Ripley's...
Believe it or not, what we know today as "the World Wide Web" is not even a teenager. It all started in the 1960's with ARPANET, the Internet as we know it today. The result of
ARPANET was that a select few educational institutions and the military were able to share vital information.
The Birth of the World Wide Web.
Although there were a number of developments over the years,
it wasn't until 1989, that Tim Berners-Lee, a consultant based in Geneva, Switzerland proposed an information system that would make it easier for a group of individuals working on research projects to keep track of
progress. Mr. Lee's ideas resulted in the birth of the World Wide Web. At the time, Mr. Lee called his new idea Enquire. The Enquire program enabled multiple users to access information but was limited to text
only, no graphics or photographs were able to be shared. Around this time Apple computer introduced a similar program called HyperCard which enabled users to share more than just text. Both of these programs allowed
the programmer to link users to other areas similar to what is done today (called hyper linking).
In 1990, Berners-Lee's idea became a reality and he named this new medium the "World Wide Web."
By 1992, the very small but intrigued Internet community began to grow. 1992 saw the introduction of fifty (count 'em, 5-0!) Web servers which enabled Internet users to access the infant network.
In 1993, a
product called Mosaic was born. Mosaic was the first graphical Web browser (comparable to today's Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator programs). The Mosaic product introduction marked a rapid appeal to
the Internet. By the end of 1993, there were over 250 Web servers providing service to Internet users.
In 1994, Marc Andreessen, who was one of the original developers of the Mosaic program founded MCC which later
became Netscape. The first version of Netscape Navigator was introduced in 1994. As 1994 came to a close there were in excess of 2500 Web servers worldwide.
In 1995, Microsoft jumped on the bandwagon and
introduced its first version of Microsoft Internet Explorer. This year also marked the introduction of Hot Java -- a product manufactured by Sun Microsystems. Hot Java enabled the use of interactive components
(animated graphics). 1995 also saw Real Audio a program which allowed the transmission of sounds via the Internet. VRML brought Internet developers the ability to use three-dimensional graphics.
In 1997,
witnessing an overwhelming number of users migrating to this new medium a group of individuals formed the Internet Ad Hoc Committee (IAHC). The IAHC saw huge numbers of companies swapping up names under the .com
domain and opted to offer seven new domains.
As of today there are over 150 million Internet users worldwide. Although less than 10 years in existence as we know it, the World Wide Web has become a necessity of
doing business. Watching television commercials today you would be hard pressed not to find an advertisement inviting you to visit an Internet site.
We can only guess about what the future holds for the World Wide
Web and beyond. Current trends show more and more people using the Internet to find information about their local areas. Local newspapers and television stations are tracking people swarming to their Web sites in
droves. Consumers are finding local retailers that they prefer to do business with online.
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