The History of the Internet - Article Example

Internet is a network of networks that joins many government, and private computers together. It provides an infrastructure for the use ofe-mail, bulletin boards, file archives, hypertext documents and other computational resources (Slater, 2002). This network transports data and messages across distances which can be anywhere from the same office to anywhere in the world. The development of internet has revolutionized the way people think, communicate and socialize. It has altered the way people transact business. The internet is a world-wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers irrespective of the distances (Leiner et al., 1999). The internet as it stands today is the result of visionary thinking by some people who could sense its potential in the 1960s. The growth and the development of the internet and the World Wide Web have changed the world which is based on the vision, hard labor and dedication of a few committed people. The internet today is a widespread information structure, the initial prototype of what is often called the National Informatics Infrastructure and has a complex history. Its influence has pervaded every aspect of the society. The history of internet can be traced back to the launch and orbit of Sputnik I in 1957 which sent scientific and psychological shock waves in the science policy community as well as throughout American politics and the American public (Russell, 2001). This development crystallized the need for fundamental breakthroughs in American science. As a result federal spending on scientific research increased dramatically. Immediately after this, President Eisenhower created an agency known as Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA later known as DARPA) which would be responsible for coordinating advanced, high-risk research that could lead to technological breakthroughs for the military at the height of cold war. The idea of ARPA was basically shaped by a group of scientists who feared that the government either misused or misunderstood modern science and technology. Since World War II scientists had been exploring how advanced computing could enhance national security. The SAGE air defense system, funded by the Air Force was developed by the MIT scientists during the 1950s (Russell, 2001). Computers were used to work with people in real time to solve complex problems. This immediate, intelligent and interactive use of computers was a departure from the standard use of computers as batch processing number-crunchers. Thus an administrative precedent of advanced computer research project was set that was of high value both to the academic research community as well as to the military. His interest in computers led him to see the need for new type of computers and new types of man-computer interactions. The concept of computer networking started in the early 1960s at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with the vision that computers should facilitate communication between people and be a support for human decision process (Spinning & Lundh, 2004). In 1960, Licklider wrote the paper "Man-Computer Symbiosis" published in the Institute of Radio Engineers journal Transactions on Human Factors in Electronics (APA, 2000). This paper has a striking similarity to today’s internet as per an article in the MIT journal Technological Review. This paper according to historian Paul Edwards, “became the universally cited founding articulation of the movement to establish a time-sharing, interactive computing regime”(Russell, 2001). With the arrival of the Kennedy administration in 1961, the ARPA directors Ruina and Fubini decided to centralize the research on computing technology under one program and Professor Licklider was asked to lead the office. The Information Processing techniques Office (IPTO) was formed with Licklider as the first director. As the leader, he created a model and disseminated a vision that guided the directors of the IPTO till the office ended (Hauben, n.d.). Bob Taylor expressed that all users of interactive computing and every computer that employs computer people owe him a great debt. Licklider too stated that he had found a lot of bright people that understood what he visioned and organized themselves into a community (Russell, 2001). Licklider availed of the opportunity to work with the military to advance his religious conversion to interactive computing. He knew even at that time how computer would revolutionize how people think and act. He felt that apart from command and control, every area of human activity involved information processing. He could envision that the computers could be involved in carrying out some of the steps involved in the problem solving process for the human (Hauben, n.d.). He was convinced that it was important to establish human-computer interaction and such interaction would require libraries of software, hardware and different languages. Hence the problem of command and control in army became the base for interactive computing. Licklider translated his vision in simple form in a number of papers and articles so that all could follow it. He integrated the constraints that could arise as computer evolved, and where support would be required. He also proposed a socio-technical process where the best of the human invents the best of the computer. At the same time, the best of the computer also makes it possible for human to excel. Licklider’s vision had an important impact on the development of the internet, which is evident from the computer achievements like time sharing, interactive graphics, VLSI, the development of the