Asianometry Japanese Peril Created the Internet
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Dec 14, 2025 Discover the untold story of how Japan's push into supercomputing spurred the Internet's evolution. Explore ARPANET's humble beginnings and its struggles for growth. Learn about alternative networks like BBS systems and AOL in the 80s. Dive into Japan's national supercomputer project and the US's alarm over technological competition. Uncover how NSFNet emerged, paving the way for the World Wide Web and rapid online expansion. Finally, witness the commercialization of the Internet and its lasting impacts.
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ARPANET Was A Niche Research Tool
- ARPANET began as a small, military-focused research network with slow, niche growth through the 1970s.
- Its early adoption centered on packet switching and academic email, not mass public use.
Multiple Networks Were Already Popular
- In the 1980s many alternative networks and services like BBS, CompuServe, and AOL served large non-research user bases.
- These networks proved networking could be popular without ARPANET-style military control.
Japan's New Series Fueled Supercomputer Skill
- Japan's industrial consortia and projects like New Series gave Fujitsu, Hitachi, and NEC the skills to pursue supercomputers.
- These firms shifted from challenging IBM to directly competing in high-performance computing.