End-user perspective on small office tools & technology

Marking The 20th Internet Independence Day: April 30, 2015

An email from Daniel Berninger recently pointed out that Thursday, April 30th 2015 is the 20th anniversary of Internet Independence. According to Dan;

The decommissioning of the NSFNET backbone on April 30, 1995 was the final step in the process of privatizing the Internet set in motion by the High Performance Computing Act of 1991.

This event is being marked by a reception at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC. Dan further offers;

The speakers address the 20 year accomplishment horizon and 20 year opportunity horizon to 2035.

  • James Lewis, Director, Strategic Technologies Program, CSIS
  • David Allison, Associate Director, Smithsonian Museum of American History
  • Karen Rose, Sr Director Strategy & Research, Internet Society
  • Gary Shapiro, CEO, CEA – Innovation Movement
  • Reed Hundt, former FCC Chairman & author In China’s Shadow, The Crisis of American Entrepreneurship
  • Ira Magaziner, former Sr Advisor Policy Development, President Clinton -> Creating the Framework for Global E-Commerce in 1997

The formal program will take about 45 – 60 minutes and lead into an informal agenda with tech elders and others sharing
anecdotes/remembrances of the Internet journey and ideas going forward.

Link for Internet Society livestream – http://livestream.com/internetsociety/InternetIndependenceDay

The tech elders convened as a group of friends to work on a roadmap for the gigabit age continues to grow (see below).

Tech elders so far:

  • John Perry Barlow, lyricist and activist
  • Mark Cuban, founder, AXS TV
  • Tim Draper, founder, Draper Fisher Jurvetson
  • Tom Evslin, founder & former, CEO ITXC
  • Dave Farber, Professor Emeritus, CMU and Board Member ISOC
  • Charlie Giancarlo, Sr Advisor, Silver Lake
  • George Gilder, author
  • John Gilmore, activist
  • Brett Glass, founder of first Wireless ISP
  • Doug Humphrey, co-founder Digex, Cidera
  • Bryan Martin, Chairman and CTO, 8×8
  • Joe McMillen, founder, Complex Drive
  • Scott McNealy, co-founder, SUN Microsystems
  • Bob Metcalfe, Professor, University of Texas and inventor of Ethernet
  • Ray Ozzie, founder, Talko and Lotus Notes
  • Jeff Pulver, co-founder, Zula and Vonage
  • Michael Robertson, founder, CEO, MP3.com
  • Les Vadasz, former EVP, Intel

It’s most likely that you, like myself, can’t just fly to DC for such events, no matter how interesting the gathering. However, the fact that this event is being streamed by the Internet Society makes it considerably more accessible. Thus it’s an invitation well worth sharing.

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