Ethernet, the networking standard: more mature, more powerful where the whole world is going with ethernet

Many people, especially technology historians, often ponder "Where would the world be without Ethernet?" Now, such a rhetorical question typically has no answer because you cannot rewind time, remove Ethernet from being invented, and let time fast forward to the present day. However, we have many active contributors amongst us who have been part of that history as it has evolved over the past 30 years. The Evolution of Ethernet Standards in 802.3 Working Group covers great details on the history of not just Ethernet standards development, but many dot standards that have led to support of wide-ranging applications. For me, just the first sentence captures the past, the present, and the future that I'd like to know more about: Ethernet is constantly evolving, adapting to the needs of the networking world, addressing the requirements of both operators and end-users, while making sure that the resulting technology is cost-efficient, reliable, and operates in a plug and play manner.