FEBRUARY 2002 CORE 3.1 A PUBLICATION OF THE COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM WWW.COMPUTERHISTORY.ORG PAGE 1 February 2002 OUR ACTIONS TODAY COREA publication of the Computer History3.1 Museum IN THIS MISSION ISSUE TO PRESERVE AND PRESENT FOR POSTERITY THE ARTIFACTS AND STORIES OF THE INFORMATION AGE INSIDE FRONT COVER VISION OUR ACTIONS TODAY The achievements of tomorrow must be was an outstanding success, and I simply doesn’t exist anywhere else in TO EXPLORE THE COMPUTING REVOLUTION AND ITS John C Toole rooted in the actions we take today. hope you caught the impact of these the world. With your sustained help, our IMPACT ON THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE Many exciting and important events announcements that have heightened actions have been able to speak much 2 THE SRI VAN AND COMPUTER have happened since our last CORE awareness of our enterprise in the louder than words, and it is my goal to INTERNETWORKING publication, and they have been community. I’m very grateful to Harry see that we are able to follow through Don Nielson carefully chosen to strategically shape McDonald (director of NASA Ames), Len on our dreams! EXECUTIVE STAFF where we will be in five years. Shustek (chairman of our Board of 7 John C Toole David Miller Trustees), Donna Dubinsky (Museum This issue of CORE is loaded with THE SRI VAN AND EARLY PACKET SPEECH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CEO VICE PRESIDENT OF DEVELOPMENT 2 Don Nielson First, let me officially introduce our Trustee and CEO of Handspring), and technical content and information about Karen Mathews Mike Williams new name and logo to everyone who Bill Campbell (chairman of Intuit) who our organization—from a wonderful EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT HEAD CURATOR 8 has not seen them before. The participated as panelists. We were perspective on the first mobile COMPUTERS MADE IN SWITZERLAND Dominik Landwehr Computer Museum History Center has fortunate to receive good media experiments in the SRI van and an PUBLICATION STAFF become the Computer History Museum coverage and were honored with special assessment of computing in (CHM). We have adopted the wonderful guests that included Dan Goldin, former Switzerland, to our new buildings and Karyn Wolfe 12 new logo that you see here and will NASA administrator; Zoe Lofgren, US our emerging CyberMuseum project. Our EDITOR RECENT DONATIONS use it everywhere in our institutional Congresswoman for the Santa Clara international presence is growing with 8 communications and designs. It Valley; Don Knuth; Gene Amdahl; Randy real content. I hope you see all of these BOARD OF TRUSTEES 14 BEYOND VIRTUAL symbolizes the strengths we have in Katz; and Jeff Hawkins; among others. elements as actions we are taking to Mike Walton an artifact-rich collection, the digital meet the challenges of our future plans. Leonard J Shustek, Chairman Charles H (Chuck) House VENCRAFT LLC INTEL CONVERGED age of the Museum’s present and Sally M Abel COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, 16 DIALOGIC DIVISION future, and people and communities Because NASA’s gates are moving FENWICK & WEST LLP REAL DESIGN, REAL BUILDINGS Kirsten Tashev worldwide—those who build our back, making us accessible by all, a David L Anderson Dave House organization, the public we serve, and sustained public presence will now be SENDMAIL ALLEGRO NETWORKS 14 the lessons of history we pass on to possible for us. You also should have C Gordon Bell Christine Hughes 18 MICROSOFT CORPORATION HIGHWAY 1 REPORT ON MUSEUM ACTIVITIES future generations. We are very grateful heard about us at the public Karen Mathews Peggy Burke Steve Kirsch to Museum Trustee Peggy Burke and environmental impact hearings for the 1185 DESIGN PROPEL SOFTWARE CORPORATION her team at 1185 Design who worked NASA Research Park. They are now Lori Crawford John Mashey 24 so enthusiastically to help us create completed, and have also raised our INFINITY CAPITAL LLC SENSEI PARTNERS LLC MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION our new look. visibility in the community. Finally, our Andrea Cunningham Ike R Nassi CITIGATE CUNNINGHAM ALLEGIS CAPITAL 16 25 programs continue to grow—we’ve got a Suhas Patil Donna Dubinsky UPCOMING EVENTS HANDSPRING TUFAN A huge thank you to everyone who great series of lectures and events for CONTACT INFORMATION contributed generously and early to our this year. Enjoy the Museum in every David Emerson Bernard L Peuto Annual Fund campaign. In today’s way you can. CLARENT CORPORATION CONCORD CONSULTING Samuel Fuller John William Poduska Sr ON THE BACK COVER environment of public benefit Our announcements, taken together, ANALOG DEVICES ADVANCED VISUAL SYSTEMS MYSTERY ITEMS FROM THE COLLECTION corporations, annual fundraising is created much more than just a “typical” There are still many incredible Eric Hahn F Grant Saviers perhaps the most difficult task, yet one press event. It was also the “virtual challenges ahead, and it will take