ABOUT THIS EPISODE
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On 29 October 1969, a programmer at UCLA attempted to send the first message across a computer network to a machine at Stanford Research Institute, 350 miles away. He intended to type "LOGIN." The system crashed after two letters: L-O.
That failed transmission—just two characters before the connection died—marked the birth of the internet. It was the first time two computers had ever communicated across a network, the inaugural moment of ARPANET, and the beginning of a technological revolution that would transform human civilization. The fact that it didn't work properly was almost fitting for what would become the chaotic, unpredictable, endlessly innovative network we use today.
This is the story of that first message, the people who made it happen, and how a Cold War military project became the foundation of our connected world. From the researchers who believed computers could talk to each other when most people thought it was impossible, to the moment when "LO" became the most important failed login in history—this is how the internet was born.
Hosted by Philip Thompson.
Weblore is a production of Thompson Media Ltd.
Write to me: philip@thompsonmedia.uk
