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

Dr. Roger Billings is a visionary innovator whose work has touched the lives of millions of students and transformed the landscape of education. Widely known as “DrB” to the countless kids who benefit from his groundbreaking Acellus learning system, Dr. Billings has dedicated his life to advancing education through technology. As part of DrB’s lifelong commitment to supporting education, Science LIVE was launched as a way to “give back” by mentoring students in conjunction with the Roger Billings Scholarship Program.


Read more about DrB » 
About the Roger Billings Scholarship Program »

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4,046 Comments

  1. Zoey

    I loved this lecture so much!

    Reply
  2. Benjamin

    Comment i love this live

    Reply
  3. Charlie

    Printed robot that’s powered by air? Crazy!

    Reply
  4. Princess

    These lives are honestly awesome to watch!

    Reply
  5. Jonah

    What an amazing stream!

    Reply
  6. Katherine

    The internet is so cool!

    Reply
  7. Maddox

    I love the lives!

    Reply
  8. Navii

    I loved this live its so cool!

    Reply
  9. Moriah

    Dr. Billings is so cool. I love science live!!

    Reply
  10. Nathaniel

    its always a pleasure watching these

    Reply
  11. Gabriel

    This was really fun! Can’t wait until next time.

    Reply
  12. Eli

    What is the intervention of making the Internet?

    Reply
  13. Caitlyn

    Thank you for explaining how sharing data works! I can’t wait to learn something new each time I watch these!

    Reply
  14. Kakoa

    Hi Dr. Billings!

    Reply
  15. Jess

    This was great!

    Reply
  16. Alexander

    this live was really fun!

    Reply
  17. Riley

    Science live!!!!!!

    Reply
  18. Carolina

    I love the tiny changes to the intro!! God bless y’all!<3

    Reply
  19. Aurora

    Imagine if they had a giant tuning fork, it would give people headaches.

    Reply
  20. Makenna

    Thank you for the scholarship program, I appreciate this opportunity and I find these lives very intriguing and informative!

    Reply
  21. Alex

    I love how Dr. Billings talks about technologies! Always interesting!

    Reply
  22. Dexter

    Insane how much we can do with just a little air!

    Reply
  23. William

    I am so happy I get to go to school with your program.

    Reply
  24. Juleymie

    how many electric powers can you use on a robot?

    Reply
  25. Tyler

    Our internet is crazy today! hope this comment takes

    Reply
  26. Lily

    I love science lives and I’m so happy and appreciate everything everyone has done to make accuels possible.

    Reply
  27. Ricky

    Dr. Billings is so cool.

    Reply
  28. Bria

    Awsome love the vidoe

    Reply
  29. Brookelynn

    I love this program so much! What is your least favorite invention?

    Reply
  30. Choyces

    what other Non-electric sources of power can we use to power a robot?

    Reply
  31. Skyler

    Loved this episode!!!

    Reply
  32. Prestyn

    Hi from West Virginia, loved the episode sorry for being late it wouldnt show up.

    Reply
  33. Jamie

    Loved this!

    Reply
  34. Prestyn

    Hi from West Virginia, I love the episode also sorry for being late it wouldnt show up for me.

    Reply
  35. Emily

    i love science live so much!

    Reply
  36. Jessica

    Thank you for all you do so that all of us can have an opportunity like this!

    Reply
  37. Brianna

    I like learning about the robot that you didn’t have to do much to it. All you had to do is take it off the 3-D printer and then you add air to it and the stuff inside of it. That was really cool.

    Reply
  38. Nathaniel

    these lives are great

    Reply
  39. Tristan

    I want to do the scince fair

    Reply
  40. Jacob

    I really liked this science live.

    Reply
  41. Caedicius

    I must say, thank you for the school. I enjoy being homeschooled.

    Reply
  42. Mason

    I can’t wait until the next science live episode.

    Reply
  43. Ryker

    Thank you all for putting in time and effort into making these awesome videos! See you next week!

    Reply
  44. Jackson

    im thankful for this lesson

    Reply
  45. Ranique

    Was really interesting learned alot

    Reply
  46. Colette

    This is awesome!! Thank you Dr. Billings!

    Reply
  47. Emily

    I’m so happy the internet exists! Thank you guys for this lesson 🙂

    Reply
  48. Cooper

    So thankful for the internet. Thank you

    Reply
  49. Noah

    I Love the internet !!!!!!

    Reply
  50. Imani

    I really love science live

    Reply
  51. Delilah

    Thank you for the scholarship program!

    Reply
  52. Amazin

    the live is so helpful

    Reply
  53. Tryton

    you did it again Dr billings!

    Reply
  54. Kyron

    Very interesting this video was very interesting and educational good to know!

    Reply
  55. Addalyn

    I love science live

    Reply
  56. Amira

    this episode was so fun!

