Join us in wishing the Internet an unofficial Happy 30th Birthday! As much of the world's population is just now figuring out how to capitalize on the Internet's incredible short- and long-range potential for business and personal use, scientists who created the technology are taking a look forward to determine what lies in store for the Web.

Transparent lines, no boundaries and a technology that is everywhere, all the time, according to various scientists, including Robert Kahn, president of the Corporation for National Research Initiatives, who believes the Internet will morph into a medium that has become as mobile and on-the-go as its users.

A typical user neither knows nor understands what happens to enable the Internet and information systems to work, commented Senior Vice President George Vrandenburg III of America Online. He commented that the future of the Internet rests in seamless information delivery.

The birthday was marked by a symposium held in Los Angeles, and guest speakers included Len Kleinrock, a UCLA computer science professor who was one of the early Internet pioneers. The first Internet connection took place in his lab 30 years ago.