Internet to Turn 40 This Month

The Internet will celebrate this month its 40th birthday.

On Oct. 29, 1969, computers used by the University of California at Los Angeles and Stanford University were connected by communication cables. At the time, the computers could exchange the letters “I” and “O.” Though researchers tried to type “login,” the connection was cut. This marked the first time computers or data were connected.

Since then, the Internet has revolutionized how people live, changing industries, strengthening the global economy, and even affecting politics, especially in the United States and Korea. Most people cannot imagine life without the Web.

The Internet also keeps evolving. The amount of information has increased significantly. The gigabyte and terabyte are growing obsolete in favor of the petabyte. Some predict that the tremendous volume of data accumulated on the Internet will create new industries if applied to relevant sectors through systematic analysis.

Web search engines are engaged in harsh competition to draw users. The use of the Internet in cultural and social sciences has also drawn much attention. Academics have even analyzed changes in the public interest and posted their findings real time.

The Internet is expected to join technologies such as mobile communication in turning into a new medium blurring the division of reality and virtual reality. To commemorate the 40th birthday of the Internet, The Dong-A Ilbo will cover the Internet present and future over three articles.

sanhkim@donga.com