The World of the World Wide Web

Command Line Heroes

1995 laid the groundwork for a truly global World Wide Web. But not every country took the same path to connecting to the internet. Some resisted, wanting to create their own version. Others had to fight for access, not wanting to be left behind. And while we made huge strides in connecting the world in those early years, we still have a long way to go.
Julien Mailland recounts the rollout of France’s Minitel service—how it was years ahead of the internet, but eventually lost its lead. Steve Goldstein explains what was involved in building the infrastructure to expand the NSFNET beyond the United States. Gianluigi Negro shares how China pushed for its connection, and how different it would be compared to the typical U.S. connection. And Christian O'Flaherty covers how costs weighed heavily on Argentina’s attempts to join the growing international network.

Clip of Madam Hu courtesy of Asia Internet History Project. Clip from 'A Glimpse of the Future' courtesy of Richard Seltzer.
If you want to read up on some of our research on the global internet rollout, you can check out all our bonus material over at redhat.com/commandlineheroes. The page is built in the style of 1995—check it out.
Follow along with the episode transcript.