[ih] XEROX/PUP and Commercialization (was Re: FYI - Gordon Crovitz/WSJ on "Who Really Invented the Internet?")

[Dave Walden]

The Western Union team won the Autodin-II procurement.  The BBN team 
lost (at least partly by not being adequately responsive to what the 
government asked for the in request for proposal -- this is not speculation).

Western Union had trouble meeting its development milestones (perhaps 
partly by agreeing to what the government asked for in its request 
for proposal -- this is speculation).

Eventually the government held a new procurement with the BBN team 
and the WU teams bidding with government people somehow participating 
in each team's bidding.

The BBN team was chosen to adapt the ARPANET technology to become DDN.

The WU Autodin-II contract was then canceled with the government 
paying money to the WU team to end the contract.

That's how I remember it.  Peter Sevcik probably knows the story more 
precisely.


At 09:51 AM 7/30/2012, Bernie Cosell wrote:
>Actually, wasn't it less than that: if I remember correctly AutoDIN-II
>was first awarded to Western Union.  BBN's proposal [for an ARPAnet-like
>network] lost.  I wasn't involved with what happened, but that all fell
>apart or never worked or something and they ended up re-awarding the
>contract.