ARPANET and then the development of the internet (Hauben, n.d.). His vision to augment human intellectual power through computers was became embodied in the birth and the development of the internet. In 1961, Leonard Kleinrock published a paper and introduced some of the earliest theoretical results on queuing networks. He convinced another MIT researcher, Lawrence Roberts, of the theoretical feasibility of communications using packets rather than circuits, which was a major step towards computer networking. Kleinrock continued to develop his ideas and then published a comprehensive analytical treatment of digital networks in his book Communication Nets in 1964 (Slater, 2002). Kleinrock was the pioneer of digital network communications and help build the ARPANET. Kleinrock established and led the Network Measurement Center (NMC), which comprised of a group of graduate students working in the area of computer network. Kleinrock’s contribution to the development of the internet was immense as he continued to be active in the research community. He published more than 200 papers and authored six books. In 1966 Roberts joined the IPTO with a mandate to develop the ARPANET. To make the computers talk together, Roberts connected computers in Massachusetts and California with a low speed dial-up telephone line creating the first wide-area computer networking ever built (Leiner et al., 1999). This revealed that time-shared computers could work well together. They could even run programs and retrieve data as necessary from remote computers but they were convinced that Kleinrock’s need for packet switching was necessary and it could not run on circuit switched telephone system. Roberts then awarded the NMC with a contract in 1968 to perform ARPANET performance measurements and identify areas of network improvement. DARPA then helped to initiate development and fund research on this new promising communications technology known as packet switching. The first ARPANET came into existence in 1969 after the contract to develop and deploy a four node network was awarded to Bolt, Beranek and Newman (BBN) in 1968. The ARPANET grew quickly not only across United States but reached Norway and England as well. The initial nascent network consisting of three networks was first demonstrated in 1977. Gradually through testing and refinements, a stable and mature internet technology was developed and in 1980 TCP/IP was adopted as a standard for the US Department of Defense. This was followed by widespread development of LANs, PCs and workstations and the nascent internet technology matured. To make it easy for people to use the network, hosts were assigned names. Initially there were a limited number of hosts so it was fairly easy to maintain a single table with the host addresses. As users increased it became necessary to shift to large number of independently managed networks (for example LANs). Since a single table of hosts was no more possible, Domain Name Systems (BNS) was invented by Paul Mockapetris (Leiner et al., 1999). As internet further evolved, routers had to be replaced and software had to be more sophisticated. Through a series of changes, by 1985 internet was well established as a technology supporting a broad community of researchers and developers. People then started using it for daily communications. Electronic mail was being used across several communities and the interconnection took place between different mail systems. By 1990 ARPANET was finally decommissioned and internet was here to stay. Gradually researchers realized that internet could be used for information sharing. Internet is a collection of technologies and its success is attributed to both satisfying basic community needs as well as utilizing the community in an effective way to push the infrastructure forward (Leiner et al., 1999). By late 1990s, there was a veritable explosion in network use and personal computers became a household item. UNIX-based text interfaces were replaced by the World Wide Web – WWW or simply the Web which was based on hyper text transfer protocol (HTTP). Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau were responsible for the WWW (Laursen, 1997). This was found to be far more user friendly, easily navigable, it could link data objects, be they text or graphics. The WWW was first demonstrated in 1990 and was let loose in May 1991 by granting HTTP access to a number of computers. Different operating systems and software came into existence. By 1996, multimedia caught up with the users and thereafter new technologies were revealed on a monthly basis. There has been constant innovation in hardware to the extent that modems can now transmit data at the speed of 1GB/s which is done through another new technology – ASDL in which the existing copper telephone wires are used (Laursen, 1997). In 1996 commercial interests could be perceived on the internet and WWW become a vehicle for online advertising and commerce. Today internet is a powerful medium for communication. Ghosh (1998) emphasizes that in a world where everyone is connected to everyone else, companies have to painfully and quickly reinvent the way they do business. Drawing upon this idea, Treese and Stewart (1998) assert that the internet offers two key sources of value – the ability to transform customer relationship and the ability to displace traditional sources of business value. Industries and businesses, since the commercialization of the internet since the 1990s, have become vital in the face of turbulent markets and competitive market forces. The internet has become a virtual marketplace which has reshaped the nature of the businesses