I haven't read much of the numerous debunking pieces, but in case anyone cares to give the Crovitz article any more thought (it doesn't deserve much attention, since there are so many problems with it), there's also some discussion on the Internet History list. Archives available at http://mailman.postel.org/pipermail/internet-history/2012-July/thread.html. My own opinion on the Crovitz piece, echoed and amplified in various ways in the discussion at the url above, is that Crovitz embarrassed himself and the editors of the WSJ have done the same by publishing the article. Andy On Jul 24, 2012, at 7:10 PM, Thomas Haigh wrote:
Hello everyone,
Another example of the aggressively creative use of IT history to further an agenda, this time in a Wall Street Journal editorial.
In his column, "Who Really Invented the Internet," Gordon Crovitz admits that "The federal government was involved, modestly, via the Pentagon's Advanced Research Projects Agency Network" but claims that "But full credit goes to the company where Mr. Taylor worked after leaving ARPA: Xerox." In fact, argues Crovitz, the government's main contribution was to get in the way and hold up progress for decades. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444464304577539063008406518.ht ml
I read the Journal with pleasure when travelling, as it is a staple of hotels and airport lounges, but turn the editorial pages quickly so as not to read something that will cause a violent reaction and spoil my good mood. So I'm not the most impartial judge, but there is perhaps something unusually blatant in the ideological spin here.
Fortunately the basics of Internet history are pretty well documented, at least for those who understand the difference between Internet and Ethernet. Crovitz is nicely debunked by Farhad Manjoo at Slate, and I suspect by various others in the 800 comments the op-ed has so far attracted. http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2012/07/who_invented_the _internet_the_outrageous_conservative_claim_that_every_tech_innovation_came_ from_private_enterprise_.html.
Tom