol was born and some
suggest that this is truly the beginning of the internet as we know it
today.

None of this could not have happened without Bob Taylor who directed funding
to the famous Douglas Engelbart 1968 public demonstration in San Francisco
to several thousand computer experts.He showed how he could manipulate a
computer remotely located in Menlo Park, while sitting on a San Francisco
stage, using his mouse.

His work was recognized in 1999 by the award of the National Medal of
Technology. The citation reads: "For visionary leadership in the development
of modern computing technology, including initiating the ARPAnet project --
forerunner of today's Internet -- and advancing groundbreaking achievements
in the development of the personal computer and computer networks."

Looking forward, Bob Taylor in 2000, voiced two concerns about the future of
the Internet: control and access.

1. Comparing the Internet to a highway network, he argues there needs to be
a system of licensing users of the Internet just as people need licenses to
drive on the roads. "There are many worse ways of endangering a larger
number of people on the Internet than on the highways," he warns. "It's
possible for people to generate networks that reproduce themselves and are
very difficult or impossible to kill off. I want everyone to have the right
to use it, but there's got to be some way to insure responsibility."

2. Bob Taylor feels strongly that there should be no economic barrier to
going on-line. "Will it be freely available to everyone? If not, it will be
a big disappointment.

Now remember the name Charles Herfeld.He was Bob Taylors boss at
ARPA.Charles Herxfeld has an interesting background and career.Lets look at
it.

He first worked as a physicist; from 1951 to 1953 at the Ballistic Research
Laboratory in Aberdeen, Maryland, and from 1953 to 1955 at the Naval
Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. He then spent several years with the
National Bureau of Standards.He moved to DARPA (or ARPA as it was called at that point) on September 29,
1961 to coordinate the Project Defender program, an early ballistic missile
defense program.

Herzfeld would stay at DARPA until 1967, directing the Ballistic Missile
Defense Program from 1961 to 1963, then moving on to serve as Assistant
Director from 1963 to 1965, and as Director from June, 1965 to March, 1967.
After leaving ARPA, he worked for a number of different companies, including
the ITT Corporation (as Vice President and Director of Research and
Technology) from 1967 to 1985, and as Vice Chairman of Aetna, Jacobs, and
Ramo Technology Ventures, a high technology venture capital group, from 1985
until 1990.

He returned to the Government in 1990, serving as Director of Defense
Research and Engineering from March 12, 1990 to May 18, 1991. He chaired the
Nuclear Weapons Council and the Intelligence R&D Council.

He was also a member of the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel (since
its formation in 1970), the National Commission on Space (to which he was
appointed in 1985), the Defense Science Board, the Defense Policy Board and
the President's Information Advisory Council (PITAC) National Security
Panel, among numerous other government advisory activities.

He is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and the International
Institute for Strategic Studies in London. He is also a Fellow of the
American Physical Society, and of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science.

He is also a member of the Cosmos Club (in Washington D.C.), and of the
Explorers Club (in New York).

Now in my personal opinion Charles Herzfeld seems to be the point of origin
for everything that happened during these times and seems to be very tied
into the DOD and government agencies.His early work on the ballistic missle
program in 1951 and his eventual heading up of the ARPA program ties in
nicely with the theory that the internet was an original creation of the
amercain military, even though it bares no resemblance to the internet as we
know it today.

How was this technology obtained by the military originally?I'm not implying
anything but it seems that things really started to heat up in the early
fifties.I would love to hear peoples theories regarding this coincedence.I
have not done much research on Charles Herzfeld,but what research I've
done,makes me want to ask more questions.

P.S.:Al Gore never claimed that he "invented" the Internet, which implies
that he engineered the technology. In a March 1999 interview with Wolf
Blitzer, Gore said, "During my service in the United States Congress, "I
took the initiative in creating the Internet."Even though this can be viewed
as a urban myth, Al gore was very prevelent in the hyping, and pushing of
what the internet could do for the world.So his connection to the program
and its early origins still needs to be further researched.He also claimed
at the time to be providing intellectual support in regarding applications
for this new technology.So some myths always have a hint of truth to them.

Another interesting bit of information is the acronym ARPA.which stood for advanced research project agency.It is now a top level domain name only used by high level players for purposes related to infastructure.This domain name is not for public use.It now stands for,address routing perameter area.

