Chapter 5 of A History of the Internet and the Digital Future gives great background on the shaky origins of the modern day internet. The early origins of the internet were deeply rooted within phone companies because users at home had to be able to connect their machines to the phone lines. This specific fact struck a chord in my childhood memory bank, I can remember trying to call my cousins home phone and getting a dial tone because they were using the computer.
Another fascinating fact from chapter 5 was the 'Carterfone', a radio device that could be attached to a standard telephone set to extend the network beyond the fixed telephone lines. I believe that it's innovations like these have revolutionized the internet industry in an offhand manner. I'm interested to see what different kinds of innovations will surface during this golden digital age. Also, I wonder if the phone phreaks phenomenon from chapter 6 had any influence on modern day chat rooms and instant messaging.
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