around the globe (Prufer & Jahn, 2007). Internet is a platform which brings together traffic receivers and traffic senders. Due to the internet, businesses now have more choice in the number of channels they can use to reach their customers. Internet exchanges are beneficial not just for the customers or end users but it helps businesses to exchange and grow together. Internet-based e-commerce includes business-to-business and business-to-customer exchanges taking place. Internet is widely used by different industries for different purposes. Business use internet for advancing their objectives, for cost reduction information flow, fulfilling orders and tracking dispatches, inventory management, production planning and enhancing customer relationship. Companies even reach their products directly to consumers through the internet. Traditional techniques for building information were no longer found to be adequate. There was demand for new information services like query processing, knowledge sharing and data mining (Mylopoulos, 1998). It became important to extend information system engineering to support new, flexible software architecture so that the information system could contain new as well as legacy data and software components. Electronic commerce is based on the principles of electronic data exchange (EDI) but gradually evolved to other e-commerce applications like taking orders, scheduling shipments and providing customer service (Papazoglou & Tsalgatidou, 1999). E-commerce could not provide the robust transaction, messaging and data access services typical of client server applications. This led to the development of sophisticated information technologies that could transform how businesses function. As internet and information technology advanced, electronic data interchange (EDI) help improve speed and efficiency and reduce transaction costs (Hsieh & Lin, 2004). EDI automates creation, transmission and processing associated with routine business forms like purchase orders, invoices and payments (Sokol, 1996 cited by Nissen 2001). Businesses around the world do global procuring and sourcing. EDI shortens the cycle and order fulfillment times. Ratnasingam (2002) points out the advantages of web services over the traditional business-to-business applications. Web services come with sophisticated software, management tools, navigation, search facilities; it can handle automatic price enquiries, process orders, or synchronize customer records. It is cheaper than traditional applications which require customized connection between each trading party. The World Wide Web is one of the most popular forms of IT today. It is an information storage system that links computer based resources around the world. Transformation has taken place in the way exchange related activities take place. A website that serves as a marketing and sales point is a differentiator from competitors (Zsidisin, Jun & Adams, 2000). The web removes the physical and time restrictions. Operating costs are removed as are indirect expenses. Electronic fund transfer has enhanced the business process. Companies use internet technology and serve their customers through their websites. It has become very easy to buy and sell books because of the internet. At the physical store, book lovers can browse through the jacket or the first few lines of the chapters before deciding to buy the book but the convenience and ease has increased with books now being easily available on the internet. There are now more than 600 book stores on the World Wide Web (Business Town, 2003). Physical book stores have limitations of the number of books they can carry but the online stores can carry millions of titles as they send the order directly to the publisher. According to a survey by Goldman Sachs, internet book retailing is the third among the products that have attained online success in retailing. Companies today need to be responsive to diverse needs of the customers and hence use build-to-order or mass customization process as a means to meet the specific needs of the customers. Dell Computers, the No. 1 PC maker uses technology for its direct sales model where the PC’s are made by electronic order and supplied directly to the customers. They have eliminated the middlemen in their supply chain and are an outstanding example of an innovative business model through effective SCM (Chou, Tan & Yen, 2004). Today Dell generates a new manufacturing schedule for its plants every two hours that reflects actual orders received. The company uses a combination of all these strategies for pooling inventory to cater to the changing and diverse needs of the customers. While agility implies using market knowledge and a virtual corporation to exploit profitable opportunities in a volatile market place, leanness means to develop a value stream to eliminate all waste including time and to ensure a level schedule (Naylor, Naim & Berry, 1999). Auto-manufacturers such as Ford and General Motors have invested heavily in electronic-data-exchange and in B2B e-procurement systems to reduce costs and gain competitive advantage over rivals (Zhu & Weyant, 2003). Dell and Gateway have leveraged their investments in supply chain system. Other areas which have adopted IT include the SABRE computer reservation system and FedEx package tracking system. All of these have led to reduced costs with better performance. Internet technology is also used for corporate communications. Today e-mail has become the standard practice within an organization to exchange information even within the organization (Haden, 2006). Emails contain information or instructions in ‘black and white’, which