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Taylor, Robert (1932- )
Engineer and computer scientist who headed ARPA's computing program at the time of the creation of the ARPANET. (He hired Larry Roberts to head the ARPANET project.) Taylor later headed Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) during the 1970s, when PARC staff created the technologies that revolutionized the personal computer, including the graphical user interface, the mouse, and Ethernet.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
A communications protocol that enables computers connected in different networks to talk to each other in a common language, thereby enabling the formation of a network of networks: the Internet.
Telegram
A message transmitted via electric telegraph, usually written or mechanically printed on the blank form of a telegraph company.
Telegraph (from the Greek, tele [afar] + grapheis [write])
An apparatus for transmitting messages over a distance. Originally, any system to send long-distance messages, even optical signaling systems, but after the invention of the electromagnetic telegraph the term came to be exclusively applied to electrical signaling devices unless otherwise specified. See electromagnetic telegraph.
Telegraph Key
In telegraphy, a sending device used to tap out messages in Morse Code. Also called key.
Telegraph Messenger
An employee of a telegraph company who carries messages from customers to the telegraph office and who delivers telegrams. In the late 19th century, messengers began to use bicycles and automobiles for more rapid delivery. The job was generally reserved for boys and young men; during World War II, young women also served as messengers.
Telegraph Office
An office where telegraph messages are sent and received.
Telegraph Pole
A wooden pole implanted in the ground, sometimes with one or more cross-bars, from which telegraph wires were strung.
Telegraph Tag
A medallion, worn on a strap or around the neck by the holder of an insurance policy, that gives instructions to telegraphically contact the insurance company in case of death, incapacitating illness or accident. A telegraph tag typically has a policy number, the name and address of an insurance company, and instructions.
Telegrapher
A person whose job it is to send and receive telegraph messages; sometimes called a telegraph operator or (Brit.) telegraphist.
Telegraphists' Cramp
An occupational illness that afflicted telegraphers, akin to carpal tunnel syndrome, caused by the repetitive motion of tapping on a telegraph key. Also called glass arm.
Telemedicine
The use of telecommunications technologies to provide health care at a distance.
Teletype Machine
Device used to transmit and receive text electronically over telephone lines. After time-sharing systems were developed in the 1960s, teletype machines were adapted to transmit information from remote locations to central computers.
Telnet
Program developed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) to enable people to access computers from remote sites.
Time-sharing
Time-sharing in a computer is the ability to switch from task to task and user to user in order to maximize the use of the machine's computing power. Once computers could time-share effectively, they could be made accessible to multiple users at multiple sites at the same time.
Tomlinson, Ray
Computer engineer who developed the first network email program.
Transatlantic Cable
The first transatlantic cable, between Ireland and Newfoundland, was finished in 1858, but the cable's insulation failed and it had to be abandoned after a few weeks. The first permanently successful transatlantic cable was laid in 1866; in the same year another cable, partially laid in 1865, was also completed.
Transcontinental Telegraph
With the crisis atmosphere of the Civil War pushing the project forward, in 1861 Western Union completed the first transcontinental telegraph line, connecting San Francisco to the Midwest and on to the East Coast.
Transmitter
In telegraphy, any signaling apparatus, usually a signal key. Later, in wireless telegraphy, the word refers to a broadcasting device that amplifies radio waves and sends them on to the antenna.
Transoceanic Cable
The first undersea cable for the transmission of telegraph signals was laid in 1850 between England and France. Once that proved feasible, cables began to be laid under larger bodies of water: in 1855 under the Black Sea, in 1857-58 across the Atlantic, between Ireland and Newfoundland (which failed after a few weeks). The first permanently successful transatlantic cable was laid in 1866. In succeeding decades, underwater cables crossed oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and connected islands and continents. By the early 20th century, telegraph links connected every continent except Antarctica.
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