[ih] Invention of The Internet - circa 1920

[Karl Auerbach]

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