History Shaping Network Technology
How History Shaped Today 's Networks
Jonathan Moscone
IT – 340
B. Richards
5/5/2013
Computer network technology has been shaped by history in many ways. From the needs of business, government, military and personal use. As these needs grow and change so do the networks and connections that support them. The biggest network people use today in the Internet. 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 (Visual.ly, 2013). The Internet is at once a world-wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information distribution, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for 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 (Visual.ly, 2013). Network technology got its start in the 1940’s when George Stibitz used a teletype machine to send instructions for a problem set from his model at Dartmouth College to his complex number calculator in New York and received the results back by the same means (Visual.ly, 2013). From there networks began to grow and find new uses, in the 50’s and 60’ we begin to see early networks of communicating computers. The military started using networks with their radar systems, this system was called SAGE short for semi-automatic ground environment (Internet Society,2013). While commercial industries started using a network system called SABRE, semi-automatic business research environment (Visual.ly, 2013). Skipping ahead to the development of internet lands us in 1962, where the first recorded description of the internet was developed J.C.R. Licklider of MIT (Visual.ly, 2013). He called this idea the “galactic network” concept, on which he envisioned a globally connect set
Jonathan Moscone
IT – 340
B. Richards
5/5/2013
Computer network technology has been shaped by history in many ways. From the needs of business, government, military and personal use. As these needs grow and change so do the networks and connections that support them. The biggest network people use today in the Internet. 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 (Visual.ly, 2013). The Internet is at once a world-wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information distribution, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for 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 (Visual.ly, 2013). Network technology got its start in the 1940’s when George Stibitz used a teletype machine to send instructions for a problem set from his model at Dartmouth College to his complex number calculator in New York and received the results back by the same means (Visual.ly, 2013). From there networks began to grow and find new uses, in the 50’s and 60’ we begin to see early networks of communicating computers. The military started using networks with their radar systems, this system was called SAGE short for semi-automatic ground environment (Internet Society,2013). While commercial industries started using a network system called SABRE, semi-automatic business research environment (Visual.ly, 2013). Skipping ahead to the development of internet lands us in 1962, where the first recorded description of the internet was developed J.C.R. Licklider of MIT (Visual.ly, 2013). He called this idea the “galactic network” concept, on which he envisioned a globally connect set
References: A Brief History Of Computer Network Technology | Visual.ly. Infographics & Data Visualization | Visual.ly. Retrieved May 5, 2013, from http://visual.ly/brief-history-computer-network-technology Brief History of the Internet - Internet Timeline | Internet Society. (n.d.). Internet Society I Internet Issues, Technology, Standards, Policy, Leadership. Retrieved May 5, 2013, from http://www.internetsociety.org/internet/what-internet/history-internet/brief-history-internet