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-==== Internet visionary J.C.R. Licklider  "Computing's Johnny Appleseed" ====
+====== Internet History 1960s: J.C.R. Licklider guides ARPA Vision ======
+In the 1960s the vision of a worldwide network of computers by Dr. Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider would lead to the ARPANET.
+With the Soviet Union's launching of Sputnik, the first orbiting satellite, in 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to address the needs of technology research and development.
+The goal of ARPA was to address the technology needs of the U.S Department of Defense. ARPA would be the parent of the computer network of the ARPANET.
+==== Licklider guides ARPA Vision ====
+J.C.R. Licklider, known by friends, colleagues, and casual acquaintances as "Lick," was the first to describe the concept he called the "Galactic Network."
+In the paper “Man-Computer Symbiosis,” published in 1960, Licklider provided a guide for decades of computer research to follow He envisioned a globally interconnected set of computers through which everyone could quickly access data and programs from any site.
+In October 1962, Licklider was appointed head of the Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO) at ARPA, the United States Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The IPTO funded the research that led to the development of the ARPANET.
+During his time as director of ARPA's Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO)  Licklider funded a research project headed by Robert Fano at MIT called Project MAC, a large mainframe computer that was designed to be shared by up to 30 simultaneous users, each sitting at a separate typewriter terminal.  Project MAC (the Project on Mathematics and Computation) would develop groundbreaking research in operating systems, artificial intelligence, and the theory of computation.
+Licklider sought out the leading computer research institutions in the U.S. and set up research contracts with them. Soon there were about a dozen universities and companies working on ARPA contracts including Stanford, UCLA, and Berkeley. Lick jokingly nicknamed his group the Intergalactic Computer Network. This group would later form the core who created the ARPANET.
+==== Lick left ARPA in 1964 ====
+Lick never implemented his vision at ARPA. Licklider moved on, but he left behind his vision of a universal network in others. In a few years after leaving ARPA in 1964, Licklider's ideas were implemented with creation of the ARPANET.
-J.C.R. Licklider worked at MIT in the 1950s on a Cold War project called SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment), a computer-based air defense system.
+Larry Roberts, the principal architect of the ARPANET, would give credit to Licklider's vision, "The vision was really Lick's originally. ... he sat down with me and really convinced me that it was important and convinced me into making it happen"
-In 1960, Licklider published a paper titled Man-Computer Symbiosis, which would provide a guide for decades of computer research to follow. He envisioned a globally interconnected set of computers through which everyone could quickly access data and programs from any location. Because of this vision, Licklider is often called "Computing's Johnny Appleseed" for planting the seeds of the research that ultimately led to the birth of the Internet.
+==== The Computer as a Communication Device ====
-The launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik and the creation of ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) had researchers thinking about military communications and how to make networks less vulnerable.
-In October 1962, Licklider was appointed head of the Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO) at ARPA. The IPTO funded the research that would eventually lead to the development of the ARPANET. Although Cold War military projects were not new to Licklider, his new position gave him the opportunity to promote his vision of interconnected computers.
+In the 1960s computers had generally been thought of as mathematical devices for speeding up computations. Licklider's vision of network applications and predicted the use of computer networks for communications.
-Known to friends and colleagues simply as "Lick," Licklider described what he called the "Galactic Network," a worldwide network of computers that could share information and resources. He sought out the leading computer research institutions in the United States and established ARPA research contracts with them. Soon, about a dozen universities and companies—including Stanford, UCLA, and Berkeley—were working on ARPA-funded projects. Lick jokingly referred to this community as the "Intergalactic Computer Network." These researchers would later form the core team that created the ARPANET.
+In 1968, a year before the ARPANET was launched, Lick co-authored "The Computer as a Communication Device." The 1968 paper starts with the sentence, "In a few years, men will be able to communicate more effectively through a machine than face to face." Licklider's paper described many of the common concepts of the internet we now take for granted.
+==== A true geek visionary ====
+Lick is often called "Computing's Johnny Appleseed" for planting the seeds for decades of computer research to follow in the birth of the internet.
+More deserving of the image of the absent minder professor that that of corporate executive, Licklider never achieved any great amount of fame or widespread recognition.
-Licklider's vision of a worldwide computer network inspired many of the people who turned that idea into reality. Larry Roberts, the principal architect of the ARPANET, later credited Licklider's vision as a major influence on the project.
+A true visionary, Licklider was an extremely intelligent and intensely creative man who cared more about whether the goal was accomplished than who got the credit.
-One of the key technological advances that distinguished the Internet from earlier communications systems was packet switching. During the 1960s, Paul Baran and the RAND Corporation, in the report On Distributed Communications, developed the concept of packet switching as a foundation for a more resilient communications network. Rather than depending on a single path, data could be broken into packets and routed around damaged or congested areas, allowing the network to continue operating even if parts of it failed.

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The collection of material for the study of geek history dates back to my early days in technology as far back as the 1970s. You will find specific footnotes and references on many pages with links to current websites. Anytime a claim is made, or a fact is stated from a website or blog that does not appear to have firsthand knowledge of the subject I make a note to follow up on it. I can assure you that anything I have written is based on verification of facts from a source as close to the events and individuals as possible or multiple sources of information from leading publications or references.

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