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The document describes the early development stages of the ARPANET, the precursor to the internet, and the key individuals involved. It starts by introducing Larry Roberts and his arrival at the Pentagon in 1966. Roberts had previously met Donald Davies in London, but was unaware of Davies’ work in packet switching. Roberts was also not familiar with Paul Baran. Roberts had been inspired to work on computer networks after attending a conference in 1964 where the potential of computer networks was discussed. His first opportunity to experiment with connecting computers came in 1965 when he oversaw a project to connect Lincoln’s TX-2 computer to the SDC Q-32 in Santa Monica. The experiment had mixed results, with reliable connection and response time being major challenges.

Roberts then begins to assemble a team to tackle the larger task of interconnecting a matrix of computers. One of his colleagues, Leonard Kleinrock, becomes a key influence in Roberts’ early thinking about computer networks. Kleinrock had published research on analytical models of communication networks and had insights on data flow and message routing. Roberts also forms a friendship with Kleinrock and they share interests in brain teasers and casino gambling.

The document then describes a meeting in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Roberts presents his initial plan for the network. The idea is not well-received, with many principal investigators expressing skepticism and resistance to the idea of sharing resources with other institutions.

During the meeting, Wes Clark passes a note to Roberts suggesting that the network should be built with a subnet of small, identical nodes that handle the routing. This idea resonates with Roberts and he discusses it further with Clark. Clark recommends Frank Heart as the person who could build the subnet. Heart had expertise in real-time systems and was known for his meticulous engineering. Roberts decides to send out a request for proposals for building the Interface Message Processors (IMPs) that would form the subnet.

Roberts also learns about the work of Donald Davies and Paul Baran during the conference. Davies and his team at the National Physical Laboratory had been working on a packet-switched network design, and Baran had done similar work at RAND. Roberts studies their research and consults with Baran on the design of the network.

Roberts later presents a paper on the ARPA net at a conference in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where he receives positive feedback. He also learns from Roger Scantlebury about the faster line speeds that Davies and Scantlebury were planning to use in their network. This information influences Roberts’ design decisions.

Roberts then drafts a request for proposals and sends it out to 140 companies. IBM and Control Data Corporation decline to bid, stating that there are no cost-effective computers small enough to make the network feasible. Roberts considers using the PDP-8, a mini-computer made by Digital Equipment Corporation, but most of the bidders prefer the Honeywell DDP-516 mini-computer.

After evaluating the bids, Roberts enters into final negotiations with Raytheon to build the IMPs. However, just before Christmas, ARPA announces that the contract has been awarded to Bolt Beranek and Newman, a small consulting firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The document ends with the completion of the IMP contract negotiation, implying that the next steps in the ARPANET development process will be covered in the following sections.

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