"The Network is the Computer" is a
slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political slogan, political, Advertising slogan, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the publi ...
that was originally coined by
John Gage for
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, the ...
in 1984.
Contrary to popular belief, the slogan was not coined by
Scott McNealy.
Wired dubbed the phrase a "
truism of
Silicon Valley".
Sun employee Larry Wake said of the slogan, "When Sun originated that tag line in the early 1980s, it was actually quite audacious. It was a stake in the ground
tating
Tating is a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after ...
‘Computers should be networked, or they're… not computers. Well, at least, you're missing their potential by a country mile."
History
The first slogan used by Sun was "Open Systems for Open Minds"
The Network is the Computer has been the tagline of Sun for decades. According to Sun's former director of CAD/CAM marketing, the meaning of the slogan is that you had one window into the
network through your
desktop computer
A desktop computer (often abbreviated desktop) is a personal computer designed for regular use at a single location on or near a desk due to its size and power requirements. The most common configuration has a case that houses the power supply ...
and that with the appropriate software, other people's computing power could be utilized with
offloading. In 2010,
Oracle bought Sun but without the slogan being discussed, used or defended. In July 2019,
content delivery network provider
Cloudflare bought the rights to the expired trademark. John Gage stated in an interview with
John Graham-Cumming that he was fine with Cloudflare having bought the rights because it meant Sun's efforts were successful.
Further reading
*
References
External links
*
The Network is the Computer at the
United States Patent and Trademark Office (USTPO) database
{{Sun Microsystems
Slogans
Sun Microsystems
Cloudflare