Communications of the ACM
Your Internet is Working. Thank These Cold War-era Pioneers who Designed it to Handle Almost Anything
Despite some problems, the Internet overall is handling unprecedented surges of demand as it keeps a fractured world connected at a time of global catastrophe.
Credit: Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post
Coronavirus knocked down — at least for a time — Internet pioneer Vinton Cerf, who offers this reflection on the experience: "I don't recommend it … It's very debilitating."
Cerf, 76 and now recovering in his Northern Virginia home, has better news to report about the computer network he and others spent much of their lives creating. Despite some problems, the Internet overall is handling unprecedented surges of demand as it keeps a fractured world connected at a time of global catastrophe.
"This basic architecture is 50 years old, and everyone is online," Cerf noted in a video interview over Google Hangouts, with a mix of triumph and wonder in his voice. "And the thing is not collapsing."
From The Washington Post
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