Correcting the Record: the Government's Role In the Internet 257
TwobyTwo writes "Yesterday, Slashdot posted a piece titled Who Really Invented the Internet?. It quoted a Wall Street Journal article with the same title by Gordon Crovitz. Crovitz makes the claim that government research did not play a key role in driving the invention of the Internet, giving credit instead to Xerox PARC. Unfortunately, Crovitz' article is wrong on many specific points, and he's also wrong in his key conclusion about the government's role. In a wonderful piece in the LA Times Michael Hiltzik corrects the record. Hiltzik, who is the author of an excellent book about PARC called Dealers of Lightning, makes clear that government funded research was indeed the foundation for the Internet's success."
Re:Al Gore (Score:5, Informative)
Which, funnily enough, is almost exactly what he said. People love to misremember what he said, and then hold them accountable for what they wish he said.
During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.
Vint Cerf and Bob Khan (who know something about Internet history) had this to say:
"No one in public life has been more intellectually engaged in helping to create the climate for a thriving Internet than the Vice President."
and
"as far back as the 1970s, Congressman Gore promoted the idea of high speed telecommunications as an engine for both economic growth and the improvement of our educational system. He was the first elected official to grasp the potential of computer communications to have a broader impact than just improving the conduct of science and scholarship [...] the Internet, as we know it today, was not deployed until 1983. When the Internet was still in the early stages of its deployment, Congressman Gore provided intellectual leadership by helping create the vision of the potential benefits of high speed computing and communication."
Re:Al Gore (Score:5, Informative)
He also advocated publicly for it, which went a bit beyond just putting his name on a Senate bill. He really believed in its potential and tried to make others aware of it. He deserves more credit than he gets, in any case.
Re:Al Gore (Score:4, Informative)
http://web.eecs.umich.edu/~fessler/misc/funny/gore,net.txt [umich.edu]
Describing his role as congressman, Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn, who played key roles in the development of the Internet and TCP/IP write:
"He was the first elected official to grasp the potential of computer communications to have a broader impact than just improving the conduct of science and scholarship. Though easily forgotten, now, at the time this was an unproven and controversial concept. Our work on the Internet started in 1973 and was based on even earlier work that took place in the mid-late 1960s. But the Internet, as we know it today, was not deployed until 1983. When the Internet was still in the early stages of its deployment, Congressman Gore provided intellectual leadership by helping create the vision of the potential benefits of high speed computing and communication. As an example, he sponsored hearings on how advanced technologies might be put to use in areas like coordinating the response of government agencies to natural disasters and other crises."
They go on to discuss the important contributions he made as Senator and Vice President.
Re:Al Gore (Score:3, Informative)
He was one of several sponsors of the Senate bill that made the Internet more available to the general public.
It should be noted that Al Gore Jr.'s father, (Al Gore, Sr. :), was instrumental in getting the interstate highway system build in the US. Once that was established, it was intrumental in allowing shipping (by truck) to become easier.. Before the IS system, you had small roads (like the famous Route 66): it was common to receive Florida oranges as a Christmas gift in NYC because this was a big deal: they had come all the way from Florida! The interstate system helped kickstart commerce because you were no longer dependent on the rail companies: anyone could (for example) start a trucking company, because the barrier to entry was so much lower because of smaller capital costs.
Al Gore Jr. saw this as a child, and thought (correctly it turns out) that the same thing could happen with computer networks. It was no accident that the initial buzzword for the Internet was "information superhighway". The US (and other countries) had had "highways" for many years, but they were two-lane roads basically. The Interstate system was, when they were created, consiered to be a "superhighway". And so it was with the commercialization with the Internet.