If you are reading this, I assume (and dearly hope) you know how to use the world wide web. The internet was created in 1969 when computers in Stanford and UCLA were linked together, and from there has expanded to arguably be the most important invention in history. I love the internet not only for the vast amount of fun it can bring you, but also because just about anything anyone has ever known can be found on the internet. Whereas before you would have had to look something up in a book, you can just Google it. Obviously students find it incredibly helpful if they are stuck in a class, leading many to wonder; How did people graduate before 1969? So by now I think I've outlined that the internet is pretty important to me and everyone else in the world but now for the interesting part. There is strong evidence that we may be headed for a time when everything is based completely on the internet. Looking at the last few years for proof, we see the invention of cloud storage, keeping personal data in online servers, and many programs downloaded on the internet without need of a disk. Just building off of these developments, what if you had a computer that you had nothing downloaded on? What if you had a computer that had just an internet browser? All of your programs, e-mail, word processing, games, pictures, etc. were on the internet. Another recent development that will help steer the world in the direction of complete reliance on the internet is the extensiveness of wireless internet. It has become hard to find a location you go to that does not have some form of wireless internet, and its going to get harder. For example, New York City is doing a cool project that will give free public internet throughout the city. Now for the impacts of the world completely dependent on the web. For good effects, it would make things a lot simpler for everyone, and would decrease the price of computers, think of taking out the $75 cost of a large hard drive and replacing it with something for $6. The only thing I see that could be negative is that its too many people relying on one service. If it gave out, the whole world could ave the potential to shut down. Not to worry though, the internet is designed in such a way that it won't ever fully go out. I hope with this post I've opened your mind a little bit to the possibilities the internet still has, even if you think we've used it about as much as possible. As ever, things are changing to create a world we could have never imagined, and everyone will be affected by it.
The Internet: Where you can find these pictures....
...or a full account of the French Revolution
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