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Eras on the 'Net    [ Geekiness ]

Something other than a political rant - I'm trying to do some research on the different eras of the 'Net, and came across Hobbes' Internet Timeline, which I know I've read before.   It's probably the best online resource for raw historical data on the Internet itself, certainly better than some other goofball sites.   The ISOC's Internet history site has some good links as well.

But how can you categorize eras on the Internet?   I know I've seen some vast changes in the 9-ish years I've been using it, but what are their key differences?   Since I've started reading Quicksilver a few days ago, I'm in a Aristotelian or Linneanian mood to exert order upon the world by classification.

1965 - 1968 : The Age Before
Informal network from two direct-connected computers grows slowly into "The Experimental Network", ARPANET design discussions, BBN awarded design contract

Very early stages, networking is something akin to rocket science but connecting computers seems promising.   Real hard-core geeks here.   This is the era of mainframes and "computer operators" in a very real sense, and IBM and the dinosaurs rule the world.

1969 - 1970 : Birth
4 hosts to 13 hosts
ARPANET network commissioned, AT&T puts in 50kbps data lines, first RFC by Steve Crocker, NCP put into use.

DoD creates the ARPANET - the birth of the grandfather of the Internet.   Minicomputers have emerged, such as the PDP-10 and PDP-11, which take off like hotcakes.   An operating system named Unix, developed at AT&T Bell Labs, written in C, gains popularity along with the PDP-11.

1971 - 1982 : The First Age : ARPANET
23 hosts to 235 hosts
More ARPANET nodes come online, email and chat developed, international connections made to network, "Jargon File" released, Ethernet developed, UUCP created, TCP -> TCP/IP, USENET established, first MUD created, emoticons come into existence, first widespread virus, BITNET, first definition of the "Internet"

As the mainframe world slows down, the minicomputer revolution heats up.   Digital Equipment Corporation inherits the Earth.   Unix continues to growth within and outside of the ARPANET community, sold by AT&T and developed at Bell Labs, UC-Berkeley and elsewhere.

1983 - 1987 : The Second Age : Rise of the networks
562 hosts to 28,174 hosts
Flag Day - NCP gives way to TCP/IP, name server created, DNS introduced, the WELL comes online, NNTP developed, IETF established

The rise of workstations, many shipping with powerful software like BSD Unix, allows more and more computers to be connected.   The growth of LANs and WANs (MILNET, TELENET, BITNET, EUNET, NSFNET) means that the ARPANET connects many separate networks together.   PCs are created and grow at the low end of the computing world, driven by consumer demand.

1988 - 1991 : The Third Age : Transformation
3e4 hosts to 6e5 hosts
the Morris Worm outbreak, CERT is created, OSI recommended, IRC developed, ARPANET -> Internet, EFF founded, WWW released

The Internet breaks free from ARPANET, security threats are felt, and the beginnings of what will become the Web are made.   A Brave New World comes upon the 'Net with the end of Communism.   Workstations have given rise to RISC processors, spawning an industry of high-powered, low-cost computing.   DEC's power wanes and is subsumed by Sun, SGI and others.   The partnership between IBM and Microsoft in the PC world breaks apart, as IBM spirals into nearly a decade of decline.

1992 - 1994 : The Fourth Age : Blue Sky
7e5 hosts to 4e6 hosts
1992 - 1e6 hosts
ISOC created, multicast, RIPE and InterNIC stood up, "surfing the Internet" is coined, government agencies connect to the 'Net, web spiders and crawlers emerge, Mosaic (first major web browser) is launched, online pizza delivery and banking begin, first banner ads, first 'Net radio stations.

Anything is possible, massive growth and remarkable technical progress is achieved in a stunningly short period, building upon the work done before to make the 'Net stable and liveable.   If the WWW succeeds here, it does because it stands on the shoulders of giants.   The Golden Era of RISC chips and Unix workstations is now, and PC use continues to grow.   Free Unix alternatives coincide with PC growth, including Linux and BSD 4.x derivatives.

1995 - 1997 : The Fifth Age : Commercialization
5e6 hosts to 2.6e7 hosts
Backbone routing moves from NSFNET to peered network providers, Java launched, RealAudio launched, dial-up systems including AOL provide Internet access which strains their network capacity, Browser Wars between Netscape and Microsoft, new TLDs, 'Net telephony, domain name speculation, national governments crack down on 'Net access

Companies rush in to exploit the promise of the 'Net with millions of users connecting from previously closed networks.   While the 'Net expands to include things never before dreamed, the seeds of its destruction are sown in the growth of advertising and the passage of controversial legislation.   The Age of PCs is upon the world, and commoditization and standardization drive hardware prices further and further down.   Microsoft inherits the Earth with Windows 95.   Linux continues to grow, buoyed by the growth of the 'Net.

1998 - 2000 : The Sixth Age : The Boom
3e7 hosts to 1e8 hosts
Growth from 300 million web pages to 1 billion web pages, DNS transitioned from US gov't control, first cyberwar (Serbia/Kosovo), domain hijacking, free computer with ISP signup, DDoS against major web sites, Internet2, copyright and IP legislation, Napster created

Everyone on the planet, it seems, is on the 'Net.   A commercial frenzy has broken out, with an orgy of stock speculation driving huge amounts of investment into every imaginable corner of the 'Net.   DEC is bought out by Compaq, a PC manufacturer.   Microsoft gains a reputation for security vulnerabilities in its products.   RedHat and other Linux companies conduct wildly successful IPOs.

2001 - 2003 : The Seventh Age : Bust and Decay
1e8 hosts to 2e8 hosts
SETI@Home, Code Red/Nimda, ICANN, blogging, DDoS attacks on DNS root servers, SQL Slammer, MS Blaster, Verisign's SiteFinder, massive growth in spam, website growth stagnant from 12/01 - 03/03 for first time in 5 years

And then the fall - companies crash and burn following the stock market crash in April 2000.   It took a year or two in some cases, but the mania surrounding the 'Net as a business opportunity waned with the recession that officially ended in November 2001.   The economic downturn persisted, though, and Internet companies foundered, fell and downsized.   The 'Net was no longer what it once was, and all the starry-eyed exuberance had gone out of it.   HP buys out Compaq.   Many Linux companies go under, but open-source software remains popular.   Microsoft easily weathers the economic storm but continues to lose mindshare over security issues.   IBM now promotes Linux in a bizarre twist of history.

2004 - 2006 : The Eighth Age
What does the future hold?   Are we doomed to a massively over-commercialized 'Net filled with spam, worms, virii, scams and popups?   Or is there some brighter promise out there?