MTV News Explains 'Internet' in 1995

FBI advises Windows users to visit security website

(NEWSER) - The FBI says it's time for Windows users to make sure their computers aren't infected by an unusual virus. As it stands, hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide are infected and will be unable to surf the Web after July 9, the AP reports. It all started when an Estonian hacker gang allegedly installed malicious software on more than 570,000 computers. Then, when those users surfed the Web, the gang rerouted them through rogue servers to other websites in order to rake in advertising dollars. More»

Protesting websites' message clicked with users

(NEWSER) - Yesterday, we witnessed the power of the Internet to influence policy, as countless websites went dark to protest SOPA and PIPA. It did the job: Congress faced an onslaught of complaints about the controversial online piracy measures—which were born of traditional lobbying and heavy corporate spending, writes James Temple in the San Francisco Chronicle . When even some of the bill's GOP backers backed away in the online maelstrom, we saw "a fundamental shift in the legislative landscape, a flexing of a newfound and untraditional source of political power in the Internet sector." More»

Network isn't laughing, even if everyone else is

(NEWSER) - Most people got a chuckle over the 1994 video of Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel struggling to understand that new Internet thing, but not everybody's laughing: NBC fired the employee who posted it, reports the All Things Digital blog . “The individual in question violated the company’s standards of conduct by repeatedly copying and distributing a variety of materials without permission," said a company statement. And that came after the Today show itself ran the clip when it became popular. Click for more at AOL News. More»

Ah, the painful musings of the past

(NEWSER) - Remember 1994? Neither does your Newser! But apparently it was a magical time of pre-crazy Mel Gibson, Dems getting trounced in midterm elections, and ... talking heads on the teevee trying to explain something called the "Internet." Observe as Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel wonder aloud: "What is the Internet anyway?!" Some sort of "giant computer network!" It'll probably never catch on. Clip unearthed by the folks over at Buzzfeed, via HuffPo. More»

Tim Berners-Lee blasts those chipping away at its 'egalitarian principles'

(NEWSER) - Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the British engineer credited with inventing the World Wide Web, has a message for us: Social networking sites, app developers, and other entities, if left unchecked, will ruin his creation—which now belongs to all of us. "The web evolved into a powerful, ubiquitous tool because it was built on egalitarian principles," he writes in Scientific American , but "some of its most successful inhabitants have begun to chip away at its principles." His complaints:

• Social networking sites: They are "walling off information posted by their users from the rest of the Web," making each site "a closed silo of content, and one that does not give you full control over your information in it."
• Smartphone apps: "It is better to build a Web app that will also run on smartphone browsers," rather than a "closed" smartphone app, he writes, adding that he is especially wary of the iTunes store, which is not an "open marketplace."