Web evolution essay: Many years ago a network was born having several computers connected and
now, that same network has millions of computers connected at all times, it's called the Internet. This
paper will explain the evolution and growth of the Internet. I will offer a guided tour though the
evolution of the Internet and explain what this effect has on its growth and popularity. It's like a plague
growing across the world, signs of its growth are seen everywhere. The Internet was started as an
experiment to test networks to try and develop a network that could survive a nuclear attack. While the
net has never needed to survive a nuclear blast its design has proven again and again how robust it is. It
has with stood many an attack from construction, people digging up cables, to lightning blowing up a
router. The network has always recovered and bypassed the problem. The Internet began as the
Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) during the cold war in 1969. It was developed
by the US Department of Defense's (DOD) research people in conjunction with a number of military
contractors and universities to explore the possibility of a communication network that could survive a
nuclear attack. It continued simply because the DOD, DOD's contractors, and the universities found that
it provided a very convenient way to communicate (Wendell). The ARPANET was a success from the very
beginning. Although originally designed to allow scientists to share data and access remote computers,
e-mail quickly becomes the most popular application. The ARPANET became a high-speed digital postoffice as people used it to collaborate on research projects and discuss topics of various interests. By
1971 the ARPANET grew to 23 hosts connecting universities and government research centers around
the country (Net Timeline.). In 1973 the first international connections were made with England and
Norway. Growth continued at a steady pace, by 1987 there were over 10,000 hosts, then by 1989 it had
exploded to 100,000 (Rowse). Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf are key members of a team, which created
Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), the common language of all Internet
computers. For the first time the loose collection of networks which made up the ARPANET is seen as an
Internet, and the Internet as we know it today is born. The mid-80s marks a boom in the personal
computer and super-minicomputer industries. The combination of inexpensive.