Final answer:
The 1950s and 1960s witnessed groundbreaking innovations in local networking, including the semi-automatic business research environment (SABRE) by IBM and the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), the latter influencing the development of the modern internet and hypertext technology.
Step-by-step explanation:
Innovation in Local Networking in the 1950s and 1960s
During the 1950s and 1960s, significant innovation in local networking occurred, which led to the development of early computer networks. One of the first notable innovations was the semi-automatic business research environment (SABRE), developed by IBM in 1960. It connected two mainframe systems and evolved into an airline reservation system. In parallel, the concept of an 'Intergalactic Computer Network' was proposed by JCR Licklider when he became the director of the Pentagon's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). This vision ultimately laid the groundwork for what would become ARPANET in 1969.
ARPANET was a breakthrough as it represented a network of networks, joining government facilities and research universities dedicated to official communications. This was a precursor to the modern internet, as it fostered technological advancements such as email communication, albeit with restrictions against commercial and political usages. A computer scientist named Ted Nelson developed the foundational ideas for hypertext and the web between 1965 and 1972, paving the way for the interconnected World Wide Web that we use today. With these innovations, the 1960s became a pivotal time for networking technology, setting the stage for the eventual rise of the Internet and drastically changing the landscape of global communication and information sharing as we know it.