The Internet Invention Essay -- Essays Papers

The Internet Invention The history of every great invention is based on a lot of pre-history. In the case of the World-Wide Web, there are two lines to be traced: the development of hypertext, or the computer-aided reading of electronic documents, and the development of the Internet protocols which made the global network possib le. The Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications world like nothing before. The invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio, and computer set the stage for this unprecedented integration of capabilities. The Internet is at once a world-wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for geographic location. The Internet represents one of the most successful examples of the benefits of sustained investment and commitment to research and development of information infrastructure. Beginning with the early research in packet switching, the government, industry and academia have been partners in evolving and deploying this exciting new technology. Today, terms like "names@computer.org" and "http://www.acm.org" trip lightly off the tongue of the random person on the street. The Internet today is a widespread information infrastructure, the initial prototype of what is often called the National (or Global or Galactic) Information Infrastructure1. Its history is complex and involves many aspects technological, organizational, and community. And its influence reaches not only to the technical fields of computer communications but throughout society as we move toward increasing use of online tools to accomplish electronic commer... ... of the ACM. v40n2 Feb 1997. p.102-108. 6. O'Malley, Michael and Roy Rosenzweig, "Brave New World or Blind Alley? American History of the World Wide Web." Journal of American History 1997 84(1): 132-155. 7. Regoli, Michael. " Webstorians: Historians and the World Wide Web." OAH Newsletter 1995 23(3): 1, 8-9. 8. Rosenzweig, Roy. "Wizards, bureaucrats, warriors, and hackers: Writing the history of the Internet." The American Historical Review. v103n5 Dec 1998. p.1530-1552 9. Silver, David. "Interfacing American Culture: The perils and Potentials of Virtual Exhibitions." American Quarterly 1997 49(4): 825-850. 10. Thompsen, Philip. "Toward a Public Lane on the Information Superhighway: A Media Performance Analysis of the Community-Wide Education and Information Service Initiative." DAI 1998 58(8): 2894-A. DA9806152