Why do developers still use black and white terminals, when operating systems provide them with such wonderful graphical interfaces?
Have you ever wondered how remarkable spreadsheets are and how many lives they changed?
Had you ever done this calculation, maybe just once: with Gigabit Ethernet, you may transfer in one second 200 times more data than the whole capacity of a $3499 hard disk drive in 1981?
My project aims at answering all these questions: I'm currently working on Internet history and, generally speaking, the history of computers, and their evolution since the very beginning.
Using Coursera's amazing 'Internet History, Technology and Security' course given by Charles 'Dr. Chuck' Severance as a guideline, I discovered the Internet success story through valuable documents and interviews. I actually discovered names, people and facts I had never heard of, but that are in the center of the whole Internet revolution. A new session of the class is opening right now, don't miss it!
Then James provided me with his copy of the 'Triumph of the Nerds', a 3-part and 18 year old TV show about who and what made modern computers, more or less the same facts indeed, but this time from the people point of view. Was Steve Jobs a good boss? Did Bill Gates have a shower when he was working under pressure before an important demo? Really, don't hesitate to ask James or myself for a copy of the show. You won't be able to see it in HD, of course, but I hope it doesn't stop you from watching it, as it provides really valuable points of view and quotes.
And now I am diving into the world of hackers, with Katie Hafner's book 'Cyberpunk' (thanks to James again!)... What will come out of this experience? Will you dare to lend me your computer again afterwards? Who knows...
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