The internet?

[pip 40]

When was the internet first out and was it going in 1999 because there was the millenium bug. and if it was going in the 80s would it of been as popular as it is now?

[jno]

not really widespread until the mid-1990s. Not enough people (very few, in fact) had computers in the 1980s.

[Ethel]

"The WWW on the other hand was invented by an Englishman called Tim Berners-Lee in Switzerland in 1989"

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_was_the_Interne t_invented

[vehelpfulguy]

In fact the "internet" and the world wide web (www) are two different things.

The internet (a collection of computers all connected together) existed for a while before browers and the HTML language were invented.

The internet was used by universities and scientific research locations to share information with each other on things like research papers.

But as been stated, to make it easier to work with the internet Tim Berners Lee came up with the idea of browsers, the HTML language, and the "www" concept (called the URL).

He and others created the first browser (Mosaic) which then became Netscape.

It is true to say that the real growth in the internet came AFTER the creation of the Netscape browser, thats when it came into use by the "public" as opposed to academics.

Microsoft were VERY late recognising the importance of the internet and their browser came out a long while after Netscape, although it soon got market share because it was bundled with Windows.

[vehelpfulguy]

>In fact the "internet" and the world wide web (www) are two different things.

Just realised this is a bit misleading. They are not different things as they work together.

But the "internet" was working before browsers and the www were created.

Browsers and the www were then added "on top" of the already existing internet network.