With all the rumours, and recent talk about the future of access and who
will control that acccess, this thread becomes even more relevant than
ever.I personally fear that in the very near future the spirit of the

internet as we know it now,could be lost forever.The internet might be the
best man made reflection of humanity we have ever seen.Good and bad, right
and wrong,real and imagined, true and false.It defines who we are in so many
ways,but it defines us mostly by our need for freedom.

Freedom to be ourselves, freedom to say,whatever we feel and that right,whether good or
bad is the most important thing facing humanity and the internet today.Jesus
himself said, "the sun rises on the just as well as the unjust",there is no
good without bad.This reality has been with us since the beginning of time
and is what makes us human.

So whatever our personal feelings are towards others,and all that is wrong with the internet today,every human being has the right to the freedom of imformation and knowledge and opinion,and the right to obtain that imformation and knowledge, and express that opinion.The spirit of the internet belongs to all peoples, not governments, not handfuls of politically powerful people, and especially not president Obama.It belongs to us, humanity as a whole and we need to fight for its survival, because if we allow TPTB to limit access to a privledged few,we all,as a whole in a way,lose our one basic human right.The right to be free.

I hope that this has been informative and gets people talking.If I have made
any mistakes regarding any facts, please feel free to let me know.If anyone
can add any additonal insight into my research please do.I welcome and
appreciate any new information I might have overlooked.Peace.

Sources:Wikipedia"history of the internet".
Janet Abbate "Inventing the internet".
Hobbes' internet timeline.
Leonard Kleinrock"information flow in large communication nets."
Google.

www from LHC, is a byproduct of LHC.
2ND


Mod Edit: All Caps – Please Review This Link.

[Mod Note: This applies to your signature, too.]

It came from Al Gore

so he says

Of course, the "internet" as we currently know it didn't really explode until the "web" was invented in 1991. I was on the net before that, and there were certainly things going on (USENET, GOPHER, FTP, mail lists), but the web (and corporate embracing of the web in the mid-to-late 90's) is really what brought it to the masses. Before that, it was just used by comp-sci geeks.

The only ones that know where the internet is headed would be our world leaders.

But if asked, all you will get is Obama telling you it is going to "change" and Gillard saying it will be "moving forward".

reply to post by NuclearPaul


Thanks for replying to this thread.I think the big question here is ,can we do anything about it?Do we have any "real' control over what happens the the internet, or as usual do we just have to sit back and let them take it away and do whatever they want to it.I think its gonna be a huge shock to the system of the masses and I cant even begin to predict what could happen.What will happen to all the people who use the internet as a security blanket because they are socially inept in the real world.What will happen to the flow of information,that we take so much for granted.Will only large corporations and the rich have access?Bob Taylor himself was concerned over future access and who will be in control.Are we all just so dependant on the web , that if they took it away from the majority of its users would social chaos would ensue.Maybe this was the whole plan from the get go.Give them all this illusional freedom, then take it away.The void left would need to be filled with something.After this long, it would be like taking away the cigarettes of a longtime smoker and watching him cope without them.I don't think it's gonna be pretty. peace.

reply to post by camaro68ss


hahahahahahahha algore had as much to do with the internet being created as i had to do with the building of rome

It's actually quite exciting to see the direction the internet is headed. According to renowned Theoretical Physicist Michio Kaku, it's the first step towards a communication tool for a Type I civilization...

reply to post by Git_r_dun


I agree. In typical Al gore style though ,he comes along and jumps on the bandwagon, because if there is money to be made, he is there.If you actually look into his relationships with the main players after all the real work had been done,its very obvious to me this is a recurring theme with him.When a new concept comes along, he all of a sudden becomes the spokeperson or the main becon for it.Its just like the whole global warming concept.Scientists do all the leg work, create the concept ,and Al gore sweeps in and takes all the credit.The guy is nothing but a modern day snake oil salesman.Someone else invents the snakeoil and Al Gore sells it like he made it.When will the masses wake up to this guy. I can only imagine what his next move will be.Peace.

reply to post by mark1167


Two people missing from your list.

Vannevar Bush....Memex.

