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he U.S. Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), the precursor to the modern internet, sent its first message on October 29, 1969, connecting computers at UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute. This established the foundation for computer networking using packet-switching technology. -
Ray Tomlinson developed the first system for sending electronic messages between users on different computers across the ARPANET, introducing the "@" symbol to separate the user's name from their host machine. -
The DNS was established, creating the familiar naming conventions like .com, .org, and .edu. This made the internet more user-friendly by allowing people to use domain names instead of numerical IP addresses to find websites -
On January 1, ARPANET officially switched its standard from the Network Control Protocol to the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). This universal "language" allowed different networks to interconnect and communicate, effectively marking the birth of the modern "internet" as a network of networks. -
Marc Andreessen and his team at the University of Illinois developed Mosaic, the first widely available graphical web browser. Its user-friendly interface displaying images alongside text dramatically increased public interest and paved the way for browsers like Netscape and Internet Explorer. -
the original NSFNET backbone was decommissioned, and the internet's management was fully transitioned to commercial enterprises. This opened the door for online businesses such as Amazon.com and eBay to launch, moving the internet from a government and academic network into the commercial marketplace. -
Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google, introducing a new kind of search engine that prioritized search results based on the relevance and authority of web pages. Google quickly became the dominant search tool and fundamentally changed how users navigate and locate information online. -
Google launched innovative products like Google Wave, while Apple released the iPhone 3GS, and the debate over net neutrality gained prominence. The year also saw the White House go "2.0" with an increased online presence, and the growing role of the internet in political events like the protests in Iran.