Nerds 2.0.1

by Stephen Segaller

Book Overview

The first detailed history of computer networking, beginning in the 1960s with the launch of "Sputnik" to the flourishing industry that online businesses are today. of photos. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1575000881
• ISBN13: 9781575000886
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: TV Books
• Length: 412 Pages
• Weight: 2.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Right from the hip - a favorable preview

You might think that after working with computers and networks for nearly two decades I might have encountered a similar published history somewhere along the way, but I had to wait this long to finally satisfy my curiosity about many matters related to the Internet.On another note, you know that you're growing old when such an eventful volume covers your life's exact timeline, and when you've watched over half the volume's events unfold before you in the workplace.Stephen Segaller deserves credit for compiling an exhaustive background of four decades of Internet-related activity, including the major and minor players, their opinions, their backgrounds, thoughts, related feelings, reactions, plans, failures and successes. As a writer and television producer, Segaller originally created a television program titled "Nerds 2.0.1" during which he took a short break from production and adapted his material for this book.I was pleasantly surprised to be intimately introduced to people I've either heard of - or read about - over the years. It was fascinating to watch the Internet unfold from behind-the-scenes as if I were closely involved in making historic progress with Frank Heart, Tim Berners-Lee, Norm Abramson, Vint Serf, Bob Metcalfe, Scott McNealy, Bill Joy, or my favorites (since I'm a Cisco fanatic) Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner.It is easy to see the parallel between the television documentary and the book, as the book contains four neatly divided parts consisting of the decades of the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's, though the book could be divided into parts related more closely to significant events in the development of the Internet. These events would include: the introduction of the modem, the rejection by AT & T, Control Data Corp., and IBM of the original RFP to create a non-modem "Internet", the establishment of ARPAnet via packet switching, the development of routing protocols, the introduction of e-mail and FTP, the international expansion of ARPAnet, the establishment of Ethernet, the start of the continuing proliferation of Intel processors, the entry and exponential growth of microcomputer use, the TCP/IP protocol formally split and defined, the designation of the Domain Name System (.com, .edu, .org, etc.), the replacement of ARPAnet by the World Wide Web, the congressional act to permit commerce on the Web, the unbelievable growth of the Web in the early to mid 90's and thereafter, the continued dominance of Cisco and Microsoft in their related fields, and finally the continued exponential growth of Internet users, sites, traffic and commerce.In conclusion I would highly recommend this book to anyone with even the slightest curiosity as to how this transforming medium we call the Internet just happened into being. Stephen Segaller's work is comprehensive and written for the reader as an active and interesting novel rather than a dry volume of compiled facts and figures.

good

if you want to learn read knowone will do it for you open your mind and read also i would like to add that the army invented the internet and this author did a a dam good job of writing it

Very good history of computing

As noted in previous reviews, the book covers American computer/networking history moreso than the Internet proper. I found the origins of ARPA and the major companies to be fascinating. Certainly the author doesn't go into technical detail into protocols and such, no moreso than a WWII history book has to teach the subject of military strategy. The best thing about the book was the lighthearted style, that did a good job of showing these industry heavyweights as real people.

Misses much, but still covers much

I'll agree with people who think this book misses many of the major parts of the Internet, but I also think that it really does hit on many of the major "events" of the Internet. It gives a very good way-back history and, come on now, who could write a book describing the 1990's of the Internet? The book would have to be thousands of pages. This book really hits on some good highlights. yeah it covers a lot of Microsoft, but you have to - even if they were dragged online. I found it easy to skip paragraphs at a time, but I couldn't put the book down entirely.

Excellent view of the (brief) history of Internet

I love history (Internet/Computer especially) this book present many of the little things that we are not aware of or not many people know since the ARPAnet til' Cisco and Microsoft. An excellent book!