Tim Berners-Lee....World Wide Web.

reply to post by Cosmic4life


Thanks for the additional names of important people who got this all going. I new that I would be leaving out some names because I didnt want to make it a massive histroy lesson.I just wanted to cover the basic beginnings for anyone who didnt really know how it all began.My main goal was to get discussion on the future of the web and what we can do to have some sort of control over its future. I can see today someone else has started a thread based on the same idea of where are we going with this technology and who will have access.
peace.

The internet is splitting. The DOD started the internet as you know it today then gave it to the world to play with because they didn't see a use for it. Then the DOD took a second look and created a second internet SIPRnet for the DOD which works above the normal internet NIPRnet and has many capabilities that allow them to watch the NIPRnet you and I use. Now hackers are learning how to connect to the SIPRnet and attck the NIPRnet and the military wants to give SIPRnet to the corporations to use for business while they create a new third level internet yet to be defind. I did fail to mention the ATMnet used by banks and wall street for secure banking and also the secure internet that cable companies have used on there cable boxes for years now. But those two use a private line for there personal use so they are really cable company private networks used through there cable lines. But even thoses are under attack due to credit card uses for pay channels stored in the databases of the cable companies. The recent attack on Irans nuclear facility used the type of network the cable companies used. A private network for use by the nuclear facility was attacked and used to spread the virus. And the smart power grids and other smart networks that many countries decided to put in to update every thing from power to street lights are in danger from a attack like that in Iran. They all have private networks but if you can attach to a device controled by the private network you have a path back to the root of the network. The cable boxes for cable television is an example if you simply hack your cable box or cable line you can attack the cablevision companies mainframe and gain access to the databases that hold things like credit card information of customers that are used for buying pay per view channels.

So wheres is it going? Many directions, but they will all be considered to be private networks as the coporations take control of the networks they put there information on.

reply to post by JBA2848


Thanks for the additional imput.Much appreciated.I'm sorry i missed alot of critical facts and maybe I should have cut down on my history lesson and focused more on the mechanics of the modern day systems and how they work.But thats why I was hoping other people like you could fill in the blanks for me.Thanks.
Ive always been worried about the use of the internet as a means for controlling vital infastructure such as power grids, transportation systems, and other critical systems,such as hospital databases, and banking.All these systems must have a shared point of origin that could be vulnerable.Peace.

reply to post by mark1167


Theres a big mess going on now that the government refuses to bring to light. Heres a fictional example.

So you live next to a gas station and you want to hack them in order to steal money from them and there customers credit cards. You have a clear view of the satelite on there roof which is there private network satelite for connecting to the corporate head quarters main frame. So you take a small satelite dish at your house and allign it with the one on there roof. You find information coming through but its scrammbled so it does you no use but that lets you know your in the stream of the satelite feed. Now you send in a virus through the satelite to the store that creates a connection between you and the store and now you go from the store back to the corporate main frame from the store. Bingo.

The problem there finding in the corporate setups on private networks used by corporations. There private networks are not set up with firewalls to protect from viruses coming in from the satelites on the roof allowing viruses to be injected from them that avoids the firewalls that are on only the internet connections. So there now quietly trying to come up with hardware to protect there satelite feeds from having viruses fed into them, but for the time being there wide open to attacks that they can't protect against so there trying to keep it quite so no one knows. Mean while credit card information is being stolen from databases at alaming numbers while they try to hide the fact they were.

reply to post by JBA2848


Whatever TPTB have planned for the future of the web, I'm sure they've had it all planned out now for awhile.That scenerio is only one of possibly thousands of ways that the whole system could be corrupted.A false flag internet attack could come from anywhere and they could say it was so and so .I watched a documentary regarding internet security firms,they say that 90% of all cyber attacks come from Russia and alot of these firms hire the very people they are trying to stop from hacking.So in many ways who can we really trust?The governments,security firms,military,Microsoft,Google?In my opinion no one.Whatever happens will happen, regardless of anything we do.I personally do not use credit cards anymore just because of this reality we live in and also the fact that they now put RF chips in all new credit cards, which can also be easliy hacked for information.I personally will not be lost when the internet becomes inaccessible to the masses, because I still remember the time before the internet when the world was a lot smaller, and things moved slower and I enjoyed it much more .If they take away the internet or change it to limit access, then money will be next and we are already trending towards that scenerio.So to me the future has already been set and we either stay on for the ride,or we get off and live free from control.The way humans were meant to live.Peace.