30 years ago, one decision altered the course of our connected world

https://www.npr.org/2023/04/30/ [login to see] /world-wide-web-internet-anniversary
Thirty years ago, listeners tuning into Morning Edition heard about a futuristic idea that could profoundly change their lives.

"Imagine being able to communicate at-will with 10 million people all over the world," NPR's Neal Conan said. "Imagine having direct access to catalogs of hundreds of libraries as well as the most up-to-date news, business and weather reports. Imagine being able to get medical advice or gardening advice immediately from any number of experts.

"This is not a dream," he continued. "It's internet."

But even in the early 1990s, that space-age sales pitch was a long way from the lackluster experience of actually using the internet. It was almost entirely text-based, for one.

It was also difficult to use. To read a story from NPR, for example, you would need to know which network-equipped computer had the file you wanted, then coax your machine into communicating directly with the host. And good luck if the computers were made by different manufacturers.