The computer in my lab received the first message on the ARPA network. The computer at UCLA sent a message to my lab at SRI. They were trying to send a message for us to log in. But all that got through were the letters “lo,” and then the computer crashed. That was the first ARPANet connection. That was 1969. The network grew and other networks emerged. Now the Internet is huge with millions of computers. Back then, number two was ours. I was one of the 12 or 13 principal investigators that each had a timesharing computer and was doing work on ARPA projects.
Because I was continually interested in the future of human organizations, I volunteered to run the Network Information Center to help other groups. Then ARPA said, “Well, we want to start learning about computer networks, so for the first example we’re going to connect all you researchers together.”
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