The Invention That Made the Internet Possible
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.
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You guys are so amazing I love it!
It was very entertaining video Dr. Billings.
I’m learning every single day when I’m watching this video!!
I love science live.
I like the watch it was interesting and cool.
Learning about the internet is so fun!
i liked THIS video
Thank you for science live I loved the air robot!
There is so much to learn with the Roger Billings lives!
Good luck to everyone entering the science fair.
Its amazing to learn about the new things that are being invented.
I hope I can make great inventions too!
From ohio…… Thumbs up if u think R-51 is funny👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
lets go science live is the best
I love Science Lives!
I love watching these lives!!
Such a good video to watch after spring break!
thanks for teaching us such cool things!
Thank you for caring so so much about our school!
can you use air to make a robot move?
I liked the segment with Dr. Tobias
Dear Dr. Billings,
I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the opportunity you have given my children to receive such a high-quality and enriching education.
As a homeschooling parent of five children, I am deeply grateful for the scholarship you so generously provided. It has truly been a blessing to our family. We have been watching Science LIVE each week and have found it incredibly interesting, engaging, and valuable. My children and I have learned so much, and it has been a joy to share what we’ve discovered with friends.
I am truly sorry to hear that some have responded with rudeness or ingratitude. Please know that your generosity has made a meaningful impact on many families, including ours, and it is deeply appreciated.
With sincere gratitude,
Thank you from the Hefer family in South Africa
i enjoyed this video
I liked learning about the internet
Thank you Dr. Billings!!! You are such an amazing person…Thank you for offering us scholarships! We appreciate you!
Wow the scholarship program is super cool. Thanks for all that you do Dr. Billings.
So interesting!!!
Wow so cool learning about the internet!
Love learning about the internet!
I LOVE ACELLUS
Absolutely amazing 👏
Acellus is so fun and teaches me a lot!
The tuning fork watch is amazing.
Thank you for scholarship!
Loved this week’s Science Live! Love listening to it like a podcast too.
Watched! Hello from TX
Learning about the robot powered without electronic was really interesting!
wow this one was so interesting! i had no idea about this stuff behind the internet!
Thanks Dr billings.
This live was amazing I loved it.
this is the best one yet!
Love these lives!!!
Hello from Texas, Thanks.
The air powered robot was cool!!
micro chip haha i’m going to use that as a joke
Great video Dr. Billings!
who came up with the idea of the internet and wifi?
this one is better then all of them
I will tell my mom that starting with even just 5 minutes of exercise a day can really make a difference, a lot of time isn’t needed to improve your life
So much information!!!!
when did you start wanting to invent? Also I really enjoyed the garlic part.
I loved this week of acellus and I cant wait for the next!
Go Roger
I love that the stream is on YouTube now, because I can continue watching Science Live after I graduate!
Hey from south Africa!!!!!
Can the robot go in the sea and not run out of air?
Science lives are awesome.
I love you Mr billings
I liked the beginning, the robot with air, and I really like the intro song. I liked when people clapped for Dr. Billings.
This was fun to watch.
Hello, I loved that the people who tried to copy Mr. Billings learned a brand new lesson to never ever copy ideas, I also very liked how creative and funny R 51 inventions are! Thanks to everyone who helped and created this amazing science live it helps me so much to learn all of these incredible new things!
Thank you so much for this opprotunity for this scholarship. I love this schooling and it really teaches me a lot. The teachers are great too. Thank you!!
I liked the walking robot that was walking with air.
I love internet and technology!
this was cool
The server is like a data center. CPU memory shares information between the computers.
It was very interesting that the robot was able to go underwater.
The 3-d printed pneumatic robot was awesome! I love to 3-d print.
I love learning
wow the internet is soo interesting
This science live was very interesting learning about internet!
That’s amazing that the robot is ready to go straight out of the printer.
Hello from Missouri!!
THanks so much for your time in making these !
Awesome, Dr. Billings!
wow, science live teaches me so many amazing things
I am so thankful for this program. I wouldn’t be able to homeschool without this option, and it is amazing each week to learn something above and beyond. It is amazing to learn the most basic things, such as garlic, are so intertwined with amazing science!!! See you next week!
Very awesome to learn about!!
Thank you for the scholarship program!
So crazy how the internet started!!
Thank you so much for the scholarship. Without it, our family would not be able to do the online school.
Hi Acellus!
Thank you for another great episode of Science live!!
I think this video was very cool and fun and I just can’t wait for you guys to drop more video’s.
How will the internet be different in 10 years.
at this point Acellus can make anything I love this school so much
These live streams are always so fascinating. I can’t wait to learn more
The electronic ice cream was funny!
