On Wed, 2004-01-07 at 07:09, Wayne Wilson wrote: > In case anyone's experience of the Internet is recent, let me say that > there was a time when TCP/IP and it's application protocols of SMTP, > Telnet, FTP, IMAP, etc. were considered technically inferior to OSI > protocols and were thought to be doomed. DEC, for one company, > completely ignored TCP/IP in favor of ISO networking.
Good point. Prognostication is a tough business and DEC had it's share of missteps...especially from the top: "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home." - Ken Olson (President of Digital Equipment Corporation), Convention of the World Future Society in Boston, 1977 > I just threw away a loose leaf binder I had on the merits of OSI > networking, a presentation given to a group of us at the University of > Michigan in the late 80's. Fortuneately, most of us stuck with TCP/IP > and that's what we recommended to the Universities managment. Maybe I'm showing a bias here but the OSI vs. TCP/IP war is a bit like the more familiar Beta vs. VHS video tape standards. The technical best doesn't always win. Cheers, Tim
