Conference Connections: Rewiring the Circuit
In late 1971, several “entirely forgettable†messages were sent between two machines (today we would call them computers, but the word machines more accurately reflects their size at that time) located only a few feet from each other.1 Like the first telephones and televisions, e-mail would soon grow in popularity, astonishing even the most optimistic proponents of the new technology. The rudimentary origins of a new medium often belie the substantial shift in perspective and practice afforded to subsequent researchers and users.
