Did Government Invent the Internet?

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• CompuServe

  Quickly followed by AOHELL.

  • Don't remind me!

• CompuServe - a private company out to make a profit and motivated by (well, you know!) - was the first step the internet made toward being something accessible and >useful< to ordinary people. As the article notes, it was previously restricted to 37 computers.

  • In 1990 or so, I got an offer to sign on with Compuserve. I was a client for years, until it changed to some other name which I don't recall. A couple years into it and they sent me a Compuserve gold card with a 6,000 limit, which was significant for me at the time. They arrived the day before my wife, son and I were going to Cozumel for a couple weeks over the holidays. I was on USENET all over the place. That's where I was introduced to homebrewing.

• Climate scientist and computer expert Al Gore, economics and everything expert Barack Obama... what the hell is it about liberal politicians who imagine themselves to be Professors but in reality are more like Gilligans?

  • Gilligan is giving both of them too much credit.

    • Yea, I doubt they could outsmart Ginger!
      They would have a hard time out thinking a coconut.

    • You're right. Gilligan at least had honesty and integrity going for him.

      • Also, he had Ginger and Mary Ann. ;-)

        • Oh, Mary Ann. I knew there was a reason to watch the show, other than Gilligan's crazy antics.