In 1950, computers took up whole rooms and were dumber than today’s pocket calculators. But progress was swift, and by 1960 they were able to run complex programs. Governments and universities across the globe thought it would be great if the machines could talk, nurturing collaboration and scientific breakthroughs.
1950 年，一台计算机要占据整个房间，性能却比不上现在的袖珍计算器。但技术发展日新月异，到了 1960 年，它们已能运行复杂的程序。全球各国政府和大学都认为，如果这些机器可以相互连通，以促进合作共赢和科学突破，那将是一件大好事。