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Re: What is at stake?

2002-01-23 21:20:02

The lesson from these numbers of 1999/2000, and that is why (somewhat
tongue-in-cheek) I quoted them and did not comment on the "Internet
being 2 years old",  is that they reflect what the public *sees* of the
Internet.

Let me be clear. The Internet as we know of today really started to
"exist" when it become possible for anyone to have a website AND
connect to the Net -- not just those who were university- or military-
affiliated.  And this was 1995/1996.  The US Census only started to
collect data on the Internet in 1997 -- before that, the Internet was
not even in the radar screen.

So, it is no surprise that to the Census the Net started in 1997. That
is when it started to matter. We should take note of that date as well.

In this process and with all due respect, it seems that many in the
IETF were like a frog being slowly boiled -- the frog dies and never
jumps before, because the temperature rises so so slowly.  Many
never realized that the Internet they were talking about -- and some
still are -- is just a relic of the past.

The lesson that I wanted to drive home is that "10-year arguments"
are really not appropriate here.  The Internet as we know of today did
not exist 10 years ago.  Ten years ago it was not even really an internet,
it was more like a network -- with a central control point.

Cheers,

Ed Gerck


"Gary E. Miller" wrote:

Yo All!

Well Al Gore invented the internet in the early '80s, and the internet
penetration was not 60% by the early '90s, SO I think these numbers
are bogus.

RGDS
GARY
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gary E. Miller Rellim 20340 Empire Blvd, Suite E-3, Bend, OR 97701
        gem(_at_)rellim(_dot_)com  Tel:+1(541)382-8588 Fax: +1(541)382-8676

On Wed, 23 Jan 2002, Ed Gerck wrote:

The Internet broke the 60 percent penetration barrier in the U.S. faster
than any other medium. For example, some 35 percent of the U.S.
population had phone use in 1920, but penetration didn't reach 60
percent until 1950. With the Internet, a comparable increase in
usage only took two years.