Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Subscribe
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Subscribe
    Home Applications
    • Applications

    Sir Tim and the Gift That Keeps On Giving

    Written by

    David Coursey
    Published December 25, 2005
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      Fifteen years ago this week, the world received what has turned out to be a most wonderful Christmas present: WorldWideWeb, the very first Web browser.

      Actually, the program was a combined browser-editor, devised by Tim Berners-Lee, a Briton working in Switzerland at the time.

      WorldWideWeb was, in 1990, the only way to view the Web, which was fine because back then only Berners-Lee and a few colleagues were creating pages.

      Later, the program would be renamed Nexus and the virtual space would become the World Wide Web (with spaces). The rest, as they say, is history.

      /zimages/5/28571.gifClick here to read more about Tim Berners-Lee and his vision for the browser.

      Since the introduction of Microsoft Windows, no technology has so dominated personal computing as the Web browser.

      What most people call the “dot-com” era was really more about the Web browser, a technology that has found its way onto virtually all the worlds personal computers and with which hundreds of millions of users interact many times each day.

      But, Berners-Lee, who received a Knighthood for his invention, recently described his work as merely putting two existing technologies—the Internet and hypertext—together, as though it were no big deal.

      “I just played my part,” Sir Tim said in his second-ever blog posting, responding to the hundreds of “thank you” messages that followed his first post.

      “I built on the work of others—the Internet, invented 20 years before the Web, by Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn and colleagues, for example, and hypertext, a word coined by Ted Nelson for an idea of links which was already implemented in many non-networked systems.”

      “I just put these technologies together. And then, it all took off because of this amazing community of enthusiasts, who have done such incredible things with the technology, and are still advancing it in so many ways.”

      Berners-Lee wrote that the Web turned out a bit differently than he expected. Instead of communal editing of pages online, most content was created offline and then loaded onto a Web server.

      The Web became more of a publishing than a collaboration medium. Only recently has the Web become the shared creative space that Berners-Lee envisioned back in 1990.

      “Now in 2005, we have blogs and wikis, and the fact that they are so popular makes me feel I wasnt crazy to think people needed a creative space,” Berners-Lee wrote.

      /zimages/5/28571.gifThe interactive nature of the browser colors its past and future. Click here to read more.

      As for blogging, the Webs inventor said he appreciates having a system that automatically handles navigation and comment buttons and “its nice to edit in a mode in which you can do limited damage to the site.”

      An academic, who now works at MIT and chairs the World Wide Web Consortium, Berners-Lee is not nearly as well-known as the inventors of other world-changing communications technologies.

      You will not find him speaking at conferences very often, nor is there a large Internet company with his name on it.

      My bet is that if you asked people on the street who invented the Web browser, most would guess it was Bill Gates. People whod been around longer might guess Netscape founder Marc Andreessen.

      Few have ever heard of Dr. Berners-Lee, who continues to work on improving his Web invention, most recently on the creation of a “semantic web” that some see as the next generation of intelligent agent-based applications.

      Working mostly outside the spotlight is how Dr. Berners-Lee likes it. But, as we mark the 15th anniversary of his invention of the Web browser, I hope all those who love the Web will join me in lifting a glass in honor of the man who invented it.

      So, from all of us. Thank you, Sir Tim, for the most excellent present.

      Contributing editor David Coursey has spent two decades writing about hardware, software and communications for business customers. He can be reached at [email protected].

      /zimages/5/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, reviews and analysis about productivity and business solutions.

      David Coursey
      David Coursey
      One of technology's most recognized bylines, David Coursey is Special Correspondent for eWeek.com, where he writes a daily Blog (blog.ziffdavis.com/coursey) and twice-weekly column. He is also Editor/Publisher of the Technology Insights newsletter and President of DCC, Inc., a professional services and consulting firm.Former Executive Editor of ZDNet AnchorDesk, Coursey has also been Executive Producer of a number of industry conferences, including DEMO, Showcase, and Digital Living Room. Coursey's columns have been quoted by both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and he has appeared on ABC News Nightline, CNN, CBS News, and other broadcasts as an expert on computing and the Internet. He has also written for InfoWorld, USA Today, PC World, Computerworld, and a number of other publications. His Web site is www.coursey.com.

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.