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Economy of Ideas, The
Paper: "The Economy of Ideas,"
Author: Barlow, John Perry
Former songwriter for the Grateful Dead, now a widely read commentator on the Internet and society, especially on the implications of the Internet for the economic and legal status of intellectual property.
Edison, Thomas Alva (1847-1931)
Prolific American inventor whose inventions transformed the modern world. Although Edison is known today primarily for the electric light bulb, the phonograph, and motion pictures, he held over a thousand patents, and created the world's first industrial research laboratory. His first major inventions were adaptations of the electric telegraph: the Edison printing telegraph (also called the stock ticker) and quadruplex telegraphy, which enabled four messages to be sent simultaneously over one wire.
Electromagnetism
The idea that electric and magnetic fields are interrelated and that each can be used to produce the other. Electromagnetism was discovered and studied in the 1820s and succeeding decades by Hans Christian Oersted, Michael Faraday, Joseph Henry and other scientific researchers. Faraday showed that a magnetic field could be generated by running an electric current through a wire wrapped around a ring of soft iron. The electromagnet was an essential component of the Morse telegraph, the Wheatstone and Cooke telegraph, and all subsequent electrical telegraphs.
Electronic Mail (email)
Method of transmitting text messages electronically over a network. Ray Tomlinson of Bolt, Beranek, and Newman wrote the first programs for sending and receiving electronic mail in 1972 and distributed them widely across the ARPANET in 1973.
Electrotherapy
The application of electric currents to the human body as a therapeutic agent; first popularized in the 1830s.
Enciphering
In the 19th century, the encryption of a message into code.
Encryption
The process of scrambling information to keep it secret. Once encrypted, information is usually accessible only to persons having the correct decryption key.
Epic Saga of the Well, The
Paper: "The Epic Saga of the Well"
Author: Hafner, Katie
Journalist known for her writings on the history of the Internet, especially her article on The Well and her book, Where Wizards Stay Up Late.
Ethernet
One of several technologies used to connect personal computers and workstations into local area networks. Ethernet uses different transmission devices and protocols than are used for inter-network communications. Invented by Robert Metcalfe in 1972-73.
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