This concept would develop into the ARPANET. The idea owed something to Licklider, who had earlier proposed what he dryly called an “intergalactic network” of mainframes. During his time at ARPA the notion remained theoretical, however; it was hard enough to get small-scale time-sharing systems to run individually, much less in concert with one another. But Taylor judged that the technology had now progressed far enough to make the concept practical. He did not deceive himself: Building such a system meant overcoming prodigious obstacles. On the other hand, ARPA’s generous umbrella sheltered
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