for our Bay Area (SF) readers!!!!2/22/94 530pm ARPAnet History: Origins of the Internet (@SUN B6)

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

[Forwarded seminar announcement:
As one of the early "children" of the ARPAnet, I recommend this talk to
computing history buffs.  You should also have some very interesting people
in the audience contributing as well.  Alas, I cannot make this.
Peter will probably tape it, and Larry might describe early broadcast of
seminars notices between MIT and Stanford.  Note followups. --enm]


From: Peter.Nurkse () Eng Sun COM (Peter Nurkse)


         * please forward this announcement within the Bay area *
             * and post to any appropriate internal aliases *


                  Bay Area Computer History Perspectives


                "ARPAnet History: Origins of the Internet"


                             Larry Roberts
                    5:30 PM, Tuesday, February 22
                             Stanford Room
                        Sun Microsystems Bldg. 6
                            2750 Coast Ave.
                               Mt. View




Larry Roberts, who has been called the father of packet switching, will
be discussing the history of the ARPAnet, the foundation of today's
Internet network. Dr. Roberts guided the initial development of the
ARPAnet from 1967 to 1973, serving during that period as Director of the
Information Processing Technology Office at the Advanced Research Projects
Agency (ARPA). Research began in 1962, when telephone modems had proven
inadequate to link computer systems over longer distances.


By 1967 the radical new concept of packet switching was developed, and in
1969 the first three nodes of the world's first packet network, the
ARPAnet, were installed. The ARPAnet proved the speed, reliability and
economy of packet switching, It grew rapidly, and finally provided the
foundation for the present Internet. Today packet switching is still
evolving, into fast packet switching or ATM, which has potential to link
both local and wide area networks.


Dr. Roberts will discuss the available alternatives when the ARPAnet was
founded, and the politics and difficulties in implementing such a radical
new technology. He will then describe the development of the ARPAnet in the
early years, through 1973, and then trace the evolution of the ARPAnet into
the present Internet. After launching the ARPANET, Dr Roberts founded
Telenet, the first commercial packet network, now Sprint, the largest
commercial packet network. Currently Dr. Roberts is continuing his
involvement in this technology as President of ATM Systems, a local
company building ATM switches.


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Bay Area Computer History Perspectives is a series of programs organised
by Peter Nurkse and Jeanie Treichel, of Sun Microsystems, to explore and
record local Bay area computer history. Programs are open to the public
and free of charge. Suggestions for future programs are welcome, and can be
faxed to Jeanie Treichel at 415/691-0756, or e-mailed to nurkse () eng sun com.


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Directions to Sun Building 6 in Mt. View: take San Antonio Road North exit
from highway 101 in Mt. View, toward the bay. Go one block past the traffic
lights, and then:


    - turn right on Casey Ave. (signs here do not mention Bldg. 6)
    - go one block on Casey Ave., then turn right again on Marine Way
    - go one block on Marine Way, then turn left on Coast Ave.
    - go down to the end of Coast Ave., and Building 6 is on your right