What the organisation contributed
In 1971 Ray Tomlinson connected local messaging with ARPANET file transfer and used the @ convention to distinguish a user from a host, creating person-to-person network mail between machines. ARPANET, first connected in 1969, implemented packet switching through Interface Message Processors and helped turn the method into a practical multi-host network. Full topic Dossier : Computer Networks and ARPANET Project owner: Takura Nyagumbo Document status: Researched working dossier Version: 0.
Why it mattered
Provides asynchronous addressed message delivery across users, hosts and networks without requiring simultaneous presence or physical transport. Shares network links efficiently among bursty digital traffic through packetisation, buffering and forwarding without requiring a dedicated end-to-end circuit.
Where this fits in ITEM
Sources and further reading
- ARPANET
DARPA · Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- The Interface Message Processor for the ARPA Computer Network
W. R. Crowther · 1970
- Internet History of the 1960s
Computer History Museum · 1960