Internet

NPR Got the Internet 20 Years Ago: Read the Memo

Exactly 20 years ago, NPR staffer Dennis Fuze circulated a memorandum to his colleagues announcing that the venerable public broadcasting powerhouse would be getting something called “internet.” In 2014, the memo seems adorably naive—which just shows you how much technology has evolved since 1994. There is a lot of choice language in this memo but…

Tech News Mario Aguilar Apr 28

Someone Embroidered a Map of ARPANET, the Infant Internet

Random starburst embroidery? No, that’s a map of ARPANET, the early predecessor of the internet as we know it, from 1983. The late-in-life network was immortalized in yarn by the artist and designer Debbie Millman. https://gizmodo.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-arpanet-1969-1989-in-one-gif-1258090851 The map is based on a more exacting atlas of ARPANET, which had declined in the late 1980s. ARPANET…

Tech News Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan Apr 28

What Is the Single Weirdest Subreddit You’ve Ever Found?

Given enough time, a stomach of steel, and a can-do attitude, a few minutes on Reddit can quickly devolve into hours lost amongst its many bizarre, horrifying, and inexorably fascinating channels. For the web is dark and full of terrors, friends, and each one of those terrors has its own subreddit. Do you perhaps have…

Tech News Ashley Feinberg Apr 27

A Calculator That Predicts How Popular Your Photograph Will Be Online

Sure, that selfie you just uploaded is perfect in your eyes, but will the internet feel the same way? A new calculator made by researchers at MIT lets you upload your snapshots to calculate the probability that they will go viral. The calculator is the work of Aditya Khosla, who explained the process in this…

io9 Ria Misra Apr 25

The FCC (Still) Stinks at Defending the Internet

The FCC’s soon-to-be-proposed rules on net neutrality reportedly won’t stop broadband providers from giving better service to people that pay for it. That stinks. This was the agency’s big chance to lock down a set of regulations that will keep the internet free and open, and it’s letting America down. In fact, the FCC has…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Apr 23

WSJ: The FCC’s New Net Neutrality Rules Will OK Pay-to-Play

Initial reports about the FCC’s hotly anticipated net neutrality rules are out, and they are foreboding. While they’ll prevent broadband providers from blocking legal content on the internet, it does not explicitly ban companies from paying for better service. While that’s bad for net neutrality, it’s not entirely a surprise. Net neutrality advocates have long…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Apr 23

What’s Your First Memory Of Using The Internet?

Yesterday, we watched a timelapse of the internet spreading to different countries in the world. Now we want to know when the internet arrived in your life. Whether the internet has been around for all of your life or it arrived later in your life, we want to know about your first internet memory. Tell…

io9 Ria Misra Apr 22

Who Should Control the Internet?

This week, the world’s nations gather to discuss the influence the US wields over the internet and in particular ICANN—the web’s logistical core. But who, exactly, should have the keys to the internet? The U.S. Department of Commerce has already agreed to give up its control of ICANN—the body which coordinates the Internet’s global domain…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Apr 22

Your Internet Connection Is Almost Certainly Slower Than Advertised

Does your internet always seem too slow? Chances are, it is: a study by the Wall Street Journal suggests that the majority of ISPs deliver slower speeds than they advertise. The research, put together using data from Ookla and its online speed test Speedtest.net, shows that the majority of 800 cities studied suffer far slower…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Apr 22

AT&T Is Considering Rolling Out Gigabit Fiber To a Ton of Cities

Move over, Google Fiber. There’s (maybe) a new gigabit internet game in town, and it’s (maybe) coming to 100 cities and municipalities by way through AT&T, at some point in the future. Maybe. Today AT&T announced that it has its fiber internet sights set on 100 U.S. cities and municipalities, 21 of which are major…

Tech News Leslie Horn Apr 21

Watch How the Internet Took Over The World in this Timelapse Map

In less than 20 years, the internet went from the provence of the very few to the kingdom of the many. This map shows just how the internet spread, quickly and across borders, all around the globe. The map was made by GlobalPost, using data on internet access from The World Bank. It highlights the…

io9 Ria Misra Apr 21

What’s the Strangest Thing You’ve Done to Get an Internet Connection?

We’ve all been stranded in an unusual location, desperate for an internet connection but unable to find one that’s easy to use. So we wondering: what’s the craziest solution you’ve ever come up with to get online? Perhaps you were in the wilderness and had to climb a tree to get a data signal. Maybe…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Apr 21

Is The Internet Killing Religion In America?

