[phneutral26]

> Twenty five years ago, it didn't exist. Today, twenty million people worldwide are surfing the Net.

As someone who didn't get to experience the early days of the Internet, this seemed to me as if the book was published sometime around 2000-2005. 1996! I didn't expect that many people using and enjoying the Internet so early on.

[dsr_]

For about 18 months after WWSUL was published, you couldn't meet with a BBN sales rep without getting a copy pushed into your hands.

[geraldhh]

it's easy to be oblivious to the fact that the software (and "tech") industry exist for almost a century.

[detourdog]

I have a book regarding the versatility of the Vacuum tube. It opens with a statement proclaiming the versatility of the device and its usefulness will spread to the 4 corners of the world.

I can't tell if that statement is self aware.

I also have a farming technology magazine with an article describing how the marvelous hot new Hollerith Tabulating machine had just completed the 1900 census. It was a typical tech article except it was documenting an event that happened 3 years prior. That was how slow the world was. The 1880 census took 8 years to complete. Hollerith developed a punch card process for the 1890 which was an improvement and Hollerith added an auto tabulator and feeder for the machine that performed the 1900 census.

The big question it raises for me is how slow can the modern world be?