Working with David Liddle, who ran Xerox's office systems division, Mr Metcalfe convinced Gordon Bell, a brilliant computer scientist from the now defunct Digital Equipment Corporation, to back the Ethernet protocol.

ECONOMIST: CASE HISTORY: Out of the ether | The

This one's named after Robert Metcalfe , the inventor of the computer networking protocol Ethernet.

FORBES: Ten Laws Of The Modern World

In two decades of building companies, Judith Estrin and William Carrico have seen such simple technologies as Ethernet and Internet Protocol spur billions in new market value.

FORBES: Mr. and Mrs. Network

Metcalfe started 3Com (nasdaq: COMS - news - people ) to peddle his speedy communications protocol, Ethernet, after a risk-averse Xerox balked.

FORBES: Two Guys Who Know

Robert Metcalfe, who three decades ago invented Ethernet, the first great electronic protocol for computer networks, foresees a "gigalapse"--a blackout spanning one billion person-hours.

FORBES: Weaving The Perfect Net