20 years of Usenet history

This is really interesting:

http://www.google.com/googlegroups/archive_announce_20.html

They've sifted through 20-some years of usenet and found some interesting 'first posts'. Things like the first mention of 'Apple Macintosh', 'Microsoft', 'Linux', the Challenger disaster, AIDS, and the 1st spam. Very interesting stuff.



And, based on some of the dates listed, I might have to revise my own memory of internet history. I was pretty sure I got on the 'net around '94 (well ahead of the wave), since my web presence started in '95. But I also distinctly remember things like the AOL entrance into usenet, the Green Card incident, and Mosaic. So, I suppose I was on the net in '93 or so.

I remember the first time I managed to get Mosaic working. I was running over a terminal (text-only VT100) modem connection to the local university (probably on a 2400 bps modem). To get Mosaic to work I had to run a SLIP emulator program atop the terminal protocol, which required installing software on my end AND on the UNIX side. The thing was slow as hell, but after about 30 seconds it managed to load Yahoo. I think I was blown away.



...man I'm getting old.

 

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Porfiry ...

Thank you so much for the URL ... A wonderful trip back in time.

What impressed me most was Richard Stallman's statement "Why I Must Write GNU":

"I consider that the golden rule requires that if I like a program I must share it with other people who like it. I cannot in good conscience sign a nondisclosure agreement or a software license agreement."

"So that I can continue to use computers without violating my principles, I have decided to put together a sufficient body of free software so that I will be able to get along without any software that is not free."

I tend to forget just how innocent and egalitarian those days were ... Though, there is LINUX. The tradition may still live.

Again, thanks.

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