So, who really did invent the Internet?

Gordon Crovitz of the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page reopens the ancient debate over who invented the Internet with a column Monday calling out the notion that it was the government as an “urban legend.”And while I’m gratified in a sense that he cites my book about Xerox PARC, “Dealers of Lightning,” to support his case, it’s my duty to point out that he’s wrong. My book bolsters, not contradicts, the argument that the Internet had its roots in the ARPANet, a government project. So let’s look at where Crovitz goes awry.To continue reading this Los Angeles Times opinion piece, go to:
www.latimes.com/business/money/la-mo-who-invented-internet-20120723,0,5052169.storyGordon Crovitz: Who Really Invented the Internet?
Contrary to legend, it wasn’t the federal government, and the Internet had nothing to do with maintaining communications during a war.A telling moment in the presidential race came recently when Barack Obama said: “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.” He justified elevating bureaucrats over entrepreneurs by referring to bridges and roads, adding: “The Internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the Internet so that all companies could make money off the Internet.”It’s an urban legend that the government launched the Internet. The myth is that the Pentagon created the Internet to keep its communications lines up even in a nuclear strike. The truth is a more interesting story about how innovation happens — and about how hard it is to build successful technology companies even once the government gets out of the way.
online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444464304577539063008406518.html