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The Victorian Internet

Date post: 05-Dec-2014
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"In the XIX century there were no televisions, aeroplanes, computers, or spacecraft; neither were there antibiotics, credit cards, microwave ovens, compact discs, or mobile phones. There was, however, an Internet." -- Tom Standage Here is a speech I gave at a While42 Singapore event (cool French engineers alumni network)
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French Engineers Alumni Network Singapore #2 25/07/2013 @Savant Degrees By Mathieu François blog.matieux.net
Transcript
Page 1: The Victorian Internet

French Engineers Alumni Network

Singapore #2 25/07/2013 @Savant Degrees

By Mathieu François

blog.matieux.net

Page 2: The Victorian Internet

No source code today…

Page 3: The Victorian Internet

What is the greatest communication disruption ever?

…Internet?

Since writing…

Page 4: The Victorian Internet

This is the “Mother of all Networks”

Page 5: The Victorian Internet

From New York to Paris: How long to send news?

Page 6: The Victorian Internet

US Independence (1776) = 6 weeks

It was before telegraph…

Page 7: The Victorian Internet

Lincoln president election (1860) = 2 hours

…It was after telegraph

Page 8: The Victorian Internet

Kennedy president election (1960) = 1 second

It was before Internet…

Page 9: The Victorian Internet

Obama president election (2008) = 1 second

…It was after Internet

Page 10: The Victorian Internet

So, who is the greatest disruptor?

Before

6 weeks 1 second

After

2 hours Er… still 1 second, no change meh?

Page 11: The Victorian Internet

I. The mother of all networks

II. Hackers and geeks in the XIXth Century

III. Internet revolution, really? 1865 vs 2013

Page 12: The Victorian Internet

By the way, Telegraph is a French invention Optical telegraph used by Revolution and Napoleon

Remind Minitel anyone?

Page 13: The Victorian Internet

Remember, Internet = “Interconnected Networks”

Page 14: The Victorian Internet

It’s fair to call it the “Victorian Internet”

Page 15: The Victorian Internet

2010 innovation: “How do I share my pictures online with my friends?

Page 16: The Victorian Internet

1860 innovation: “Let’s pull a 6,000 km telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean”

Page 17: The Victorian Internet

Brunel, one of the crazy guys: his giant ship was reconverted for cable laying

The “Death Star” of XIXth Century

Watch TED “Tim Brown urges designers to think big” for more…

Page 18: The Victorian Internet

Asia/Australia connection via Singapore and Penang Quizz: Why were they chosen as Telegraph hubs?

Page 19: The Victorian Internet

Answer: Rubber Strategic commodity, used for the cable insulation

Page 20: The Victorian Internet

Telegraph lasted only 1 century, but it changed everything!

Page 21: The Victorian Internet

I. The mother of all networks

II. Hackers and geeks in the XIXth Century

III. Internet revolution, really? 1865 vs 2013

Page 22: The Victorian Internet

There was an elitist hacker/geek culture among the Telegraph operators community

Your ability was evaluated based on your speed and accuracy to send messages…

Page 23: The Victorian Internet

Here is the most famous Telegraph hacker

By the way, he is a real m***** f***** but this is another story

Page 24: The Victorian Internet

The sysadmins of the Telegraph...

Page 25: The Victorian Internet

… and pre-Internet nerds: Telegraphers in remote outposts often preferred on-line chat to socializing in real life with the locals

Page 26: The Victorian Internet

A key difference : many operators were ladies T_T

Page 27: The Victorian Internet

I. The mother of all networks

II. Hackers and geeks in the XIXth Century

III. Internet revolution, really? 1865 vs 2013

Page 28: The Victorian Internet

“The Highway of Thought” was the more poetic surname of Telegraph

Information Superhighway?

Page 29: The Victorian Internet

The Internet Telegraph, by linking everyone in a worldwide network, was expected to promote peace and democracy

World Peace Utopia?

Page 30: The Victorian Internet

New Telegraph companies became the source of insane speculation

Stock market bubble?

Page 31: The Victorian Internet

AKA the “International Telegraph Union” (1865)

Standards organizations?

Page 32: The Victorian Internet

Dots and Dashes versus 1s and 0s

Digital?

Page 33: The Victorian Internet

Routers? Trunking?

Telegraph wires to send short "texting" digital data Pneumatic tubes to send longer messages and small items (even cats!)

Page 34: The Victorian Internet

During quiet times and after business hours, operators on-line would break out the IMs and chatrooms

Online Chat?

Page 35: The Victorian Internet

"Ordinarily an operator can tell a woman the moment he hears her working the wire […] He tells by her touch on the key. Women, as a rule, do not touch the key of their instruments as firmly as men do"

Online Dating?

Page 36: The Victorian Internet

Thomas Edison: “Most of the Tales of the Wires went unpublished because they were too rude or explicit”

Online Sex?

Page 37: The Victorian Internet

Online Wedding?

1840: the first online wedding, with the bride in Boston and the groom in New York

Page 38: The Victorian Internet

1,500 telegraph operators remotely attended the last telegraph ceremony for Samuel Morse

Social Network?

Page 39: The Victorian Internet

Banks could send money via telegraph wire, leading to the foundation of Western Union

E-Commerce?

Page 40: The Victorian Internet

One of the first MiM attacks: operators of an optical telegraph were bribed so they altered business transaction information

Online Fraud?

Page 41: The Victorian Internet

Users developed their own cryptic code of "smileys" and abbreviated words to solve network limitations

Compression? Encryption?

Page 42: The Victorian Internet

Lincoln used the telegraph to stay connected to the forces in the field in almost real time

Online President?

Page 43: The Victorian Internet

Last and most advanced telegraphy mechanism designed (Phelps, 1880)

Multimedia?

Page 44: The Victorian Internet

Telegraph was perceived as a major threat for newspapers… the number of current newspapers with “Telegraph” in their title proves the contrary

Threat for newspapers industry?

Page 45: The Victorian Internet

Epilog

Page 46: The Victorian Internet

Not even digital, what a shame! 1880

The Telegraph Killer

Page 47: The Victorian Internet

What if…

Babbage’s computers had gone into widespread use?

Page 48: The Victorian Internet

…Steampunk would not be a SciFi genre

Page 49: The Victorian Internet

Sources 1/2

• Must-Read!

• Great historical analogy book written with a delightful British style

Page 51: The Victorian Internet

Questions? Dinner / Makan ?


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