[46106] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: Purpose of the Internet
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Joel Jaeggli)
Thu Mar 14 05:19:12 2002
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 02:19:04 -0800 (PST)
From: Joel Jaeggli <joelja@darkwing.uoregon.edu>
To: Alan Hannan <alan@routingloop.com>
Cc: nanog@merit.edu
In-Reply-To: <20020313211420.A72246@routingloop.com>
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.44.0203140210200.4959-100000@twin.uoregon.edu>
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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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