Just correcting something Russell Ashdown said which always annoys me
(sorry Russell,)...
>When the ARPA team developed IP, they were charged to address
>just this issue. After all, IP was developed as a communications
>strategy of the cold war. The network was designed to survive
>multiple direct nuclear hits.
Alas, this is an urban myth. The Internet was NOT intended or
designed to be a military communications channel, and was never
designed to survive a nuclear war. It was built so that scientists
working on DoD-funded projects didn't have to travel to use the
biggest computers.
Yes, it *was* intended to keep working in spite of faults -- due to
failures of the unreliable network links of the period.
A Google search for "Internet myth survive nuclear war" will find you
many references, including this piece by Douglas Rushkoff...
http://www.rushkoff.com/cgi-bin/columns/display.cgi/breeaking_tech_myths
... and this one by Dr Karl K:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s42478.htm
But don't feel too bad, Russell, even the technology journalists at
Fairfax keep repeating this one... :)
Stil
-- Stilgherrian <contour@prussia.net> Internet, IT and Media Consulting, Sydney, Australia. ABN 25 231 641 421 mobile 0407 623 600 (international +61 407 623 600) fax 02 9516 5630 (international +61 2 9516 5630) ---------- For Link list information see http://sunsite.anu.edu.au/link/
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