((1)History & Structure of The Internet
((1)
Tim Berners-lee
Introduction
The History project I have chosen is the achievements and the on-going program developments of Tim Berners-Lee. The inventor of the World Wide Web. He has been hailed by “Time Magazine” as one of the 100 greatest minds of the century. (2)
Discussion
Born in London on the 8 June 1955, Tim went on to study at the Queens College at Oxford University where he graduated with a degree in physics. While at school he built his first computer with a soldering gun, an m680 processor and an old television.
The contribution of Tim’s work to the Internet is staggering, and on-going. His vision to get people connecting with each other proved possible, this all stemmed from when after an old book he found as a child, which provided a range of household tips and advice. This book fascinated Tim with the suggestion that it magically contained the answer to any problem in the world. It has changed the way we communicate, in every way. We have the means to send an e-mail in a matter of seconds, and businesses around the world are opened up to world markets instantly. (2)
He held many positions throughout his career, working on transaction systems, message relays and bar-code technology, amongst other things. His big breakthrough came when in 1990, he developed the first web browser on a NEXT computer including an integrated editor that could create hypertext documents. He displayed the programme on two computers with a colleague, and they were both communicating with the worlds’ first Web browser at info.Cern.ch on December 25 1990. (3)
Tim Berners-Lee was about to change the way we communicate with each other forever. Given the way the web has become the dominant communications technology of our time, one could argue that Berners-Lee is the guy who invented the future.
Tim has brought the Internet to a new level. In his workings he’s envisaged a new creation called “Semantics”. This is related to Syntax. In most languages, Syntax is how you say something, where Semantics is behind the meaning of something. The Semantic web as originally visioned is a system that enables machines to understand and respond to complex human requests based on their meaning.
The main purpose of the Semantic web is driving the evolution of the current web by enabling users to find, share, and combine information easily. Web pages are designed to be read by people, not machines. The Semantic web is a vision of information that can be readily interpreted by machines, so machines can perform more of the tedious work involved in finding, combining, and acting upon information found on the web. Although this system makes it easy to access info quickly, however not all experts agree. They believe that the Semantic web is opened to uncertainty, incontinency, vastness and deceit. (4)
For example: Combining to much information about individuals and companies could lead to wide spread intelligence information from Governments and other Organisations.
However, I think that Semantic web will transform the system as we know it now, and once again transform our ability to interact more closely.
However in saying that, “did he create a monster or a phenomenon”... In my opinion I don’t think it is managed very well. Social Networking is not protected enough against the evils that can spread opinions and bad visual images throughout the world in an instant. The negative side to this is people been exploited, photographed, and posted on the net, images of mangled bodies lying dead in the streets of war torn Countries.
They say the way of the future is web based businesses. Today consumers base their purchases around such sites as e-bay and Amazon. Business can advertise on line for a fraction of the price of television ads.
Since the introduction of the internet in 1990 it has gone through many phrases. The first two years proved successful, with entrepreneurs buying into the system, and then in 1992 the.com bubble crash devastated the world of commerce. Businesses lost millions and many Companies went Bust.
However, I think that Semantic web will transform the system as we know it now, and once again transform our ability to interact more closely.
Conclusion
It is clear to see the dedication and commitment of a genius at work, unlike Microsoft founder Bill Gates , Berners-Lee’s contribution to the www did not lead to riches, instead he remained committed to making the web universally accessible, without patents or royalties due. To help insure that the web remained a free and open entity, independent of any Governments or Corporations, he formed the www. Consortium.
Bibliography
-Used on the 10/10/2011
This page revised May 20 2007.
-Used on the 6/10/2010
Year 2000.
-Used on 4/10/2010
This page was last modified on 12 October 2011
Norman O’ Regan