- •Velocity-distribution data of a gas of rubidium atoms, confirming the discovery of a new phase of matter, the Bose–Einstein condensate
- •The National State Tax Service University of Ukraine
- •In the structure of the University Kyiv financial and economic college operates for training junior specialists.
- •Infotech
- •How Removable Storage Works
- •In the following sections, we will take an in-depth look at each of these technologies.
- •In the illustration above, you can see how the disk is divided into tracks (brown) and sectors (yellow).
- •Word processor
- •Word processing
- •The Central Processing Unit
- •Computer
- •Definition of a Network
- •Computer programming
- •Computer programming
- •Technology
- •The Centripetal City: Telecommunications, the Internet, and the Shaping of the Modern Urban Environment
- •1. On the Radar Scope
- •4.Whirlwind
- •7.The First Link
- •10.Request for Proposals
- •12.Logging In
- •13.@ Work
- •14.The Big Demo
- •15.Surfing the Net
- •18.Xerox parc
- •19.Computer Communication Compatibility
- •20.Sun Rises
- •21.Success from Failure
- •23.Adult Supervision
- •24.Wiring the World
- •25.Electronic Meeting Places
- •26.Online Services
- •27.The well
- •29.A Human Face
- •30.Open for Business
- •32.A Bigger Pipe
- •Test your knowledge of Internet stuff!
- •Test your knowledge of Internet stuff!
24.Wiring the World
The rise of the personal computer by Apple and IBM introduced the rest of the world to computing. At first, computers were the tools of technically inclined nerds, but new applications drew other people to the keyboard. With an affordable modem, people could connect with other computer enthusiasts and commercial online services. People were using the computer as Bush and Licklider had prophesized, as a medium to interact with other people.
A venerable institution of international collaboration was the setting for the major development in the history of the Internet. It began when Tim Berners-Lee, a computer programmer at CERN in Switzerland, got to play on a new NeXT workstation. The object-oriented operating system was an inspiration for a problem he was working on - how to distribute information across a diverse network of different computers and operating systems. He started working on a protocol very similar the "docuverse" described by Ted Nelson, but reduced it down to a minimal, working model.
Berners-Lee eventually named his project the World Wide Web, because he visualized it as a web of interconnected documents that would stretch across the Internet and the world. It sounded grandiose, but his predictions were later proven too low.
In 1992, Marc Andreessen, an undergraduate computer science major at the University of Illinois, was working at the Super Computer Center when he discovered Berners-Lee's World Wide Web. There were a few sites scattered around the world, including the first U.S. site at the Stanford Linear Accelerator, but it was hard to use. Marc and some of the other programmers knew they were looking at a great idea with a bad presentation. They wanted to put a more "human face" on the Web, so they wrote the first graphical browser - later to become Netscape.
Microsoft saw no profit in the Internet, because there were specific laws against any profits on the Net. However, when Rep. Frederick Boucher from Virginia drafted a bill in the U.S. Congress that would change all that. Soon, the Internet was open for business.
Microsoft finally jumped onto the Internet in 1995, offering a browser to compete with Netscape - a browser they called Internet Explorer. It looked like the giant from Redmond, Washington would take over the Internet just as they took over the OS market - but the competition called foul.
After 1995, every business was at least thinking about getting a Web site. Online services exploded when they offered connections to the Internet and the World Wide Web. Traffic on the Internet was increasing at an exponential rate, and the old network backbones were showing signs of collapse. Some of the ARPAnet pioneers were predicting a collapse if something wasn't done soon.
25.Electronic Meeting Places
As the early computer visionaries (such as Licklider and Nelson) realized in the 1960s, people weren't satisfied with just interacting with their computers. They wanted to use their computers to interact with other people. Computer hobbyists soon came up with their own method of connecting computers over the telephone lines. Prices for modems made it possible for almost everyone to buy one and call other computers.
However, when the other computer answered there really wasn't much to do. Computer hackers wrote programs to answer the phone and interact with the caller, all done automatically without human supervision. Features like message boards, online games, and file exchange were added and a new business was born. The average computer enthusiast could buy (or download) the complete software needed to operate a bulletin board system and set it up themselves.
Although there were bulletin boards earlier, bulletin boards reached their height of popularity soon after 1980. Bulletin board systems were found in every town, and some were advertised in the local newspapers. For many it was a labor of love, and if they charged any money it was to cover the costs of operating the system. However, some of them saw a business opportunity and added value to their systems to attract paying customers.