I’ve been thinking...

Ah, the internet; a worldwide, publicly accessible series of interconnected computer networks that transmit data by packet switching using the standard Internet Protocol. But what is it today?

Back in the late 1950’s, after the U.S.S.R launched the Sputnik program, the United States created the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), which created the Information Processing Technology Office (IPTO). The IPTO was responsible for further researching the country-wide networked radar systems, and maintaining a dream of a universal network. It was the IPTO that recommended packet switching, and the introduction of the APRANET. APRANET ended up becoming one of the main precursors to today’s internet.

Over the next thirty years, Europe, the U.S., Canada, Hong Kong, and Australia, all shared an international packet switching service, and were unified on an X.25 based network.

APRANET switched to TCP/IP in early 1983, becoming the first of its kind in wide area networking. In 1985 the National Science Foundation sanctioned universities to construct a 56Kb/s network, which eventually became a 1.5Mb/s network that required the use of the supercomputer program at the National Science Foundation.

It wasn’t until 1988 that the U.S. Federal Networking Council sanctioned the use of commercial electronic mail systems. Three commercial internet service providers were also created. In 1991, an organization known as CERN announced a project called the World Wide Web, using technology from a British Scientist, who recently created HTML and HTTP. Throughout the early 90’s work on different web browsers was being completed to access this World Wide Web (WWW). By 1996, network society was on the rise, and so was the misuse of the term internet to describe the World Wide Web.

It is estimated that the internet grew over 100% per year throughout the 90’s, exploding during the latter years. According to Internet World Statistics, over 1.2 billion people are actively using the internet in 2007.

Now, I remember being in school when the internet started to become commercially accepted and popular. I remember the first internet connection I had, and the first surfing I did on the web. I even remember the first multiplayer game I played, and how badly it lagged. I also remember the revolutionary MSN Messenger that was released in 1999, and how it swept through my high school like a wildfire. In fact, I have had the same hotmail address since 1999, and have spent over half of my life using the internet. But now, I feel lost and small in comparison to this great colossus that is, the World Wide Web.

Is MSN dead? Has Facebook completely overrun its use? I’m curious how useful Facebook will be in a few years, and what new craze will occupy the time of over a fifth of the world’s population. I mean, everyone knows the world is constantly on the move, and technology is continuously becoming more sophisticated and advanced, but is there a limitation?

As I peruse the pages of friends on Facebook, my jaw ricochets of my desk. I examine hundreds of applications contaminating my senses. People fill their pages with quotes they don’t understand, games that serve no purpose, questions no one cares to answer, and quizzes to determine compatibility. Is there something wrong with determining this in person, while playing a game face to face? Has the internet become so much a part of our lives that we don’t actually need person-to-person interaction anymore? What’s next: Facebook doctor’s appointments and bridal showers?

Personally, I think the internet is a marvellous thing, don’t get me wrong. I support the endless flow of information and interconnectivity. I love having all the world’s libraries at my fingertips. I’m just worried. I’m worried that people will start losing social abilities, and become stupid by surrounding themselves with simple stimuli.

I asked earlier about MSN Messenger. I think messenger was a great tool, which simplified the internet’s original intent of communication to a more ergonomic level. E-mail and messaging was organized and demonstrated in a manner that saved people time. But who uses MSN anymore? I can guarantee it’s not used near as much as it used to be. I feel like everyone has lost sight of true goals, and become more obsessed with how advanced things can be. To me, today’s Facebook is so polluted; it resembles a coffee maker that also trims your hedges. Sure it may seem fancy and modern, but who really needs it?

I know many people will be reading this note, and surmising thoughts of hypocrisy. How can he criticize the internet in a blog post, right? Simple, I knew where to find you.

-Gerald A. Dinkel (He just says things.)

http://sardonicconnection.blogspot.com/2009/07/6-internet-facebook-msn.html