In the early '60s, the buzz is networking. Corporations start linking their computers together to share information. The 1962 invention of the microprocessor, a central chip that controls the computer, further shrinks the size of the devices and ultimately makes possible the invention of the personal computer in 1967.

Corporations and government agencies devour the computers, increasing production hundreds-fold during the decade, while funneling money into further university research at the same time. By 1963, 30 percent of the federal budget is allocated to scientific grants.

In 1965, scientists at the University of California develop a packet-switched communications network that requires no central hub to quickly share their research among participating sites. They call it "Compunet."

Meanwhile, in 1966, a technician at the University of Pennsylvania hypothesizes another method of communication across far distances using something called a "satellite." Backed by funds from a telephone giant, he quietly leads a development program for rocket and satellite testing. In 1969, he launches a rocket carrying a tiny spherical object into space. Its success is announced to the world with a series of small beeps.