If you missed the Internet's birthday Thursday, don't worry. It's happening again on September 2, October 29, and January 1. Commenter Alexander Furnas offered a compelling metaphor to make sense of the web's various born-on-dates. All you have to do is pretend the greatest achievement of the digital age is a small child.
I vote for the October 29th date.
To extend the "Birthday" metaphor:
April 7 = Conception: It was an RFC based on research that had not been implemented yet - this is the scientific equivalent of a "twinkle in dad's eye."
September 2 = fetal gestation: A local connection was established in Kleinrock's lab. The lab, essentially was the womb where it developed.
October 29 = Birth: the Internet came out of the womb and entered the big world and took its "first breath of life."
We'll go along with that. Thanks for reading, everyone. And be sure to check out Open Wire, where you can share links, feedback, and opinions on the stories you think we should be covering.