    Reply
  57. James

    I enjoyed the part where you talked about the watch and clock

    Reply
  58. Preston

    Loved the live! much love from NM!

    Reply
  59. Sebastian

    Thank you Dr billings!!

    Reply
  60. Esther

    the build that dr billing did was amazing

    Reply
  61. Tryton

    you did it again Dr billings!

    Reply
  62. Gabriel

    what are the requirements to enter the science fair

    Reply
  63. James

    I enjoyed the part where they talked about the watch

    Reply
  64. Kylee

    Thank you so much!!

    Reply
  65. Margaret

    awesome science live this week!

    Reply
  66. Mckenzie

    I love the science lives every week ! Can’t wait for next week

    Reply
  67. Avery

    Thank you for this opportunity it means a lot to all of us!! NEVER STOP!!!

    Reply
  68. Simon

    This is so cool!

    Reply
  69. Sera

    Could the piezoelectric effect still help us solve problems and invent new things? Maybe different crystals could be used in different ways. It was so interesting to learn about that effect!

    Reply
  70. Aiden

    How can AI processing computers be made to be not so power and resource intensive?

    Reply
  71. Fiona

    I learn so much from science live every week.

    Reply
  72. Kesley

    The science fair sounds awesome!!!

    Reply
  73. Sebastian

    this is some great stuff i never knew much about the internet until this thrilling stuff!

    Reply
  74. Daniel

    This was a good episode

    Reply
  75. Kyron

    Thank you Dr Billings

    Reply
  76. Daniel

    Thank you for all the inventions Dr Billings!

    Reply
  77. Aiden

    The internet is definitely an incredibly inventive

    Reply
  78. Liam

    This episode of Science live is my favorite yet!

    Reply
  79. Jocelyn

    Thank you for being so kind. We appreciate and love the Scholarship!

    Reply
  80. Cierra

    R51 had me falling out of my chair

    Reply
  81. Jayden

    Will you do a live about come of the newest AI products? I think they are really helpful in todays world like Claude and Gemini.

    Reply
  82. Delilah

    Great video as always!

    Reply
  83. Rafael

    This was interesting about the computers!

    Reply
  84. Dominick

    I had a 3D printer and never thought I could make something so functional like that. Now I want a 3D printer again

    Reply
  85. Issaiah

    good job Dr. Billings you do great

    Reply
  86. Emilee

    That was so fun to watch * and r-51 was so funny* 😂😂😂🖤❤️🖤❤️🖤

    Reply
  87. Emmyrson

    Thank you! 🙂
    :0

    Reply
  88. Hudson

    love it

    Reply
  89. Kaiden

    thankyou for the scholarship!!

    Reply
  90. Jaylen

    this is so interesting

    Reply
  91. Fiona

    Incredible!

    Reply
  92. Xavier

    i loved this Science Live episode

    Reply
  93. Lincoln

    Nice one wensday live is the highlight of my day

    Reply
  94. Dee-jay

    Thank you for the scholarship, we wouldn’t be able to afford homeschooling without it

    Reply
  95. Katelyn

    Thank you for this online school program, because of this I am able to have a part time job not stress about time

    Reply
  96. Trevor

    If there is one invention you wished you thought of, what would it be?

    Reply
  97. Levi

    Science is super interesting, I think that anyone who puts their mind to it can accomplish great things, especially with the help of great people like the Science L!ve team!!

    Reply
  98. Raiden

    I never knew the internet could be so much more interesting!

    Reply
  99. Nathan

    Dr. Billings is so cool I love this live!

    Reply
    • Emma

      I love this school!

      Reply
    • Rowen

      Like literally who even made this by the way

      Reply
    • Ethan

      I’m really curious to know how many more he can make

      Reply
    • Lealand

      Love this school

      Reply
    • Brynleigh

      Dr Billings is awesome

      Reply
  100. Jonathan

    My brother and I both do acellus and appreciate this opportunity because of all you do! We will continue to work hard. Thank you!

    Reply
  101. Dasha

    This was such an interesting live. I love watching them.

    Reply
  102. Annaclaire

    Thank you for the scholarship program!!! Very much appreciated

    Reply
  103. Isabella

    My younger brother and I really like these videos!!!

    Reply
  104. Corben

    the scholarship program is the only reason im able to do this amazing school!

    Reply
  105. Roman

    The internet is so cool, we use it so much nowadays, I don’t know what it would be like without it!

    Reply
  106. Isaac

    What kind of 3d printer 🖨️ is it ?

    Reply
  107. Case

    These are so interesting

    Reply
  108. Nicholas

    It’s crazy how the internet works today it’s evolving rapidly!

    Reply
  109. Autumn

    I love acellus, I am learning and understanding more than I ever have!

    Reply
  110. Kylie

    The internet was a turning point for history.

    Reply
  111. Jaxsen

    Very cool that Dr. Billings invented Universal Networking. Had no idea that I am in the school of a genius!

