A blog post about the internet, the world wide web, wi-fi, and bluetooth

September 12, 2023

The internet is a word so synonymous with the culture of today that some people probably think of it as a concept. Those people are actually completely right. It’s a system, a word for the network of networks existing on computers, phones, and much more. The main idea behind the internet is a way to connect people who are not currently next to each other. More than half the population of the world use the internet for many different reasons, and it’s basically a necessary facet to living in the modern age unless you are still growing your own food. We can call what is sent to others on the internet “information”, whether that be the weather for tomorrow or a love confession.

Declaration for the Future of the Internet - United States Department of State

The first idea of the internet being able to share resources and information through machines was first realized by ARPANET, a United States defense program. They established the first host-to-host network connection in 1969. These early networks quickly became an important framework for those working in the industry of computer science.

The internet itself was used to connect research networks between the United states and other countries like England, Germany, and Italy. This ‘network of networks’ continued to develop through the 1970’s and 80’s. The internet was not originally able to be used by the general public, but by the 1990’s the internet would become more widely used for commercial purposes.

The world wide web refers to the websites used by the public. These websites could have text, images, videos, and more. The world wide web as a system was being worked on since 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee, a British physicist. He and others created it to be a more user friendly system for information and communication. The world wide web is not actually the same thing as the internet, it is a part of the umbrella term ‘internet’. Now currently abbreviated as WWW, the world wide web serves the same purpose originally intended by Tim Berners-Lee. You can still find the world’s first webpage, created by Tim in 1991, currently up and running with this URL: http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html

One of the most fascinating backstories in internet history is bluetooth. Now, most people know that bluetooth is used to wirelessly connect two pieces of technology to each other, usually used to connect to some kind of speaker. But the actual origin story of why it’s called bluetooth is fascinating. In their actual website, bluetooth describes that it was named after a king from more than a thousand years ago, King Harald Gormssn. He is known for joining the two Nordic countries of Norway and Denmark and for having a tooth the color of dark blue. In 1996 the creators of bluetooth originally used its name as a placeholder in because bluetooth would connect two devices similarly to how King Harald connected two countries. Even the symbols on the bluetooth are a joining of two Nordic runes.

Was Bluetooth Named After The Viking King Harald Bluetooth? | HistoryExtra

Wi-Fi is the technology that allows wireless devices like computers and phones to access the internet. The original name and standard for WiFi was 802.11, created in 1997. This name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, so it was rebranded as Wi-Fi in 1999 by WECA, or the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance, a non-profit organization created to spread the use of this wireless technology. So what does Wi-Fi stand for? Surely it starts with the word wireless, right? Actually, no. Wi-Fi stands for nothing! The name was chosen because it sounds pleasant.

Hedy Lamarr is a film actress credited for developing the framework of what would go on to become WiFi and Bluetooth. Although most of her life she was pushed to focus on acting and rely only on her looks, she ended up using her technical knowhow to create a system that would use frequency hopping to guide torpedoes to their target. Her involvement was at first pushed aside, and only since the late 1990’s did she begin to get her rightful credit for her impressive development. One of these credits is the song aptly named This Is A Song For Miss Hedy Lamarr, created by Beck and Johnny Depp to praise and commemorate Hedy’s legacy.

New 'Hedy Lamarr' Graphic Novel Is Inventive Biography – Deadline