UNIX was and still is the main operating system used by universities and research establishments. Networking exposed to many users worldwide. A collection of discussions groups, news groups . 3 news groups established by the end of the year Almost any topic now has a discussion group. Interactive adventure games, board games, rich and detailed databases.
Most communications take place between mobile vans.
Large number of nodes. Hard to remember exact paths Use meaningful names instead. Desktop workstations come into being. Many with Berkeley UNIX which includes IP networking software. Need switches from having a single, large time sharing computer connected to Internet per site, to connection of an entire local network.