Today, we celebrate the birth of the internet, something that the entire world depends on, everything from news feeds, to entertainment, to e-mails, to business transactions, shopping etc. the Internet has become a house-hold name has turned 40 and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.

Lets rewind a bit, 40 years ago, on the second of September, 1969, two massive computers at the University of California exchanged some data, although meaningless, as part of the first test of Arpanet, an experimental network for the U.S. Department of Defense. A few weeks later, on October 29, a connection was established between two sites – the UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, California. The very next year, that is 1970, Arpanet got the first East Coast node, at Bolt, Breakneck and Newman in Cambridge. By then, UC Santa Barbara and University of Utah had also joined the network.

From here on, there was no turning back, as the internet spread its tentacles across the planet.

What began as a Defense Department-funded project called Arpanet grew to offer a useful electronic mechanism to send mail, then the virtual real estate of World Wide Web, then a backbone for commerce, and now a core part of globe-spanning social activity.

This is because the internet capitalized on the interests of the people and not on their geographical locations. It has become more widely available and faster than ever.

Although there is plenty of room for innovation, artificial barriers threaten to constrict its growth. Call it a mid-life crisis or whatever you want, the internet is constantly under threat from spam and hacking attacks.

This forces network operators to erect security firewalls and authoritarian regimes, blocking access to many sites and services. And commercial considerations create policies that can outwit rivals, particularly on mobile devices like the android phones.

It was also responsible for identity theft and financial scams. Stalking and voyeurism received a boost, and distributed denial-of-service attacks by scores of compromised computers can cripple a business’ operations. Even social update messages have increased and become increasingly irritating.

What the Internet is actually, a mind-boggling complex overlay of technologies that spans on every level, from transactions to picture sharing etc. and if we shape it up it for the better, we might celebrate its 50th birthday as a whole new concept altogether where our dreams may turn into reality.

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