Internet races toward the future

Internet races toward the future

Conference marvels at past, present and future of Internet

By Donna Wong

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Before the Internet, UCLA students actually had to go to class
to ask their professor a question. Now, in the era of electronic
bulletin boards which serve as virtual classrooms, students can get
help without even leaving their bedroom.

In celebration of technological advancement, professionals met
at the UCLA campus Thursday for the 25th celebration of the birth
of the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) ­
the predecessor to today’s Internet ­ at UCLA.

Looking at the past, present and future of the Internet,
yesterday’s conference focused on how Internet has changed our
lives and what it will change in the future, said Leonard
Kleinrock, chairperson of the UCLA computer science department.

In the future, cars may be equipped with a computer that can
sense overheating, and then talk to a garage mechanic through
cellular phone lines. After which, the drivers may get a message in
return saying there is an opening for a check-up the next day, said
Dr. Sydney Karin.

But today people can reach their friends by e-mail and conduct
research with scholars in Illinois that they’ve never even seen
before, said Sheila Breinbach, a UCLA computer Science
professor.

The Internet first came into existence on Labor Day weekend,
1969, when Kleinrock ­ who created the first message processor
to hook up to ARPANET ­ and a group of graduate students
received the first message across the ARPANET government-supported
data network.

"What was sent was ‘log in,’ one letter at a time, but by the
time it got to ‘i’ the system crashed," Kleinrock said. And after
that, the parent of the Internet was born, he said.

Today, the Internet connects more than just a small handful of
scientists with each other’s resources. More than 20 million people
use the Internet’s world web to conduct business and research via
long distances.

"This, in some terms, has a bigger impact than landing on the
moon," Kleinrock said. "We really had no idea that (the Internet)
is what we would have today."

Users on the Internet can access anything from President Bill
Clinton’ past speeches to texts with audio and video segments on
rhinos.

"I can watch the space shuttle launch as it was happening or
search for something in an entire library in a matter of minutes.
It’s a window to a unlimited number of things," Kleinrock said.

Although the communications system was created in 1969, it still
took 25 years to grow to its current size. But with the
presidential administration’s push for the information
superhighway, it has the potential to develop into something even
bigger, scientists say.

But if the Internet is to serve more people’s needs to transmit
information, there needs to be certain improvements within the
current system ­ especially in the area of security, Kleinrock
said.

In addition, the system needs more network addresses, and a way
to send one stream of information to many people at the same
time.

So although today’s Internet is a good model for the future
information superhighway, it isn’t quite good enough to become it,
Kleinrock said.

Professors can gain access to the Internet through UCLA, as can
many students in the computer science, math, and physics
departments. With the ability to send mail, and even homework,
instantaneously at the push of a button, and faster than any mail
carrier could move it, the Internet has provided a system that some
people couldn’t imagine living without.

"At the present stage of my career I couldn’t imagine living
without the Internet. It’s a system I use several times a day to
stay in contact with researchers, friends and acquaintances around
the world," said Walter Karplus, computer science department
co-chair.

In addition people can also hold conferences with each other
through electronic talking where the split computer screen lets
people see both sides of the conversation at once, said Narayanan
Shibakumar, a computer science graduate student.

But despite the possibility of having a paperless office in the
future, it probably won’t happen, Shibakumar said. "People like
looking at things on paper," he said.