    Reply
  112. Allison

    Love these! They’re always so interesting!

    Reply
  113. Claudia

    This weeks video was so interesting!! So excited for next week!

    Reply
  114. Benjamin

    it’s so cool that you developed such a system for the internet!

    Reply
  115. Henry

    The story of the quartz watch was very interesting!

    Reply
  116. Kenzlie

    The internet is a great tool to have

    Reply
  117. Tallulah

    This episode was amazing, so cool how Dr billings created technology behind the internet. This live was Amazing!!🩷I also got to learn how cool Watches are.⌚️🕰️⌛️⏱️

    Reply
  118. Ethan

    These lives are always super super intresting please keep it up!!

    Reply
  119. Hope

    I liked the ice cream truck invention

    Reply
  120. Ryland

    I don’t really know what to say, besides I loved it

    Reply
  121. Phoenix

    i really enjoyed seeing what other kids did for their science fair projects

    Reply
  122. Jaxon

    Thankful for being able to homeschool because of the internet.

    Reply
  123. Haigen

    I love Acellus! My mom always makes me eat garlic when I get sick and it helps me feel better faster!!

    Reply
  124. Dakota

    Why is science so long

    Reply
  125. Maggie

    just wanted acellus to know but my birthday in on friday!!>:)

    Reply
  126. Nicholas

    The 3D printed robot is really cool!

    Reply
  127. Gavin

    So crazy they can move the little robot thing with just air pressure

    Reply
  128. Adara

    thank you for being so generous

    Reply
  129. Dakota

    like him talk about ice cream

    Reply
  130. Tabitha

    These videos are always so interesting.

    Reply
  131. Brody

    you know all

    Reply
  132. Ruby

    I have never seen something like that before that is so cool

    Reply
  133. Mason

    WOW! That’s so cool! Thank you for the live!

    Reply
  134. Abigayle

    How many days until their deadline for the watch did the engineers at Seiko have left when they released their product?

    Reply
  135. Sadie

    Rodger Billings for President!

    Reply
  136. Mason

    WOW! That’s so cool!

    Reply
  137. Olivia

    I’m so glad for these videos and the scholarship program!

    Reply
  138. Micaiah

    I like that cool robot! Thank you!

    Reply
  139. Mackenzie

    Thank you for the opportunity for the Roger Billings Scholarship program. I love learning!

    Reply
  140. Xavier

    interesting science live

    Reply
  141. Jensen

    R 51 was funny.

    Reply
  142. Benjamin

    I love science! It’s so cool!

    Reply
  143. Jace

    I love this video

    Reply
  144. Lucas

    That is really cool! I love learning about computer systems and how they work. Including the internet systems!

    Reply
  145. Hayes

    Pretty cool stuff!

    Reply
  146. Shane

    Thank you for the scholarship program

    Reply
  147. Miles

    Thank you Dr. Billings for all you do! It is greatly appreciated!

    Reply
  148. Josiah

    I love science! It’s so cool!

    Reply
  149. Allison

    I love science live!!!

    Reply
  150. Madilyne

    I never new that Dr Roger billing invented technology behind the internet and I never new that garlic was so cool!!!

    Reply
  151. Bryson

    amazing work dr billings!

    Reply
  152. Annabelle

    How did they come up with the idea to make a robot without electricity?

    Reply
  153. Tyler

    I learned a lot in this video. This was so amazing.

    Reply
  154. Reagan

    this was a great episode!

    Reply
  155. Alaina

    I always learn something new about the internet!

    Reply
  156. Josiah

    My mom & dad would so do that to our internet password!

    Reply
  157. William

    I want to invent things

    Reply
  158. Hampton

    I’d love to print that robot at home.

    Reply
  159. Savannah

    This was a great episode!

    Reply
  160. Madilyne

    I love r51!

    Reply
  161. Lily

    I don’t know what I would do without the internet.

    Reply
  162. Taylor

    This was a great episode!

    Reply
  163. Landon

    Dr. Billings is so smart to invent things.

    Reply
  164. Ellie

    Great video, amazing tech

    Reply
  165. Josiah

    i love this stuff

    Reply
  166. Quinn

    The air powered robot is really cool!

    Reply
  167. Chloe

    Such an awesome school!

    Reply
  168. Jefferson

    this is my new favorite live

    Reply
  169. Madilyne

    I love Acellus science lives!!!!!!

    Reply
  170. Cooper

    Thank you for being one of the core people who helped with the foundation of the internet!

    Reply
  171. Ella

    That was awesome!!!!

    Reply
  172. Aminah

    🎉🎉🎉Acellus🎉🎉🎉

    Reply
  173. Lilly

    Love this episode!

    Reply
  174. Noah

    This is one of the best episodes thus far!

    Reply
  175. Christian

    Another amazing and inspiring video from the man himself Dr. Billings!

    Reply

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