How the First Ethernet Cable Connected the Modern Office

Before Wi-Fi, there was Ethernet. In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace the invention of Ethernet at Xerox PARC in 1973, where Bob Metcalfe sketched a simple idea on a memo pad: connect computers with a single cable and let them share the airwaves. They explore how Metcalfe's co-axial cable design, inspired by the Aloha Net radio system in Hawaii, solved the problem of network collisions, and how his 'Ether' concept took its name from a 19th-century scientific idea. The episode drills into the key number: 2.94 megabits per second, Ethernet's original speed, and how that humble start grew into the standard that now carries over 90 percent of the world's internet traffic. Lucas and Luna also unpack the unlikely partnership between Xerox, Intel, and Digital Equipment Corporation that turned a lab prototype into a global standard, and why the famous 'Ethernet Blue Book' mattered more than any patent. It's a story of collaboration, stubbornness, and the hidden infrastructure that makes modern offices possible. #Ethernet #BobMetcalfe #XeroxPARC #Networking #TechHistory #AlohaNet #LAN #ComputerHistory #SiliconValley #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #Technology #Invention #Innovation #DigitalInfrastructure #OfficeTech #IEEE #MetalCable Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo