Number 221 - October 2001

The True Story Of The Inventor Of The Internet
by Fred Carlin, Tulsa Computer Society
An old, bearded shepherd with a crooked staff walked up to a stone pulpit and said, "And lo, it came to pass that the trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot."     And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she had been called Amazon Dot Com. And she said unto Abraham, her husband, "Why dost thou travel far, going with thy goods from town to town, when thou couldst trade without ever leaving thy tent?"     And Abraham did then look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but he simply said, "How, dear?"     And Dot replied, "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale and they will reply telling you which hath the best price. And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)."     Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had, at the top price, without ever moving from his tent. But this success did arouse envy.	A man named Maccabia did secrete himself inside Abraham's drum and was accused of insider trading.     And the young men did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. These men were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Richly Domiciled Siderites, or NERDS for short.     And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums, that no one noticed that the real riches were going to the drum maker, William of Gates, who bought up every drum company in the land. And indeed did insist on making drums that would work only if you bought genuine Gates drumsticks.     And Dot did say, "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others."     And as Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or as it later came to be known, "eBay," he said, "We need a name that reflects what we are." And Dot replied, "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators,"     "Whoopee!", said Abraham.     "No, YAHOO!" said Dot Com... and that is how it all began.
Number 221 - October 2001