Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Applications (NCSA) developed Mosaic (see Figure 8.2), the first graphi-
cal user interface (GUI) with widespread distribution.
The mid-1990s saw the emergence of Internet talk radio, the first
gopher space search tool (Veronica), and early examples of Internet tele-
phony. Since that time, the world has seen an explosion of services that
bring together extensive communities of users who no longer need to
share geolocality in order to participate in shared online events. Fiber
optic, satellite, and other forms of data interconnection technologies now
connect almost all parts of the world into a unified whole, allowing com-
merce and productivity to reach everywhere. E-mail can be sent from
polar research stations, and astronauts can Tweet while in low-Earth
orbit (LEO), extending the Internet beyond the boundaries of the planet.
When mankind reaches outward to the moon and beyond, the same solu-
tions can be extended to include asynchronous communications with the
same facility as my conversation across the world.
Figure 8.2
Early example of the MOSAIC version 0.6 graphical user inter-
face. (Courtesy of NCSA/University of Illinois MOSAIC image archive.)
