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#internet#email#todayshow

1994: "Today Show": "What is the Internet, Anyway?"

Chrissy Miklacic

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  • Recommended by 1 person: 1 on Hacker News.

Beginner. No background in the topic needed.

905K views11 years ago1 recommendation

History and cultureHistory of computingNetworking and protocols

A classic 1994 television clip showing morning show hosts struggling to understand the internet and email addresses.

A new version of an old video. Updated with better quality.

Why it's here

1 person recommends this

What people say. Frequently cited to illustrate how difficult it was for the general public to grasp the internet in its early days.

rmatt2000on Hacker News • Recommends

On “Are You Ready for the Internet? (1994) [video]”

Here is one of my favorite videos from the early days of the web. Two popular morning television hosts discuss the at-symbol and ask "what is internet, anyway?" link to this video
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kristopolouson Hacker News • Mentions

On “AP Style alert: Don’t capitalize internet and web any more”

Here's another instance of this verbaige on CNN in 1993: link ... And another: link . This talk show even commented on this exact difference listening to their own archives: link And another link to this video I provided 6 separate instances spanning 2 countries... This is not false information. There's 5 videos and a photo from a book. I have two more books with this usage if people want and I can dig up articles from newspapers too if needed. In fact, there was a drive in late 93, early 94 to actively discourage this variation from being used. I can also dig that up.
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nmjon Hacker News • Mentions

On “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System (2008) [pdf]”

You managed to cram so much wrong into a post it's unbelievable. Let's start with your 'off by one' address scare tactic. Bitcoin addresses contain a built-in check code, so it's generally not possible to send Bitcoins to a mistyped address. link Ecological concerns? A global, nacent value exchange system uses a little more than the total electricity of holiday lights. In fact many miners use cheap unused energy that would be otherwise costly to build infrastructure to sell normally. link Too confusing? Seems familiar. Here's a video from 1994 with some talk show hosts confused about 'internet'. Just watch this, please. link to this video
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rawtxappon Hacker News • Mentions

On “Police search cryptocurrency trading firm after Turks say they were scammed”

Internet was pretty complicated in the 90s as well, example: "What is the internet, anyway?"1. Things are becoming more and more intuitive by the day and I expect that to continue. 1: link to this video
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rawtxappon Hacker News • Mentions

On “Ask HN: How aware are you about building decentralised software on blockchain?”

Maker already has thousands of vaults, so clearly people do know what it is. I've never had an online loan application work, always had to go to their branch or call them which is a lot more work than installing one browser extension called MetaMask. A lot of these complaints remind me of the time when all the newspapers were writing about how internet is never gonna succeed because x, y, z1. There was a time where email was a "complex" thing, you can find out videos of news anchors trying to understand the "@" 2. 1: link 2: link to this video
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eric_ccon Hacker News • Mentions

On “Reddit files to go public”

Hot take but I think you are incredibly wrong. Remember that Today show clip from the 90's where they laugh off this new Internet thing? That's you. Ignorance. link to this video
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rgloveron Hacker News • Mentions

On “Major crypto lender Celsius freezes withdrawals as markets tumble”

> This perspective is far from universal. It doesn't need to be universal. The need for personal computers wasn't universal when Steve Jobs was running around Silicon Valley selling the Apple I in the 70s. They didn't even understand email in the 90s: link to this video . Look at us now. > The vast majority of the general population is nowhere near this level of technical proficiency. Right. Just like all technology, that's our responsibility as "the nerds." We take something that's complex and distill it down into something that's easily digested by people with limited or no technical aptitude. --- I find it deeply alarming that the supposed technical elite that wander this site are so averse to somet…
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EGregon Hacker News • Mentions

On “Chief scientist of major corporation can’t handle criticism of the work he hypes”

Well, that sounds exactly like what people said about all the other technologies that were "on a computer". Watch this exchange, for instance, between Bill Gates and David Letterman... about "this internet thing" link Or the Today show wondering what the point is: link to this video Technology empowers individuals and smaller communities. That's what it does throughout history. Personal computers. Personal printers. Now you can send email instead of relying on a centralized post office. VOIP disrupted Ma Bell monopolies in our lifetimes, instead of $3 a minute phone calls you can now do full videoonferencing for free. The Web instead of gatekeepers at radio, TV, magazines, newspapers, etc. In all of…
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