Purpose of the Internet

Thu Mar 14 10:19:04 UTC 2002

On Wed, 13 Mar 2002, Alan Hannan wrote:

>   With regards to the purpose of the internet, I recall reading
>   in the Prologue to _Where Wizards Stay Up Late_, by Katie Hafner
>   and Matthew Lyon, a true anecdote about Bob Taylor. The authors
>   quote Mr. Taylor as refuting that the purpose of the arpanet was 
>   to provide communications in spite of a nuclear attack.

The arpanet was an experimental packet-switched network. The Airforce 
commissioned Rand report (on distributed communications) is about 
resilient packet-switched networks. They are related but by no means 
co-terminus.

>   Rather, it is asserted, the purpose of the arpanet was to 
>   interconnect computers at various research/education facilities 
>   so as to allow researchers to share resources.
> 
>   We all heard that story too, but popular media tended to focus
>   on the sensationalist nuclear story.
> 
>   Useful info from history.....
> 
>   -alan
> 
>   ps -> thanks jeff for the book back in 1996 :-)
> 

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Joel Jaeggli	      Academic User Services   joelja at darkwing.uoregon.edu    
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