It has been said that Al Gore claims to have invented the internet, but clearly, that's a silly over interpretation.

The other day the President claimed that government invented the internet.

However, that's also an over reach. The government developed TCP/IP which is the language of the internet, but it wasn't government that applied it.

In the 1970's Xerox was in the computer and copier business. A big challenge was hooking up multiple computers to one copier. They developed a way to network computers and copiers.

It was in the late 70's that Steve Jobs inked a deal with Xerox to use some of it's innovative technology - including computer inner-connectivity. He said Xerox was so focused on copiers that they didn't realize that their use of TCP/IP was an even bigger innovation.

It's important to understand the history of the Internet because it's too often wrongly cited to justify big government. It's also important to recognize that building great technology businesses requires both innovation and the skills to bring innovations to market. As the contrast between Xerox and Apple shows, few business leaders succeed in this challenge. Those who do—not the government—deserve the credit for making it happen.
From: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...008406518.html