cannot be denied by either party. Emails today are business records. Most managers communicate internally through emails. Information is passed on through emails, instructions issued and reports taken. Proper referencing or codes help in retrieving emails when necessary. Use of internet makes cooperative learning easier to implement as it allows for a rich exchange of information between members of a knowledge community (Fuks, Gerosa & Pereira de Lucena, 2002). Software is now available which includes tool for electronic mail exchange between the instructor and the entire group. Even real time chats and debates can be held online amongst the participants. The students use this platform to resolve doubts. Social networking concept was developed as early as mid-1990s when websites like classmates.com and sixdegrees.com were introduced. Today MySpace and Facebook are the most popular social networking sites on the internet (Wikipedia). Social networking has also evolved as a component of business strategy and internal blogs are used by Corporates as a tool for knowledge management. It is estimated that today there are more than 200 social networking sites using the existing and emerging social network models. Social networks connect people and hence are useful for entrepreneurs and small businesses. These networks act as customer relationship management tool for companies selling products and services. With businesses operating globally, the social networks make it easier to keep in touch with people all over the world. In the medicine and healthcare sector, social networks are used as a means to manage institutional knowledge, manage peer-to-peer knowledge and to highlight individual physicians and institutions (Wikipedia). The social networking models successfully connect the otherwise fragmented businesses and industries who lack resources to reach a broader audience. Users benefit by interactions with like minded people as they find a platform to channelize their energy. Advertising on the internet or using it for email is today considered just the tip of the iceberg. At the click of the mouse data files, graphics, images can be exchanged. Online forums facilitate chats and discussions. The internet allows anyone with a small capital investment in the computer and with access to a server to be connected with all the computers in the world. The number of messages sent via email was 6.5 billion per day in 2002 and the growth has been exponential as more users come online (Feldman, 2002). The tech is now wireless thereby lowering the costs further and connecting more people around the world. Digital information is compact, transportable and more efficient to use. It is now easy to reproduce and transmit information. The internet has three distinct economic impacts – decrease in the cost of transactions, increasing the ease of management, and moving the economy closer to the model of perfect competition (Feldman, 2002). Internet has been considered as the ultimate tool effective in relationship marketing. It provides one-to-one marketing and nurtures loyalty (Durkin & Howcorft, 2003). It provides scope for establishing enduring relationships with customers and a wider network of contacts. Through internet a high level of interaction can take place between the buyer and the seller. Firms are able to alter the products and services catering to individual requirements because of information revolution. Thus each customer has a unique relationship with the firm. In the banking sector, the customer need not go into a bank branch, where there may be a constant queue and this offers significant efficiencies especially now when time is a constraint for every individual or business (Ibbotson & Moran, 2003). Cash can now be moved electronically as wire transfer of funds takes place all around the world. Any technology brings with it abuses and so does internet. It facilitates or provides an opportunity for those who are less technologically advanced. Frauds and financial crimes have been taking place on the internet as uses of credit and debit cards have increased. Cyberspace crimes, money laundering and hacking of computers are some of the abuse of technology but none of these can be stopped. In fact all of these have existed and now they have only been made easier with the internet technology. Internet has come a long way since it was first conceived by Licklider in the 1960s. It is a new and a much faster medium that allows people do things mush faster than what they had been doing. Life both socially and commercially has changed and it has yielded great social and economic benefits. Socially people remain connected at any time of the day and night. It is used practically in every field of business – marketing, finance, in different industries like the health sector, education, research, banking, building relationships and information exchange. It has helped to reduce costs of communication and traveling. Supply chain technology has evolved due to internet which has further helped companies to work out the economies of scale. Distance education, group discussions, social networking, chat forums and blogs have taken over the society. Businesses rely on the internet for information exchange, knowledge transfer and knowledge management. Today one can come across new developments in both the software and hardware which further enhances the possibilities and capabilities of the internet. Despite the pitfalls and abuse, internet is here to stay and one can witness the exponential growth that is revolutionizing the way people think, act and communicate. 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