Peter B. Seel - Digital Universe

Peter B. Seel Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado

Second Edition

This second edition first published 2022

©2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Edition History

John Wiley & Sons Ltd (1e, 2012)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except as permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

The right of Peter B. Seel to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.

Registered Office

John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA

John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK

Editorial Office

The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK

For details of our global editorial offices, customer services, and more information about Wiley products visit us at www.wiley.com.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some content that appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty

While the publisher and authors have used their best efforts in preparing this work, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives, written sales materials or promotional statements for this work. The fact that an organization, website, or product is referred to in this work as a citation and/or potential source of further information does not mean that the publisher and authors endorse the information or services the organization, website, or product may provide or recommendations it may make. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a specialist where appropriate. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Seel, Peter Benjamin, author.

Title: Digital universe : the global telecommunication revolution / Peter B. Seel.

Description: Second edition. | Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons, 2022. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021020798 (print) | LCCN 2021020799 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119630944 (paperback) | ISBN 9781119630975 (pdf) | ISBN 9781119630876 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Telecommunication--History. | Digital electronics--History. | Computers--History. | Information technology--History.

Classification: LCC TK5102.2 .S44 2022 (print) | LCC TK5102.2 (ebook) | DDC 621.382--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021020798LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021020799

Cover image: © Ciprian Stremtan/Shutterstock

Cover design by Wiley

Set in 10/12.5pt Century-Book by Integra Software Services, Pondicherry, India

The second edition of this book is dedicated to my life partner

Kay Collins

She copy-edited every word in this edition and provided invaluable feedback on the content. She is my intellectual soulmate whose diverse interests added unique perspectives to this book. She also tolerated losing her daily hiking companion for months as I worked on the revised manuscript.

This book is also dedicated to two scientists and humanists who intimately understood the digital universe from very different perspectives:

Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider

(1915–1990)

pioneer computer scientist and intellect augmentation visionary

and

Neil Postman

(1931–2003)

semanticist and astute critic of technology

1 Cover

2 Title page Peter B. Seel Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado

3 Copyright

4 Dedication

5 Preface

6 Acknowledgments

7 Key Terms and Abbreviations

8 Part I Introduction and Framing 1 Immersion in the Digital Universe 2 The Future of Moore’s Law in the Digital Universe 3 Critical Perspectives

9 Part II Internet and Web History 4 Origins of the Internet 5 Internet Evolution 6 The Web

10 Part III Global Telecommunication and Media Convergence 7 Telecommunication and the “Flat” World 8 Wired and Wireless Technologies 9 Digital Media Convergence

11 Part IV Internet Control, Cyberculture, and Dystopian Views 10 The Public and Private Internet 11 Censorship and Global Cyberculture 12 Privacy and Surveillance

12 Part V New Communication Technologies and the Future 13 Artificial Intelligence and Telecommunication 14 Alternative Digital Realties 15 The Future of the Digital Universe

13 Index

14 End User License Agreement

1 Chapter 2Figure 2.1 Gordon Moore in front...Figure 2.2 Moore’s Law...Figure 2.3 Moore’s Law Re-plotted...

2 Chapter 3Figure 3.1 Jacques Ellul...Figure 3.2 Neil Postman...Figure 3.3 Safiya Umoja Noble...

3 Chapter 4Figure 4.1 The diagram depicts how...Figure 4.2 Operators used light...Figure 4.3 IBM manufactured the...Figure 4.4 Baran’s 1964 diagrams...Figure 4.5 Paul Baran.Figure 4.6 The primordial internet....Figure 4.7 Dr. Leonard Kleinrock with...Figure 4.8 In room 312 of UCLA’s...Figure 4.9 A close-up of the plaque...Figure 4.10 Rapid Expansion of the...

4 Chapter 5Figure 5.1 A master control room for the internet?...Figure 5.2 A riddle to ponder – Why...Figure 5.3 The Altair 8800 computer...Figure 5.4 The Altair featured...Figure 5.5 For their roles in...

5 Chapter 6Figure 6.1 Archivists access...Figure 6.2 Paul Otlet was a...Figure 6.3 Portrait of Vannevar...Figure 6.4 A schematic diagram...Figure 6.5 Ted Nelson speaking...Figure 6.6 Douglas Engelbart with...Figure 6.7 Tim Berners-Lee receiving...Figure 6.8 Tim Berners-Lee’s schematic...

6 Chapter 7Figure 7.1 Samuel F. B. Morse, photographed...Figure 7.2 The original telegraph key used...Figure 7.3 Winston’s...Figure 7.4 A poster celebrates...Figure 7.5 Cable laying machinery...Figure 7.6 The State of Global...

7 Chapter 8Figure 8.1 Mabel Hubbard Bell...Figure 8.2 Alexander Graham...Figure 8.3 The Blizzard of...Figure 8.4 A 1960s-style...Figure 8.5 Wired to wireless: a ...Figure 8.6 Wireless to wired: a...Figure 8.7 Three types of telecommunications...Figure 8.8 Stages of telecommunications...Figure 8.9 As a mobile phone customer...Figure 8.10 The evolution of mobile...

8 Chapter 9Figure 9.1 KCNC-TV reporter...Figure 9.2 The Alto workstation...Figure 9.3 The Macintosh computer...Figure 9.4 A sound or light wave is...