The Invention That Made the Internet Possible
In 1978, Dr. Roger Billings invented Universal Networking — the foundational technology behind how the modern internet shares information.
In this episode of ScienceLive, he tells the complete story for the first time, in his own words. It starts with a problem. J. Willard Marriott, founder of the Marriott Hotels empire, had 12 of IBM’s largest mainframe computers — the biggest the company made — and they still couldn’t keep up with reservation demand. IBM told him a 13th machine would crash the entire system. He needed a solution that didn’t exist yet. Dr. Billings invented one.
His concept was elegantly simple: instead of every computer trying to talk to every other computer simultaneously, create a dedicated “library” computer — what we now call a server — that any number of users could query independently. The result was a system that could scale to an unlimited number of users without overloading. He called it Universal Networking, patented it as U.S. Patent No. 4,714,989, and proved it worked by installing it at real businesses around the world using the Billings Microcomputer — one of the earliest personal computers ever built.
Today, every website, every app, and every internet transaction runs on this same client-server principle.
This is the story of one of the most important and least-known inventions of the 20th century — told by the man who invented it.
About DrB
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About the Roger Billings Scholarship Program »
Hello from Illinois.
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Hello! Computers are very interesting
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I really liked it I can’t wait for next Wednesday
Can I at home print one?
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I wonder if all robots are gonna be air powered robots one day.
Awesome that it’s on youtube now! Good episode!
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crazyyyyyy!!!!😱
The robot that moves with sir is so cool!!!!
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Could they make cars that run off air?
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Hi, 3D printing is really cool.
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technology was very funny
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Can the robot be steered?
So excited for tonight’s episode!
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I love these science lives!
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I love how inspired and curious these young scientists are!
That 3D printed robot looks like a crab 🦀
Cool facts about air pressure controlled robots.
Wonder what r51 has up his sleeve tonight
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Hi! I was seeing this on youtube a few seconds ago but now im seeing it on Acellus. I hope I’m doing it right.
I hope we do an experiment today!
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I love the joke on watching push ups!
how do they make something without eletricity? and how would they do it
looking forward to tonight’s episode.
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how awesome would it be to have these pneumatic spiders instead of cars
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hello cant wait to see what’s in store for this Wednesday!!!!!
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Super excited!
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hello not sure if this is working
this was an awesome science live today.
hey guys cant wait to learn have a good night yall
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Hi everyone, happy April fools day!
I am so happy that Dr. Roger Billings also invented Acellus. I love learning here. And watching Science Live
Hi! How about Artemis! So exciting!
Hey you guys already played the science live and posted it as a eposode HOW.
Can’t wait to see what the Proteges and Inventioneers came up with!
science lives are awesome
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I am so excited for tonight’s live!!
Wow 58 hours to print! That is crazy!
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it’s so cool what u can do with a 3d printer… the robot was really cool.
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Question: Is there not really a Live Because this Episode I have Already Watched before?
Always excited to hear about science.
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i knew the live was going to be cool!!
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Can’t Wait!
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Hi, I am so excited to watch science live today!
so excited to learn!
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I never thought they’d make a robot that could run on air and not electricity at all. I like it.
Are they doing it like spider legs?
omg that was a funny end of the garlic.
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Hi from Illinois.
I never knew that garlic kills bacteria! That is so interesting
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Good Evening from Louisiana!! Finally, I’m catching it early.
It’s pretty cool that this is how the internet was made.
Exercising for 5 minutes is good for the elderly people who can’t move that much
I have a 3d printer
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That is amazing! I made an excavator that is powered by air in the hydraulic system.
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that pneumatic robot is honestly really cool
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Science time!
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Technology is always advancing! Nice to see how it started 🙂
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Hello from Texas! Great stream!!
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this episode is so nice
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Great live!! Coming in from Wv can’t wait for the next I love watching them and learning
what time did it start
Science Live is the Best!
Good evening from TN!
I’m very excited to learn more about Marriott, I did not know there was more to his story than the hotel chain.
Another great show! Getting excited for Artemis!!
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so cool! Here from Florida!!
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I’m very excited to learn more about the Internet today, I love the Internet because I love to play video games
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Hi! I am so excited!
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So excited to learn do much today!!!!! I can’t wait to hear all about the invention that made the internet possible!!!
Cant wait!
I love this so much
I wish i was as smart as Dr B
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The Artimis II launch was amazing!!!
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Happy science live!
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hi from florida! cant wait to see what we will learn today!
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