Nerds 2.0.1: A Brief History of the Internet
5November 8, 2009 by Atila
Description
Join Robert X Cringely in this much-anticipated sequel to Triumph of the Nerds, as he turns his well-informed and irreverent eye on the intriguing history of the Internet. Go deep into the bowels of the Pentagon to witness the birth of the Internet and follow its rapid rise to the cutting edge of the World Wide Web. On his journey, Cringely interviews the unknown nerds who laid the Internet’s foundations, visits the Silicon Valley of India and grills the founders of … More >>
Category News | Tags: 2.0.1, Brief, History, Internet, Nerds
In a documentary about the rise of the internet they did not even mention Yahoo! I couldn’t believe it. Instead of telling the story of Jerry Yang and David Filo Cringely chose to tell the story of Excite.
Hello!? Yahoo came before Excite and is far ahead of its time.
Aside from that gross mistake, everything else is ok.
Rating: 5 / 5
To see the future we must understand and value the past. This video series tells us how the Internet revolution happened, teaches us the language of the industry, and encourages all of us who dream of making great contributions to mankind. A must see video series.
Rating: 5 / 5
When it comes to the production of videos that explain technical developments in terms that anyone can understand, Robert X. Cringely is the best. He describes the circumstances in human terms, where everyone can at least virtually place themselves in the position of the people who made the decisions that made the Internet. Occasionally winking at the camera, the story is fast-paced and complete.
The recent collapse of the Internet only companies notwithstanding, the early funding that led to the Internet is a successful government project on a par with rural electrification and the interstate highway system. No one really disputes that the Internet will continue to be more global, both in physical and personal terms. Few young people realize that it grew as a research project and no one predicted that it would be of great value. Even while they were building it, most of the people involved didn’t really expect it to be used all that much. Therefore, this tape is ideal for any class involving the history of the computer.
Although it was produced several years ago, there are few segments where the passage of time has aged them. Those particular segments are the ones that deal with the growth of the Internet as a commercial medium. However, since the focus is more on the history rather than the future, they are of minimal consequence.
Government is often bashed as being pathetically inept in doing new things. The Internet is probably going to be the most successful government research project of all time, so sometimes they get it right. In this tape, Cringely and company get the background of the Internet right and this is a tape that should be in all libraries, public and institutional.
Rating: 5 / 5
I’ve been using this series in my Web Design class for three years. The video is packed with good information and is clearly presented. I have not found a better video covering the history on the WWW.
Down side? It looks dated and is a bit cheesy at times. It would be great to see an updated version.
Rating: 4 / 5
This was a gift for someone who already had the Nerds video, but I ruined it for him. Everything must be OK, since he has made no comments.
Rating: 5 / 5