“lo”

ARPANET and the Internet Turned 40

On October 29, 1969, scientists at UCLA sent a message over the first computer network, ARPANET which later became the Internet.

ARPA, the US Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency, commissioned the network to allow researchers to share information on remote computer terminals. What made ARPANET unique is that it used packets of data, sent en masse, over the network to a destination computer where these packets would be put back in order and the message assembled.

Think of it this way, take a letter and copy each sentence to individually numbered postcards. Once all of the sentences have been transcribed to the postcards, mail them to someone. The post cards may take many routes, however, they are all addressed to the same destination. A person who receives these postcards can then reassemble the letter by putting the post cards in the same numbered order. Message received.

ARPANET did this with data packets rather than postcards. That methodology is what makes the Internet what it is today.

“lo” was the first message sent via ARPANET. To the dismay of the early pioneers of the Internet, the message was supposed to be “login,” however the “g” crashed the Internet. LOL.

Mobile Networks

Connecting mobile devices

When you are driving fast down a highway, have you ever wondered how your tiny phone stays connected to the Internet?

Mobile devices use a cellular network to connect. A cellular network is a network of radio towers referred to as “cells.” These cells include a radio transceiver that acts much like a WiFi base station; they cover a specific geographic area.

Unlike radios, cell systems are intelligent. Mobile devices know when they are leaving the range of one cell and automatically switch to the next best cell.

Think of driving while listening to a radio. When you start to loose a station, your car radio finds the next similar station and changes the channel automatically. This is how mobile cell networks operate.

As more cells are added to a network, the more coverage a network provides. The more cells, the stronger the network and the easier it is for your mobile device to connect to it's network.

News from the Industry

Recent stories relating to mobile technology.

Shots fired: Version and Motorola Launch the "Droid"

With the pending launch of the Droid, an Android OS-based PDA, Motorola and Verizon fire a bold shot across the bow of their competitors. The question is, which one will feel the effects?

Flash on the iPhone?

Not quite. While Apple has yet to support Flash on the iPhone, Adobe created a workaround. This process allows developers to program in Flash and export their software to an iPhone-compatible application.

Palm Pre on Verizon?

In what appears to be a reversal, Verizon is rumored to have plans to offer the Palm Pre early in 2010.

Will Android OS kill off Windows Mobile for Consumers?

While everyone in the mobile industry may be looking for the next “iPhone Killer,” Windows Mobile is the likely causality. Coming in a distant third to iPhone and Blackberry, Windows Mobile may see it’s market share significantly erode thanks to Google’s Android OS.