Web hits 40; future is ‘like air’
The Internet, the information system that has changed the way we learn, conduct research, do our jobs and connect socially, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
What is now a worldwide phenomenon sprang from a humble network of four university computers, which were part of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPANET) created after the Soviets beat America in the space race with the 1957 launch of Sputnik.
“In 1969, it was largely a communication tool for a select number of users who primarily were working in research and defense, and there was no real belief that it would have application beyond top researchers using one computer to communicate with another,” said Steven Zink, vice president of Internet technology at the
Today, it’s a tool for people around the globe to expand their knowledge, embarrass politicians on YouTube, share information with buddies on Facebook and watch Netflix without turning on the TV.
In the future, computers could project holograms and respond to our brain waves, Zink said. The Internet could even transmit information and messages through devices implanted in or worn on our bodies. Read full story:
