Some people have become zillionaires thanks to the internet

拜網際網路所賜，有些人成為了大富翁。

But all they did was invent clever ways of using the Internet

不過大部分他們做的只是創造了一種比較好使用網路的方式。

so the person who invented the internet should be a gazillionaire equivalent to

所以真正發明網際網路的人應該是超級超級大富翁，根本可以說是

say God, shouldn't they? But who should get the credit then?

神了，不是嗎？不過網際網路的發明到底該歸功於誰呢？

Was it a British geek in a Swiss underground lab?

是在瑞士機密實驗室裡的英國怪胎嗎?

Clever Americans threatened with nuclear annihilation by the Russians

還是被俄羅斯威脅要以核能攻擊的美國人？

Nice idea. French scientists

有可能。決定要把電腦網路叫做Le Internet的法國科學家。

who decided to call the computer network the Le Internet.

決定要把電腦網路叫做Le Internet的法國科學家。

Interesting. Or was it thanks to a myriad of smart scientists

滿有趣的。或者要托一群聰明的科學家的福，

working on something they knew was useful but didn't realize would be so big.

因為他們致力於某些他們當時覺得很實用但不認為會造成轟動的東西。

Well let's try and get some facts straight

我們試著來把事情搞清楚吧！

There's the internet, the whole bunch of computer networks connected to each other,

網際網路就是一大群的電腦網路彼此互相連結，

and then there's the World Wide Web, a way of making it easier to share information

造就了全球資訊網。藉由這些彼此連結的電腦使得互相傳遞資訊更簡單。

using all those interconnected computers. The Internet as we know it today

藉由這些彼此連結的電腦使得互相傳遞資訊更簡單。我們今天所知道的網際網路

was at least forty years in the making. One popular but wrong story

至少已經有四十年的歷史。其中一個很著名但錯誤的故事

is that the Internet was developed by the USA , so they had a communication network

說是美國發明了網際網路的，所以他們才有能夠安然度過核戰的溝通網路。

that would survive a nuclear war. According to one of the founders of the

說它們需要一個可以抵抗核能戰爭的溝通網路。根據在1960年代發明

first network the, ARPANET, in the 1960s,

第一個美國高等研究計劃署網路的其中一位創辦人表示

this first network experiment wasn't about communication at all.

第一個網路實驗根本就不是為了溝通而進行的，

It was about optimizing processor usage of time-sharing

而是為了優化電腦分時的使用處理器而產生的，

which basically meant that scientists could share computer power, too

基本上指的就是科學家們也可以一同共享電腦能源。

That was because until the nineteen sixties there was basically no network,

因為在1960年代當時，根本沒有所謂的網路，

you had big machines called mainframes which sat in a room

只有一種叫做「主機」的大台機器放置在房間裡，

and process computing tasks one at a time. With time-sharing

一次一項工作的處理計算的工作。不過有了分時功能，

these behemoths could process several tasks at a time which meant that power could be

這些大台機器就可以一次處理多個工作項目，這也就表示電腦的能源可以

used by several scientists at once.

同時被許多的科學家使用。

And obviously once you start connecting computers together,

很明顯地，當你一旦開始把電腦連結在一起之後，

you start to wonder about what you need to do to make communications between

你就會開始想說怎麼把之間的溝通

them easier. Scientists around the world were trying to solve this problem。

弄得更簡單一些。世界上的科學家紛紛開始嘗試解決這個問題。

so let's look at some of the other key concepts that were developed elsewhere.

所以我們就來看看世界各個地方所發展出來的相關概念吧！

starting with packet switching. In Britain, there was a commercial network

我們從「封包交換」開始。在英國，有個由國家物理實驗室建立的商業網路

developed by the National Physical Laboratory

有個由國家物理實驗室建立的商業網路。

but which never really got off the ground because it didn't get funding

不過因為沒有籌到資金，這個網路從來沒順利開始進行過。

but they did come up with the idea of packet switching,

不過他們確實提出了一個想法：「封包交換」，

a way of avoiding congestion in busy networks by cutting up data at one end

是一種藉由將一邊的資料先切斷再連結到另一邊的方式

and putting it back together at the other. The French

來避免在忙碌的網路中造成壅塞。法國人

also played a role, they were working on a scientific network called CYCLADES

也在網路發展中扮演很中要的角色，他們投入在一個叫做CYCLADES的科學性網路，

but they didn't have a big budget so they decided to work on

不過因為他們沒有獲得足夠的預算資金，所以最後決定轉投入

direct connections between computers as opposed to working with Gateway computer.

跟網間連線裝置不同的直接連結。

Now as an aside here this admittedly isn't very scientific

我個人認為這並不是非常符合科學精神。

But according to one theory, a spin off of their research

不過根據一項理論，他們研究出來的其中一項東西就是

was the word "Internet". But you don't have to believe it if you don't want to.

現在講的「網路」。不過你也可以選擇不相信這個說法。

so now it's the early nineteen seventies

現在我們來到了1970年代早期。

There's quite a lot of computer infrastructure but communication is

這時候已經有許多關於電腦的基礎建設，不過溝通的部分還是

awkward and patchy, because different networks can't talk to each other.

滿不方便操作並且很不協調的。這是因為不同的網路無法互相連結。

TCP IP solves this problem.

「網際通訊協議」解決了這個問題。

The TCP/IP protocols form the basic communication language of the Internet

網際通訊協議形成了最基本的網路溝通語言，

which labels the packets of data and make sure that even though some pieces

這種語言為數據封包都貼上了標籤已確保儘管是一些相同的數據

of the same data take a different route,

還是可以透過不同的途徑傳遞到不同的地方。

they all arrive at their destination and can be reassembled.

所有的數據都可以抵達他們的目的地而且可以被重新組合。

Networks really began communicating with each other in 1975.

網路在1975年才真正開始互相可以溝通。

so you could argue that was the beginning of the Internet.

所以你也可以說那時候才是網際網路的起始點。

Email was also very important it was developed for ARPANET in 1972.

電子郵件在1972年對美國高等研究計劃署網路來說也是重要的發展之一。

Most Internet traffic in 1976 was email

在1976年當時，大部分的網路傳輸都是電子郵件。

because academics thought electronic post-it notes were dead core.

因為學術專家認為電子的便利貼不會有更好的發展了。

With networks that could talk to each other, communication was becoming easier.

有了可以互相溝通的網路，溝通這件是變得更容易了。

But all this communication was just text based

不過這些交流都只限於文字而已，

and it was pretty ugly to look at. In the nineteen eighties

而且還滿不方便一目了然的。在1980年代，

a brat called Timothy Berners-Lee spent time with CERN, the European

有一個叫做Timothy Berners-Lee的人

Organization for Nuclear Research

在歐洲核能研究所工作。

where physicists are trying to work out what the universe is made of.

在那裡，物理學家正忙著了解宇宙是如何形成的。

He wanted to manage the scientists information and make it possible for them to share

他想要讓科學的資訊可以成功地被分享

and interconnect their work easily making progress more likely.

而且還可以輕鬆地連結彼此的工作讓整個過程更有可能進行。

He did so by inventing an interface using HTTP

因此他發明了有著超文件傳輸協定、

HTML and URL's that made internet browsers possible.

超文件標註語言以及統一資源定位器的一種介面，讓網路瀏覽器開始普及。

He called his browser the World Wide Web, so he didn't invent the Internet

他叫這個瀏覽器「全球資訊網」。所以其實他沒有真的發明網路

but he did invented the web.

不過他卻真的有發明了連線網。

The first-ever website which he created was at CERN in France in August 1991.

第一個真正的網站是由法國的歐洲核能研究所在1991年八月所建立的。

So once the initial infrastructure was in place the key technologies have been invented,

所以只要有了最基礎的建構，其所需的科技也就會隨之發展出來了。

Internet message boards exploded in the nineteen eighties. The phone company saw

網路留言在1980年代開始蓬勃發展。電信公司因此看準了

the commercial potential of digital communication.

數位溝通有著無限的潛力。

Web browser spread like wildfire in the early nineteen nineties

網路瀏覽器在1990年代開始盛行，

and ordinary people discovered email then the

大家都在用電子郵件然後

internet expanded rapidly and steadily and became workable for the masses

在1995年，網路開始流行了起來，並穩定地成長為讓大眾都可以方便使用的媒介。

from about nineteen ninety-five. Hold on,

等等，

didn't US Vice President Al Gore invent the internet?

網路不是前美國副總統高爾發明的嗎？

No. And if you read what he said exactly

不！如果你認真看一下他真正的說詞

you know he never claimed to have done. But many people credit him with

你就知道他從來沒有說他發明過網路。不過許多人還是認為他

energetically pushing legislation that encouraged the spread of the Internet.

為積極普及網路使用而推動的法政非常的棒。

The internet exists because we need to communicate

網路的興起源自於我們想跟人溝通的渴望。

and most of us like doing it. That's why humans have become

而且我們也喜歡溝通。這就是為什麼人類是

dominant species on Earth. You could argue

地球上的高等生物。你也可以說

the Internet is a natural evolutionary step

網路是人類演化的必要過程，

and a manifestation of that need.

是一種證明。

It wasn't invented by anyone in particular but when the building blocks

網路並不是由特定某一人所創造出來的，在世界上聰明的科學家們將所有要素匯集之後

were put together by all those cool scientists from all over the place,

在世界上聰明的科學家們將所有要素匯集之後，

the Internet became a communication tool, a retail tool

網路救變成了一種溝通、零售買賣、

a research tool, a propaganda tool, the spying tool,

研究、宣傳、偵查、

a shopping tool ,a dating tool and entertainment tool

購物、交友和娛樂的工具。

And a way of skiving off work while making it look like you're working or studying

或是用來假裝在工作其實是在混水摸魚的工具，

which is what you may be doing now. Ultimately though,

你現在就是在摸魚對吧？最後，

you're communicating especially if you leave a comment

如果你想要跟大家溝通，請在下方留言，

and that might make you a better human being.

這樣會讓你更人性化喔！