Since 1990, the number of Americans who are unaffiliated with any religion has been steadily on the rise, reaching nearly 20% today. A recent study says that one primary cause is that more people are going online. Allen Downey, a professor of computer science at the Olin College of Engineering, culled data from the General…

io9 Mark Strauss Apr 17

Was This the World’s First Emoticon?

The emoticon might be older than we thought. This passage of text, which includes a cheeky smiley, is taken from Robert Herrick’s 1648 poem To Fortune—and it might be the first ever use of an emoticon. Literary critic Levi Stahl thought the punctuation might be a typo in his copy of of Hesperides, but he…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe Apr 15

What’s Your Biggest Online Fail?

A few weeks ago, we had a nice little chat where we described our proudest online accomplishments. It was fun! But now it’s time we cut ourselves back down to size. Today, we’ll be admitting our biggest online fails. Come, share with us your groaners, your head-slappers, your queasiness-triggers. Tell us your embarrassing, mortifying, revolting,…

Tech News Bob Sorokanich Apr 12

Seriously, for real, who the hell invented the internet and why?

People are always confused about who the hell invented the internet as we know it now. Even if they think they know, common mortals are most probably mistaken. This neat little video explains it clearly. SPLOID is a new blog about awesome stuff. Join us on Facebook

Sploid Jesus Diaz Apr 11

Views of a Dark World: Illuminating Unseen Infrastructure

For a global society highly dependent on complex technical, economic, and political systems, we manage to carry on our daily routines largely unaware of the hard and soft infrastructure—from pipes to policies—on which these systems rest. That is, until unexpected events, so-called black swans, illuminate the previously hidden pieces and surprise or unsettle us by…

Tech News Scott Smith Apr 10

How Secure Are Your Favorite Websites?

Heartbleed is a scary thing. Aside from the violent-sounding name, the vulnerability in OpenSSL security protocols spans the entire internet and affects most of the sites we know, love, and use on a daily basis. Even outside of Heartbleed, not all security protocols are created equal. So how do you know who to trust? Well,…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes Apr 10

The Military Wants to Turn Its Drones into Flying Wi-Fi Hotspots

Not to be outdone by Facebook’s vision of a drone internet, the military is whipping up unmanned aerial Wi-Fi hotspots of its own. Unused drones from the war in Iraq are getting a second life as part of DARPA’s Mobile Hotspots program. In remote areas where communication is critical, having your very own Wi-Fi drone…

Tech News Sarah Zhang Apr 10

Should Copyright Law Also Cover Hyperlinks?

The U.S. Copyright Office recently proposed a seemingly small addition to copyright law that bears some huge implications. It wants to enable copyright holders to protect unauthorized versions of their work from hyperlinks. You read that right: it could soon be illegal simply to link to certain content. Think about that for a second. Let’s…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes Apr 10

NPR Got the Internet 20 Years Ago: Read the Memo

Someone Embroidered a Map of ARPANET, the Infant Internet

What Is the Single Weirdest Subreddit You’ve Ever Found?

A Calculator That Predicts How Popular Your Photograph Will Be Online

The FCC (Still) Stinks at Defending the Internet

WSJ: The FCC’s New Net Neutrality Rules Will OK Pay-to-Play

What’s Your First Memory Of Using The Internet?

Who Should Control the Internet?

Your Internet Connection Is Almost Certainly Slower Than Advertised

AT&T Is Considering Rolling Out Gigabit Fiber To a Ton of Cities

Watch How the Internet Took Over The World in this Timelapse Map

What’s the Strangest Thing You’ve Done to Get an Internet Connection?

Is The Internet Killing Religion In America?

Was This the World’s First Emoticon?

What’s Your Biggest Online Fail?

Seriously, for real, who the hell invented the internet and why?

Views of a Dark World: Illuminating Unseen Infrastructure

How Secure Are Your Favorite Websites?

The Military Wants to Turn Its Drones into Flying Wi-Fi Hotspots

Should Copyright Law Also Cover Hyperlinks?

Scientists Used Medieval Poems and Trees to Uncover a 13th-Century Solar Surge

INIU 20,000mAh Power Bank Gets Another Price Cut, Making Fast Charging for iPhone and Galaxy Even More Affordable

YouTube Premium Jacks Up Prices for the First Time in Years

‘For All Mankind’ Just Had Its Biggest Moment Yet

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