On December 9, 1968, Dr. Douglas Engelbart addressed a packed theater at the Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco, demonstrating a new computing platform that heralded advancements from the computer mouse to videoconferencing. Forty-five years later, we're still reaping the benefits of his vision.
In honor of Mosaic's 20th birthday, join us for an alphabetical appreciation of 12 of history's great windows on the Web.
From the first pocket scientific calculator through '80s organisers to today's tablets, check out 15 ingenious devices that have driven the handheld computing revolution.
Earlier this month, the guardian of the Internet's domain name system, ICANN, played straight into the hands of the ICM Registry. ICANN trumpeted the news that a sexy new top-level domain has been approved for rollout later this year. ICM Registry hopes to get what is coyly called the adult entertainment industry to register domains with the suffix .xxx.
Back in October when Skype 5.0 client software appeared, it was heralded as a good thing all round. It integrated Skype's audio and video conferencing into Facebook's social media management, allowing Skype users to view and comment on Facebook friends' posts, and to communicate with them via SMS and Skype's voice service.
It's a truth universally acknowledged that public Wi-Fi hotspots aren't secure, but they're so convenient that most of us use them anyway. That's why there was something of a panic last year when Eric Butler showed everyone how easy it is to hijack Facebook, Twitter and PayPal accounts on open Wi-Fi networks via his FireSheep Firefox add-on.
With the deluge of streaming and downloadable video options the Internet has to offer, it's become obvious that computer and iPod screens can't hold a candle to the wall-size HD monster in your living room.
Mark your calendars! Sept. 9 is hereby declared Debugging Day. It's been associated with removing bugs for more than 50 years now but is rarely formally celebrated. So let's start the tradition this year.
Despite its valiant attempts at creating a carnival atmosphere, when Microsoft launches a new operating system, it seldom feels like a world-changing event in the world of design. Even the considerable hoopla surrounding the introduction of Windows XP was hardly like the introduction of the bikini or the Volkswagen Beetle - or, dare we say it, the iPhone.