The other day I was talking to a friend, and wondered what we did before we had access to Internet. She pointed out that we watched the news on TV and went to the library to look things up. Of course, that all works, but think about how more convenient it is today.
With the Internet, we have the information at our fingertips. Back in 1990, Bill Gates gave the keynote address at Comdex. He talked about some new exciting software, including Lotus Notes. But his main subject was what he called "information at your fingerips":
Someone can sit down at their PC and see the information that’s important for them. If they want more detail, they ought to just point and click and that detail should come up on the screen for them.
Sounds to me like a good description of the Internet as it looks today. Of course, he did not mention the Internet, the first web browser was still being worked on at this time. But I still think he was extremely accurate, even if it took much longer for his vision to become a reality.
Here are just some of the things I used the Internet for this morning:
Tracking my sisters transatlantic flight from LHR to DFW, including getting updates on arrival time
Checking my monthly electricity consumption for the last year.
Looked up the directions to my ex-wife’s new place and what the traffic looks like, for later when I go there to get my son.
Looking up the the latin name for bobcat, and reading more about them, after a friend mentioned them in a conversation.
I would never have been able to do those things that quickly and efficient without the Internet. And the most amazing is that I can do all this from my mobile phone as well!
One wonder where the next 10-15 years will take us.