Networking

 

The rapid pace of technology development means that the associated gadgets, be they cameras or computers, lose value very quickly.  By the time my family settled in southern New Mexico in the late 1980s I was able to pick up an Osborne portable computer identical to the one I had used in Idaho for a fraction of its original price.  The Osborne had limited capacities and capabilities compared to the newer machines by then, but the bundled software still made it quite useful.  Also, accessories such as printers and modems had become much more affordable.  

The function of the modem was to transform the digital signals produced by a computer into analog pulses that could be transmitted over phone lines, and to then take the incoming analog stream and turn it back into something useable to the receiving computer.  That process opened the possibility of enabling and managing communications through the computer.

By the time I got my first 300 baud modem connected to my second-hand Osborne computer several computer hobbyists around Las Cruces were running electronic bulletin board systems (bbs) to which I could connect and exchange text messages.  The actual product was still just blocky characters on a green screen, but for me it was an immensely thrilling experience, a manifestation of what had been up to then no more than a sci-fi fueled fantasy.

While it was possible to communicate through the phone system with bulletin board systems anywhere the wires went, long distance charges made that possibility impractical for the average enthusiast like me.  What changed everything was the rapid development of networks connecting computer bulletin boards world wide. What made those wide-area connections affordable were software innovations including data compression and automatic scheduling which transmitted stored messages and files in very short bursts late at night when long-distance phone rates were low.

Fidonet was the most successful of the amateur wide-area networks. The software was open-source, distributed at no cost and could be run on just about any computer available at the time including my old Osborne.  It did not take me long to set up my own Fidonet node at home, and I also started talking about the potential that such technology might have for contributing to the empowerment of people working in social services organizations of all kinds.

The Fidonet Logo

One person for whom I demonstrated the Fidonet system was a professor of social work at New Mexico State University who was also the head of the local branch of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).  He immediately appreciated the potential of the system to make connections with colleagues statewide and nationally and suggested that together we could develop a grant proposal supporting the building of a social services oriented computer network for the state NASW chapter.  

Our proposal won quick approval from the NASW and we were able to purchase an IBM clone computer to host a Fidonet node which I set up in the professor's office.  I spent a lot of time there at the university assisting with presentations and tutorials, but the actual operation of the network for which I was responsible could be accomplished in my spare time from home using my old Osborne.  I did eventually get myself a computer similar to the one running the NASW system and finally retired the old Osborne.

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Update:

An article on The Nation takes up the thread of this post with a closer look at computer networking via modems and telephone lines prior to the development of the Internet and the World Wide Web.  Historian Jacob Bruggeman interviews Kevin Driscoll about his book, The Modem World.