[ih] Invention of The Internet - circa 1920

[John Lowry]

It seems possible that semaphore signals to/from ships at sea with the relevant 
authorities ashore might qualify.  Also, it seems like a lot of this is not packet
transfer but message transfer.  Since the actual originator and recipients were
unlikely to be technologically capable, this seems like MTA traffic, much like we have
to day.  

> On Nov 28, 2023, at 07:42, Leo Vegoda via Internet-history <internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> Wouldn't something like that have been done for the Chappe brothers'
> French optical telegraph? The alternative would presumably be for the
> operator to remember both the protocol codes and the message and then
> repeat it correctly. That's a lot to ask, I expect.
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Leo
> 
> On Tue, 28 Nov 2023 at 11:31, Vint Cerf via Internet-history
> <internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Karl,
>> I think you have a reasonable point regarding store/forward and telegraph.
>> The early days of telegraphy involved headset, handset, pencil and paper.
>> Teletypes used paper tape and the messages were punched onto tape, fed into
>> a teletype and fed down the line. The operators would tear off the tape,
>> hang it on a peg waiting to be forwarded to the next telegraph station.
>> This was called 'torn tape" and literally was store (on the peg) and
>> forward (feed to next teletype connect by dedicated circuit to the next
>> hop).  AUTODIN was a 1960s store and forward messaging system that emulated
>> this but all electronically.
>> 
>> v
>> 
>> 
>> On Tue, Nov 28, 2023 at 3:18 AM Karl Auerbach via Internet-history <
>> internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
>> 
>>> In a couple of pieces that I've written/recorded I tried to nail the
>>> start of the net sometime in the 1830s with the invention of the
>>> electric telegraph.  (But, truly it is an exercise as fruitful as trying
>>> to nail Jello to a ceiling.)
>>> 
>>> The reason that I picked that was that the electric telegraph was an
>>> electronic store-and-forward packet switching system.  That is if one
>>> equates telegrams with packets.  The store-and-forward part came from
>>> the manual writing-down and then transmitting on the appropriate
>>> outgoing link at relay locations along the path from the source of the
>>> telegram to the destination.  And whether said in jest as a pun or being
>>> serious it is the case that the signalling on the early telegraph
>>> network was quite "digital", being driven by finger -digit - action.
>>> 
>>> I tend to not give much credit to the voice telephone system as a
>>> progenitor of the net as it was largely end-to-end circuit switched and
>>> analog.  (At a later stage I think that the telephone systems' work on
>>> imposing modulated signals onto various media was a significant, even
>>> major, contribution, but a contribution to a design already established
>>> by the telegraph system.)
>>> 
>>>     --karl--
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 11/27/23 11:14 PM, Jared E. Richo via Internet-history wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> The Marconi Wireless Telegraph, invented circa 1902/1903 [1], set the
>>>> foundation for a LOT of modern technology. It's where I begin in my ~
>>>> 120 years of Vulnerability History talk.
>>>> 
>>>> So in this example, just under 20 years later, but before we saw
>>>> wireless used for transferring encrypted/encoded comms, which led to
>>>> another 'fun' chapter in that history (WW2)?
>>>> 
>>>> It tracks =) Hard to say if they did any research, but the arbitrary
>>>> (?)  timeline is believable, especially if there were no wars,
>>>> corporate espionage, or whatever else looming at the time.
>>>> 
>>>> .b
>>>> 
>>>> [1] While that date is more arguably established, the relevance to
>>>> where I begin my talk is a tad more murky. The demo from Marconi and
>>>> his assistants happened at a given time, yes! But the six+ lead-up
>>>> that led to that event happened before the public articles I have seen
>>>> give any attribution to. So I am speaking at "technology inception" vs
>>>> "technology demonstration" vs "technology hacked" vs "omg why was it
>>>> hacked on the day it was 'unveiled'?!". It's a bit nuanced, especially
>>>> via the lens of modern vulnerability disclosure timelines. To this
>>>> day, it is perhaps the most valuable use-case for why it matters.
>>>> 
>>>> On 11/27/2023 11:47 PM, Jack Haverty via Internet-history wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> Yes, it's fiction, but I just saw an interesting episode of Murdoch
>>>>> Mysteries, in which the Internet is invented, over a century ago,
>>>>> with lots of its advantages and foibles revealed.   If you get a
>>>>> chance to se it, it's an interesting alternative view of Internet
>>>>> History, and commentary on the real Internet of today.
>>>>> 
>>>>> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18602066/
>>>>> 
>>>>> The Inventor, in the TV show, also wears a 3-piece suit.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Jack Haverty
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>>> 
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> Please send any postal/overnight deliveries to:
>> Vint Cerf
>> Google, LLC
>> 1900 Reston Metro Plaza, 16th Floor
>> Reston, VA 20190
>> +1 (571) 213 1346
>> 
>> 
>> until further notice
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