[ih] Nit-picking an origin story

Sun Aug 17 04:27:14 PDT 2025

Looping in Lori Emerson, that she might reply directly.

On Sun, Aug 17, 2025 at 6:30 AM Vint Cerf <vint at google.com> wrote:

> add Packet Satellite Network
> what about Ethernet?
> and the Deep Space Network?
>
> On Sun, Aug 17, 2025 at 12:49 AM Joly MacFie via Internet-history <
> internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
>
>> I feel compelled here to copy the Chapter list from Lori Emerson's '
>> *Other
>> Networks:A Radical Technology Sourcebook'
>> <
>> https://shop.mexicansummer.com/merch/495898-lori-emerson-other-networks-a-radical-technology-sourcebook
>> >*
>>
>> *Sound Networks*
>> [1] Drums
>> [2] Whistling
>>
>> *Air Networks*
>> [3] Fire or Smoke Signals
>> [4] Pneumatic Tubes
>> [5] Skywriting
>>
>> *Water Networks*
>> [6] Hydraulic Semaphore
>>
>> *Optical Networks*
>> [7] Flag Signaling
>> [8] Optical Telegraph
>> [9] Infrared Communication
>> [10] Signal Lamp
>> [11] Heliograph
>> [12] Photophone
>> [13] Ultraviolet Communication
>> [14] Laser Communication
>> [15] Visible Light Communication
>>
>> *Radio Networks*
>> [16] Amateur Radio
>> [16.1] Radiotelegraphy
>> [16.2] Radioteletype
>> [16.3] Amateur Television
>> [16.4] Hellschreiber
>> [16.5] Earth-Moon-Earth Communication
>> [16.6] Amateur Radio Satellite
>> [16.7] Amateur Packet Radio
>> [17] Radio Broadcast
>> [18] Pirate Radio
>> [19] Radiofax
>> [20] Two-Way Radio
>> [21] Pager
>> [22] Meteor Burst Communication
>> [23] Slow Scan Television
>> [24] Project West Ford
>> [25] Pirate Television
>> [26] Packet Radio Network
>> [27] Microbroadcast
>> [28] Software Defined Radio
>> [29] Wi-Fi
>> [30] Bluetooth
>>
>> *Microwave Networks*
>> [31] Microwave Radio-Relay
>> [32] Communications Satellite
>>
>> *Wired Networks:*
>> *Electrical Wire Networks*
>> [33] Electrical telegraph
>> [33.1] Electrical Printing Telegraph
>> [33.2] Image Telegraph
>> [33.3] Fire Alarm Telegraph
>> [33.4] Pantelegraph
>> [33.5] Telephonic Telegraph
>> [34] Telephone
>> [35] Wired Radio
>> [36] Telautograph
>> [37] Telefacsimile
>> [38] Videophone
>> [39] Telex
>>
>> *Barbed Wire Networks*
>> [40] Barbed Wire Telegraph
>> [41] Fence Phones
>>
>> *Hybrid Networks:*
>> [42] Library
>> [43] Book
>> [44] Postal System
>> [44.1] Pigeon Post
>> [44.2] Projectile Post
>> [44.3] Balloon Mail
>> [44.4] Pony Express
>> [44.5] Airgraph and V-Mail
>> [44.6] Email Letter
>> [45] Sneakernet
>> [46] Radio Broadcast Network
>> [47] Broadcast Television
>> [48] Cable Television
>> [48.1] NABU
>> [49] Cellular Network
>> [50] Time-Sharing Network
>> [51] Teletext
>> [52] Videotex
>>
>> *Imaginary Networks:*
>> [53] Necromancy
>> [54] Pasilalinic-Sympathetic Compass
>> [55] Telephonoscope
>> [56] Telepathy
>> [57] Ley Lines
>> [58] Mundaneum
>> [59] World Brain
>> [60] Memex
>> [61] Faster-Than-Light Communication Networks
>> [62] Project Xanadu
>> [63] Metaverse
>> [64] The Clacks
>> [65] Pandoran Neural Network
>> [66] Cosmic Internet
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Aug 16, 2025 at 11:01 PM Brian E Carpenter via Internet-history <
>> internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
>>
>> > Excellent list, Joe. To the pre-electric era, I'd add smoke signals and
>> > alpenhorns, and I'm sure there were others in various cultures around
>> the
>> > world.
>> >
>> > I'd also insert Baudot and Murray after Morse. They brought in 5-bit
>> > binary encoding instead of on/off encoding, and Murray invented both
>> > multiplexing and CR/LF.
>> >
>> > Regards/Ngā mihi
>> >     Brian Carpenter
>> >
>> > On 17-Aug-25 12:40, touch--- via Internet-history wrote:
>> > >
>> > >> On Aug 16, 2025, at 5:15 PM, Dave Crocker via Internet-history <
>> > internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
>> > >>
>> > >> the scope of my original query was meant to be about much closer --
>> and
>> > possibly competitive or complementary -- milestones: automated, shared
>> > (wide-area) digital communications.
>> > >>
>> > >> So, for example, telegraph signal/smoke fires, heliography and the
>> like
>> > play into the larger... picture.
>> > >
>> > > I included a history when I taught intro to networking.
>> > >
>> > > Couriers                      Spoken/written language (30,000 BC)
>> > > Pigeons                       2900 BC, Egypt
>> > > Beacons                       1200 BC, Troy
>> > > Calling posts         400 BC, Persia
>> > > Heliographs           400 BC, Greece
>> > > Flags                 400 BC, Greece
>> > > Hooke semaphore       1680s (shutters and symbols)
>> > > Chappe’s telegraph    1790s (arms) with time sync, collision
>> management,
>> > priority flow control, and error recovery
>> > > Edelcrantz            1790s (just shutters, inspired by Chappe)
>> > > Cooke/Wheatstone      1830s magnetic needles
>> > > Morse                 1830s electromagnetic relays
>> > > Morse                         1850s teleprinter (like a stock ticker)
>> > > Bell                          1870s phone
>> > > Marconi                       1890s RF
>> > > Tube amps             1900s
>> > > Transistor            1950s
>> > > Laser                 1950s
>> > > Satellite                     1960s
>> > >
>> > > As you note, the adjectives are the key, as with most superlatives.
>> > >
>> > > For "computer networking", I would say Sage is the first in the 1950s,
>> > with SABRE (reportedly inspired by SAGE) and telephone switches
>> (arguably
>> > remote machine-machine) not far behind in the early 1960s, all AFAICT
>> > predating ARPAnet.
>> > >
>> > > Joe
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > --
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>> > Internet-history at elists.isoc.org
>> > https://elists.isoc.org/mailman/listinfo/internet-history
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>> >
>>
>>
>> --
>> --------------------------------------
>> Joly MacFie  +12185659365 <(218)%20565-9365>
>> --------------------------------------
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>
>
> --
> Please send any postal/overnight deliveries to:
> Vint Cerf
> Google, LLC
> 1900 Reston Metro Plaza, 16th Floor
> Reston, VA 20190
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>
>
> until further notice
>
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>
>

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Joly MacFie  +12185659365
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