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The Modem World Source Note

Title: @driscollTheBirthOfTheModemWorld date: 2023-04-04 type: reference

tags:: #Web #Internet #modem #BBS

Reference

  • Driscoll, K. 2022 The Birth of the Modem World. Slate.

Annotations:

- @driscollTheBirthOfTheModemWorld

Summary & Key Takeaways

  • Driscoll explains how the internet has a complex history and how it is the intersection of hundreds of networks, the author also explains that there was only one previously known as “the internet.” The article explains how the story of internet history is a narrow view of the internet's evolution and leaves out important components. The article dives into these components as it looks at a fuller history that accounts for the creation of personal computer networks and their convergence with the internet. One of the key components that played a massive role in the history of the internet is the modem. Modems were devices that converted digital signals into audible signals for transmission over a standard telephone line, allowing computers to relay information via telephone. They were quite separate from the internet at the time, as the article describes, and many called it the "modem world." The modem world developed in parallel to the ARPANET family of networks. The modem world was driven by amateur communities, these were distinct spheres of social and technical activity, as the article describes. The article then takes a deep dive into the bulletin board system(BBS). They allowed people interested in exploring the possibilities of an online community to get involved. As we look at the history of the BBS systems, we can see how the current-day internet was formed and can see that it was not just created by the government, but rather input from many people.