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© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Web inventor: Closing digital divide must be top priority
By EDITH M. LEDERER UNITED NATIONS©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
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starpunk
No one person invented the Internet. In August 1989 as a college student I got to visit a room with Apple computers giving live coverage of the Voyager 2 space probe mission at Neptune. This mini-net would later be referred to as an 'inranet' and it was a step toward the Information Superhighway (Internet) that was realized a few years later.
Strangerland
Which programming languages have you invented.
Considering you’re using the technology he developed literally as you read this, a little less jealousy would make your comments a little less ugly.
lucabrasi
@albaleo
Good story, well told.
albaleo
I don't know whether it was a lightbulb moment, but I don't think html (and the http protocol) can be viewed as similar to a programming language. (The Javascript that was added probably fits that bill.) html was (and in most ways still is) a way to display and share "documents". In some ways, it was a very simple concept, but it often takes moments of genius to produce something simple and useful. He didn't invent the internet, but he certainly made it more interesting.
As it's Saturday, I'll ramble on...
I remember when the web's origins were attributed to Robert Cailliau as well as Tim Berners Lee. Cailliau seems to have come up with the general interactive concept (based on Hypercard apparently). I had the good fortune to hear Cailliau speak once in Edinburgh, and even share a beer with him (and many others) after he had spoken at a techie conference. I remember him most for a joke he told. I think most computer programmers will understand:
"There were an economist, a mathematician, and a computer programmer travelling on a train to Scotland. Shortly after entering Scotland, they saw a black sheep on the hillside. 'I see there are black sheep in Scotland,' said the economist. 'That's a weak statement,' said the mathematician. 'All you can say is there is at least one black sheep in Scotland.' The programmer retorted, 'That's typical of the wishy-washy thinking of mathematicians. All we can say is that there is at least one sheep in Scotland that is black on at least one side.'"
mmwkdw
There's a lot more to the Internet, than simply "Tim"
mmwkdw
Ever wondered how your URL's or even IP Addresses (such as JapanToday.com get resolved to a computer sitting in some location ?.... )
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Mockapetris#:~:text=Paul%20V.,Domain%20Name%20System%20(DNS).
mmwkdw
Academic Left-behind.
He did not invent the internet! He worked on the HTTP protocol. Big difference between the two. He should not be lauded with such an accolade, it's embarrassing. He clearly had a part to play in the standardisation for communication across clients to the "internet"... but the internet itself lends itself to the American DARPA project - ARPANET. The US Military started it as a redundancy plan in case of loosing communications from one location.
And .. Prior to the the Internet.... we had Fidonet. Especially popular in the US where they had free-local calls.
So... I do not see a lightbulb moment in Tim's head, merely a new language ... for displaying information - similar to a programming language - C, or C++ or C# ...
The Internet should not be associated with Tim. That is wrong in my view.
albaleo
If someone chooses not to have it, then that's correct. But if someone doesn't even have the option, I'd say that they are under-privileged.
kyushubill
Agree Psyops.
John Mcafee met with the Obama admin. 10 years ago and laid out a map how gov't and private industry could do this together. The life long bureaucrats balked and nothing came of it. Mcafee said it would give the US an upper hand over China. They kicked Mcafee out and now loook.
Psyops
The UN wants to run it? no thanks, let each country handle it like they want. Its not the job of of any government to get people online. People survived without the internet and can continue to do so without it, not having it doesn't mean under privileged.
TrevorPeace
No argument there. God help us if we don't pay attention. Fix the fifty percent, fix the problem.