The pneumatic robot was so cool! I want one!
Science Live is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the science world.
science live is so fun!
It’s very cool how you helped build the internet, I can’t wait for the science fair
That is really cool hall thee de printing, can be made.
We now watch science live together as a family😊
What’s a data center?
It’s so fascinating how dr Billings was able to change how computers work
Hooray for science live!
Timekeeping is an amazing concept. Thanks for sharing
I Love doing these science Videos and I love how I get to learn new things from these lives!
Thank you for the scholarship program
I enjoyed hearing about Dr. Billings and the Internet technology!
Thank you so much Dr. Billings!
Thank you for making Science Live.
The internet is amazing!
Good morning, we are watching as a family.
Loved the video, thabk you Rodger billings for all your hard work in giving us a better education and making it affordable. Especially with how the economy is turning out today. Truly greatful
what is the max number of terminals that you can use at once
Thank you. Great way to learn.
These lives are always so interesting!
The internet can be so interesting to learn about
The internet is so cool! I always learn so much during these science lives!
How is a tuning fork made?
You did it again Dr Billings!
Science lives are the best.
The internet is an amazing tool
Is their a way to invent a 3d printer that uses different materials to print things like a metal or glass of some sort?
another great episode. Thanks!
I never knew that there are robots that do not use electricity.
I loved learning about your ghost!
didn’t radio waves make internet possible?
This is my first time seeing this video and I like it so far!!!
Can’t wait to see the next episode…!!
Always learning new things and such an interesting episode!
It’s very cool to see a robot built with air pressure and no electronics. Very cool 3D printing work.
I love science live
Thanks Dr, Billings!
I loved learning about old clocks and watches and the technology spotlight.
Thank you, Dr Billings!! Thats incredible!
why would someone want a watch that vibrates
What’s a 3D printer?
This was a very interesting episode. I loved to hear Dr Billings story. How did you not get very frustrated about your loss?
hi tennessee
Wow!! This is so cool.
From where does the robot get its power from then? How does this work with the air?
This episode was super cool!
I love this one!!
I like to watch science live in the morning
r51 is the best!
thank you for the scholarship program that was set up
How long did it take for them to make internet, and how did they have the idea to make the internet?
I love to watch science live
The internet is so amazing
My name is Kendall and I always love watching science live!
This is real science escpicially when it comes to carbon dioxide.
WOW!! I had no idea that Mr. Billings was behind the building of the internet. This is so COOL!!
Thank you for this video!!
Hi from Kansas!!
Science live is so fun!
I never knew Dr billings invented that! Thank you
That was awesome.
Amazing! Thank you!
Do we get credit for attending the YouTube video?
Thank you
I absolutely LOVE these lives! they are so fun to watch and helps me learn a whole lot of new things !!
very cool and tuff
I love the information I get with the science live videos.
How long did it take to make the watch
Its so cool that all those things could power a robot!
That invention is so amazing internet is used in so many places
learning about the internet is so fun there is many many cool things it can do!!!
Very nice, Dr. Billings!
Another great video
Interesting that this caused the device that we use everyday.
The garlic sounds amazing!
I thought it was interesting learning about the first models of computers, the technology behind them, and comparing them to the options we have today. The size difference and speed is unbelievable!
Your live always so interesting!!!
i love the jokes at the start
thank you for being thoughtful!
I had no idea Dr. Billings was behind a lot the the technology we use today. He is brilliant! I also thought the information on 3D printing was cool.
you did it again Dr billings!
Love you Dr. Billings you are so cool love your work
i love science lives
Awesome!!
My dad has flown a Falcon 50
Yes he did!
I loved this live! Internet is so cool to me.
Thank you for the school my mom said I would’nt be able to homeschool without it. And I had no idea that Dr. Billings invented the technology behind the internet, I also never knew that garlic was so cool.
lol same
Thank you
The internet is so cool! I love learning about it!
Thank you for a scholarship at Acellus😀😀😀😁
Thank you Dr.Billings for all you do
thank you for alowing me to be apart of this homeschool
great work
These lives are always so interesting!!
This episode was really intriguing!
Dr. Billings that is so cool that you were a part of the invention of technology behind the internet.
Have a good day!!!
Dr. Billings is so smart!
How it would be living without internet
Thank you for the scholarship program!
Fascinating to learn about the start of the internet!!
what other Non-electric sources of power can we use to power a robot?
Thank you for being so generous. We appreciate the scholarship program!
this scholarship program is amazing i will continue to work hand & be serious!
I love learning about the internet!
This was so cool thanks for the story
same