Ronda Hauben on Mon, 27 Jan 2003 01:50:47 +0100 (CET) |
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<nettime> Controversy over the origins and nature of the Internet |
It was interesting that there was a controversy in the online news media about whether it was appropriate to celebrate January 1, 2003 as the 20th anniversary of the birth of the Internet. At least in the online media such controversies are possible, rather than a fixed determination as in much of the offline media's accounts of the Internet and its development. The following article appeared in Telepolis last week, in English and German. It is a contribution to the discussion of the nature of the Internet and the controversy over its essential aspects. Excerpt from: http://www.heise.de/tp/english/inhalt/te/14017/1.html http://www.heise.de/tp/deutsch/inhalt/te/14016/1.html >From Telepolis: Celebrating the Birthday of the Internet January 1, 1983, the Cutover from NCP to TCP/IP As the first of January, 2003 approached, several news accounts and posts appeared on the Internet heralding New Year's Day as the 20th birthday of the Internet. This was the anniversary of the cutover on the ARPANET from NCP (Network Control Protocol) to TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol).... The essence of the ARPANET, when NCP was its protocol, was the connection of computers. The essence of the Internet is the connection of networks, not of computers. While the transition to TCP/IP on the ARPANET may not appear to be a significant development, the cutover from NCP to TCP/IP was a necessary first step for the ARPANET hosts to participate in the Internet. The basis was now set for hosts on the ARPANET to connect via gateways to TCP/IP enabled hosts on other networks. The change from one big packet switching network under the control of one administrative or political structure to an open architecture allowing for communication among dissimilar networks under diverse forms of political or administrative structures, is the change that has made it possible to have an international Internet today. # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net