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The Lost Civilization of Dial-Up Bulletin Board Systems

Wait, we need to stop and go back a bit further

Evolution of Personal Computers

Home Brew Computer Club

Oh the power!

Hence the WarGames FreakOut

Community Memory & Resource One - a brief 1970s flashback

The plot so far:

  • the emergence of BBS and other online services that are not the internet
  • the emergence of personal computers
  • piggybacking on existing communications tech
    • Remember, the other kind of 'computer' most people would be familiar with would be the Atari video game console (and similar)
    • playing games -> desire to connect -> WarGames -> regulatory climate
    • playing games -> technological innovation

A Brief Digression On Video Games

(more next time)

Play Spacewar! here

And to finish up with Reagan's Fears:

A Whistlestop Tour of Early Viruses et al.

Creeper / Reaper

I'M THE CREEPER CATCH ME IF YOU CAN

ANIMAL - the first Trojan - 1975, by John Walker

The Morris Worm - 1988

So... The Internet of the 1980s

The history of the internet is a history of people who do things. Read the story here