“I don’t want to miss a thing.” The popular Aerosmith song (released in 1998) could never have envisioned the always-connected, always-on mindset of today. In fact, we “missed a lot” – whether good or bad – when we stepped out of our houses or offices for traveling.
Today, thanks to the vision of one man, Dr. Leonard Kleinrock, the UCLA Computer Science Professor, known as the “Father of the Internet”, nomadic computing allows us to connect to visitor networks wherever we are in the world. Dr. Kleinrock founded Nomadix (also in 1998) to bring this vision to life, and Nomadix continues to be the leader in visitor-based networks to this day.
I’m honored to still be part of the Nomadix team who worked alongside Dr. Kleinrock to tackle the main blocker to widespread nomadic computing adoption. It seems so ubiquitous and simple now, but before this technology, connecting to networks outside of your own home or workplace wasn’t possible. The issue revolved around computers (and later included mobile devices) not being recognized by a new network when attempting to establish a connection. Nomadix developed the Universal Subscriber Gateway to sit between a visiting computer and a new network. This gateway, which requires no extra equipment or software for the visiting computer, serves as an interpreter between visitors and native networks, enabling visitor authentication and sign-on to host networks. These networks are known as Visitor-Based Networks (VBNs), and make nomadic computing and public internet access secure, seamless and possible.
Why am I thinking back to the early days? Today marks an important day, the birthday of our founder Dr. Leonard Kleinrock. Through his tireless efforts and innovation, he enriched our lives as we remain connected to family and friends, work, shopping and entertainment, as well as the latest news, all through visitor-based networks while on the go.
Happy birthday Dr. Kleinrock! Nomadix is giving you the green salute in celebration of your innovation and foresight that has changed the world forever. Just think, we never have to miss a thing with the always-connected travel experiences created throughout the history of Nomadix.