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Specialization is for Insects.
Posted on Feb 27, 2008 - 1:44am by John P. in Computing, Videos
This three-minute promotional video from Digital Equipment Corporation produced in 1994 sure takes me back. At that time people were using 14.4kbps Modems to dial into an Internet service provider and read pages on the Web. And the number of sites was only in the hundreds or possibly thousands.
Compare that to today… there are 160 Million sites and I visit them on my 10,000kbps (10 Mbps) cable connection (a 700x increase!). My house has more bandwidth than the backbone in 1994!
One of the choice quotes from this video:
In the future you will be forced to compete with distant companies you’ve never encountered before, and you’ll be able to expand to new markets at low cost.
By the way, I LOVE comments! Please feel free to leave one below!
1994 there were 3565 websites. I surfed the net and actually finished it. ;-]
Wasn’t windows 3.1 great?
It was funny.. 3.1 was so kludgy I remember remaining an elitist (an elitist 14 year old lol) and refusing to use Windows unless it couldn’t be done in DOS.
When 95 rolled around I scoffed, but after playing with Plus! and setting up themes and all that, I was so sold it wasn’t even funny. I remember watching the Wheezer video that came with the Windows Plus! pack and wondering how in the HELL a VIDEO could be that clear and play on my computer!
Growing up while the net was in it’s infancy will always be a fond memory for me. I really wish my children could have the same experience, but each generation has “their” thing I suppose :)
When I started using the web I was only on usenet and it was not a graphical userinterface… a year or so later the first Internet Explorer and Netscape showed up…
It was slow, but very exciting to see the development and follow it up to what it is today.
I am waiting for a friend to hook up a Slingbox I just bought back in Denmark so I can watch Danish TV here in the Philippines, imagine that 15 years ago :)
John – the Slingbox might be a gadget you should have a look at for the blog as well, it seem really cool… TV wherever you are on your mobile phone or computer…
Kim
ahhhh WFW 3.11 winsock apps and Mosaic.
14.4, hell I was still using 9600 :)
I’ll go back farther. Anyone remember when Compuserve announced the “gateway” to the Internet (about 1992?)
I do remember Compuserve’s gateway – and they charged huge bucks to use it, too!
Man, I remember Mosaic and fighting with winsock and all that. Wish I had kept some of that stuff. I could have a museum!
Even though the NCSA Mosaic browser has been discontinued, it is still available for download along with documentation at their FTP site, ftp://ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Mosaic/.
I feel so bad because my children will never understand why dad’s eyes sparkle when he speaks of finding that PERFECT UART string :(
I don’t think that I recognize some of the references found in the video and in the comments (not because of age, but probably because I wasn’t as into it back then), but I do always think that these Internet flashbacks are fun. I had my first PC in about 1997 or so, but I used a nice old Apple ][ Plus for some 5.25″ floppy gaming action prior to that!
For Internet flashbacks, I also like getting to see how a website changes its look over time.
Good post, the developmenty in the internet is just great, I catch myself complaining about a “bad” connection in a third world country in the middle of nowhere when the download speed drops below 200 kbs. I know its probably not what you guys are working with, but you don’t sit in Barangay Batinguel, Dumaguete.
Getting reminded on the “old times” I rather shold be thankful instead of complaining.
cheers
Rhoody
Shows u the expansion in this field. I wonder how was the web with only 3000 sites.Sounds strange.
LOL I remember that site! I remember when AltaVista was the go to search engine.