The Internet – A brief history
The History of the Internet
The internet is one of the most revolutionary inventions in modern history. It has become a cornerstone of our everyday lives, used by millions of people worldwide. But how did it come to be? Here is a look at the history of the internet and how it developed over time.
Beginnings of the Internet
The idea for an interconnected global computer network dates back to 1962, when [LINK]Licklider wrote a paper envisioning an “intergalactic network” which would allow users from all over the world to communicate with each other and share information easily. This idea laid the foundation for what would eventually become the internet.
Birth of ARPANET
In 1969, researchers from the US Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) began working on what would become known as ARPANET. ARPANET was designed to link computers together so they could send data back and forth over phone lines, making it easier for government agencies to exchange information and research data with one another quickly and securely. It was during this time that the basic protocol that would later become known as TCP/IP was developed by Robert E Kahn and Vint Cerf in 1973. This protocol allowed different networks to connect together regardless of what hardware or software they were running on.
Growth & Expansion
Throughout the 70s, 80s, and 90s, more networks began joining ARPANET and soon there were dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of them linked together into one giant network known as the “Internet”. The expansion of this network led to new applications being developed such as email, newsgroups, file transfer protocols (FTP), instant messaging (IM), World Wide Web (WWW), etc. These new applications made using computers much easier for everyday people, who could now access a wide variety of resources online with just a few clicks of a mouse.
Modern Age
Since then, the internet has grown exponentially in terms of both technology and usage. It is now home to billions of websites offering almost anything imaginable – from e-commerce stores to streaming video services – making it possible for people all around the world to instantly communicate and access information in ways that were unimaginable even just a few decades ago. As we enter a new age in technology where artificial intelligence and machine learning are becoming increasingly prevalent in our daily lives, we can only expect the internet will continue to evolve even further beyond what we can imagine today.
