 Taking a Look Back
By Michael McGrath
I attended my undergraduate college class's 35th reunion over this past weekend, and in pure self defense must say everyone looked just as I remembered them. It's amazing how things can look through the lenses of 35 year old recollections, and I came to realize I should use that pair of glasses all the time, now. It was great to reminisce, visit all those special places on a much-evolved campus, smile just a little at each of those memories of youth. I'm a product of the '60s/early '70s, and as I looked at the board of photos and news clippings for the class of 1972 (long hair, mutton chop sideburns, tie-dye, bell bottoms), I noticed one clipping in particular - - a note about the Arpanet. Wait, what?
The Arpanet was the precursor for what we know today as the Internet. It was on that reunion bulletin board because it launched in 1969, the year of men walking on the moon, Woodstock, $0.99 six packs of beer you can't buy anymore, and demonstrations against the agency developing the Arpanet. You can read more about it here if you're interested. We all know what it has become by now, but back then it was used by the military, primarily. As clueless as we were about our own futures on that graduation day, I suspect they never anticipated YouTube, MyFace, Fark, or the public posting of plans for thermonuclear devices in their creation's future, too.
As I have written in past columns, of we 300+ million in the US, it is estimated that 207 million are regular or semi-regular Internet users. What do we do on the Internet? Email, general shopping, and general surfing, for the majority. But when you dig a little deeper, you learn, for instance, that over 85% of us do all or virtually all of our pre-purchase research online, no matter the product or service we're thinking of buying. Nearly 90 million of us research our vacations online, and more than 2/3 of those will be booking all or virtually all of their vacations online, including travel, lodging and event scheduling arrangements. The majority of us receive most of our daily news over the Internet, both serious and recreational, and subscriptions for newspaper delivery are down as a result. Many of us make our living, now, on the Internet, and our places of business are far less geographically specific than was required 10 years ago - - any place where we have access to the Internet will do. With respect to the latter, I can proudly state I no longer live in the basement of my mother's house - - I find the attic above her garage much more spacious and comfortable.
It was January 14, 1969, that the first Arpanet link was established between UCLA and Stanford Research Institute. I had turned 19 on the day before. By December 5, 1969, the entire 4-node network was connected (UCLA, Stanford, U-Cal, Santa Barbara, and Univ. of Utah) . I will confess I had no idea this was occurring at the time, for reasons that shall remain my own. I will confess, also, that making a living in a virtual world as I do now was not among my dreams as I received my first college diploma on May 28, 1972. In human terms, two generations have passed since that time, if a human generation is measured by 18 years to complete normal school. In virtual terms, though, nineteen generations have passed, if a technology generation is 24 months as Moore's Law says.
It was private then, and it's very public now. What will it become in the next nineteen generations? I don't expect to make that reunion, but boy would it be a kick to see the Internet then.
What's New at KISS Computing
KISS was pleased to be part of a public event in Quincy on May 14 for the public introduction of the new Massachusetts Cultural Coast web site. US Rep. William Delahunt welcomed the guests for the affair, as funding for the project was precipitated by his involvement in promoting the many cultural offerings of the Massachusetts coast. The major feature of the new web site is an Itinerary Planning Tool KISS designed and developed specifically for the Cultural Coast, a system that serves as the single reference source for all attractions and events in the areas of Plymouth, Bristol, Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket Counties, and the preparation of itineraries for vacationers to the area to take in all such attractions and events.
We're pleased to announce KISS has been chosen to assist in the development of a new web site and functionality system for Onset Computer Corporation, in Bourne, MA. This company is the world leader in the development of data logging and measuring devices, and its HOBO trademark is recognized in industries all over the globe. The target date for the launch of the new site is early fall.
Our list of new site launches in May includes two new sites in Ireland: Golf Time Ireland, based in Dublin; and, Golf Club Hire Ireland, based in Limerick. Micheal O Donnabhain is the general manager of GTI, and this represents a companion business to Rental Solutions Ireland, launched earlier this year. Gerard Carroll is the owner of GCHI, and is embarking on his first web-based business effort. We wish both well and great success in these new ventures. |