lots of INVENTURES GROUP PRIVATE INVESTOR of the most important to sustained groundbreaking” of a new organization hard work and support. Our new Beta Gardner C Hendrie John Shoch BACK ALLOY VENTURES success. Our growth path is steep, and ready to meet the challenges of its Building, being constructed next to our SIGMA PARTNERS Peter Hirshberg Pierluigi Zappacosta Copyright ©2002, Computer History Museum. All rights we need everyone to help make our future. With pride, I looked at about 100 proposed permanent location, will grow GLOSS.COM reserved. The Museum is an independent 501(c)(3) organization successful. If you forgot to people attending from all over Silicon to be a Silicon Valley icon, and is organization, FID #77-0507525. PO Box 367, Moffett renew by calendar year-end, please do Valley; viewed the great artifact display symbolic of lots more to come for the Field, CA 94035, USA. so right now as you read this. It makes symbolic of one of the world’s finest entire community. Help us build a great BOARD OF ADVISORS Computer History Museum a big difference. collections; listened to Mike Williams’ institution and enjoy the steps along the Building T12-A passion and excitement while giving his way to celebrate computing history. Gene Amdahl Burge Jamieson Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA SIGMA PARTNERS In early December, we held a press tour; smiled at the awe and interest of William Aspray +1 650 604 2579 COMPUTING RESEARCH Randy Katz +1 650 604 2594 (fax) conference to announce many exciting people who met us for the first time; ASSOCIATION UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY things—our growing relationship with and saw the work of a dedicated staff Robert Broderson WWW.COMPUTERHISTORY.ORG NASA, construction of the “Beta who created a highly professional event. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA David Patterson BERKELEY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Building” scheduled to open in early fall, BERKELEY Paul Ceruzzi Submission guidelines for technical articles can be our new name and logo, appointment of We are building a community with NATIONAL AIR & SPACE MUSEUM, James N Porter found at www.computerhistory.org/core, or contact the our new Head Curator Mike Williams, passion, enthusiasm, and the SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION DISK/TREND editor at [email protected]. JOHN C TOOLE Federico Faggin Eric Schmidt and our future plans. In my opinion, it commitment to build something that EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CEO SYNAPTICS GOOGLE Cover: Stanford Research Institute (SRI) Van, James Gray Stephen L Squires X1590.99, Gift of SRI International (see page 2) MICROSOFT CORPORATION HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY COMPUTER HISTORY MUSEUM CORE 3.1 PAGE 2 PAGE 3 (left) Packet Radio van with antennas atop. Deliberately left unmarked over its years of service, the van was often full of expensive equipment and in some cases also full of Army generals. SRI was trying to not attract attention…and, except for one curious San Francisco police officer, it didn’t. (right) The inside of the van with a DEC LSI-11 running TCP at the top of the rack and two packet THE SRI VAN radios lower down. A Datamedia terminal sits to the right of the rack on the workbench. AND COMPUTER INTERNETWORKING BY DON NIELSON Stanford Research Institute (SRI) Van, X1590.99, Gift of SRI International Since the days when it was a had gathered for the celebration filed a grow. In the meantime, the notion of a It should be pointed out that the switching, once chosen, the same problem posed by these dissimilar stagecoach stop between San Francisco normal weekly Packet Radio Program radio version of the wired ARPANET had introduction of a radio segment to physical pathway is maintained for the networks at a seminar held by Cerf in and Monterey, Rossotti’s was a well- report—representing the work of all the come to Larry Roberts at ARPA. When supplement the ARPANET came from whole session. When circuits are the summer of 1973.3 After some airing known San Francisco mid-peninsula Program’s contractors—to ARPA. While Roberts left, first Bob Kahn and then simply following the military context in leased, the connection may even be in the internet community, the “watering hole” nestled in the second the testing of such a connection had Vint Cerf pursued that same idea at which this and a great deal of research “hardwired.” rudimentary elements of such a bank of foothills west of San Francisco been going on for several months, this ARPA. Both Roberts and Kahn had seen in the United States is done. If the protocol came together for them on an Bay. In the 1970s, it had a casual long e-mail report was, in a ceremonial the military need for a mobile, wireless military were to ultimately employ this In packet switching, where sub-units of October 1973 weekend at the Palo Alto atmosphere and some outdoor sense, the first internet transmission; version of the embryonic ARPANET.