Bob Taylor with omnipresent turtleneck and pipe.

ABOUT BOB:
Bob Taylor was the most influential person responsible for the computer technology we use today. Working In various capacities at the Pentagon in the 1960s, he funded scientists around the country involved with interactive and personal computing. He was also instrumental in the creation of the Internet, persuading colleagues at ARPA to create the ARPANET, the progenitor of the internet. When Bob assumed his job at PARC, he hired many of the scientists he had been funding in his prior roles at NASA & ARPA, with a singular vision – to create a network of personal computers which could communicate with each other.

The Intergalactic Computer Network is the term used by JCR Licklider (Bob’s mentor and boss at ARPA) to describe the networking system – an electronic commons open to all. This song, below, is a tribute to Bob, JCR and some others who inspired his work. A son of the south, Bob grew up in Texas and was a fan of Hank Williams. He also played the guitar.

Intergalactic Computer Network (solo with 3 backup singers):
Cowboy song in the style of Hank Williams, from musical XEROX PARC. Music & Lyrics by Terry Crystal, Piano and vocals by Eric J Chen.

CONTEXT:
Bob Taylor finds Gloria and two other secretaries fussing over new IBM Selectric, a present from her boss. Bob dismisses new typewriter as relic of the past and proceeds to describe the computer they are working on at PARC. This song is a little background on a few of the influential people (pre-PARC) responsible for the interactive personal computer.

Listen up ladies, I’m here to say
You ain’t seen nothing yet!
Cause there’s something coming down the pike
Which will change you’re mind I’ll bet
It’s a new computer technology
We are working on it here, just you wait and see
The sweetest little thing you’ve ever met…

For more on Bob, see article from Wired Magazine.