Retro Photos That Tell the Story of the Early Internet
We can't live without the internet, especially now that it holds our favorite shows, our bills, and all of our work. You can find everything on the internet, but that wasn't always the case. And while the first versions of the internet look primitive today, it was groundbreaking at the time.
Some people thought the internet was a passing fad, but 90s kids explored its possibilities, especially because on the internet, their parents couldn't control them.
Before Google turned into a verb and the internet was accessible from a phone, the World Wide Web looked very different. It was still defining its aesthetic and trying to ignore the fact that download speeds left much to be desired, but it got us here and we owe it a lot.
Public Library Internet Access
In the early days of the internet, connecting at home was tough, so most of the internet search was done in libraries and schools with computer rooms.
NCSA Mosaic
Even before Internet Explorer, NCSA Mosaic was one of the first widely available web browsers.
Page Not Found
If a website wasn't working, you'd get something like this. Error messages didn't have a particular aesthetic back then, they were just text.
Internet is for everyone
TV Networks were trying to get everyone on the internet, so they'd create these shows and segments that showed the capabilities of it.
Internet in a book
They told us this is what surfing the internet felt like, and it was real.
Internet Family Guide
Another short program showed a family going to the internet to answer questions, search for recipes, and all kinds of other enticing activities.
Internet Special
The internet was labeled as the Information Superhighway, so these shows had to look futuristic when talking about it.
The Setup
By the time people could get - super slow - internet at home, this is what the regular setup would look like.
AOL
Internet came in CDs, it wasn't just plug-and-play like today.
Les Horribles Cernettes
This is the first picture ever uploaded to the internet. The comedic band called Les Horribles Cernettes performed at CERN, where Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, was working while developing something that'd change the world.
First Presidential Email
Here's Bill Clinton writing the first presidential email in 1993, but we'd rather not ask who it was for.
ICQ
ICQ was one of the first messaging platforms of the early internet, and those who used it can still remember its notification sounds.
Yahoo Chatrooms
Chatrooms were the place to connect with friends and strangers alike during a time when the internet and everyone around it were very innocent.
Burger King LAN Party
After libraries and schools, Burger King was the go-to place to browse the internet, believe it or not.
Google 97
This is what the first version of Google looked like in 1997.
Yahoo! Homepage
In 1994, there were fewer than 3000 websites in the entire world, and Yahoo! was the most popular search engine.
David Bowie surfing the internet
David Bowie knew the internet was going to be something else the minute he sat in front of a 90s computer.
PizzaNet
Pizza Hut released its first website in 1994, becoming one of the first platforms to buy food online in the world.
The Net
While Sandra Bullock's movie The Net (1995) doesn't have much to do with the actual internet, one of the first scenes shows her ordering a pizza online, which was out of this world at the time.
Netflix in 1999
This is what Netflix's website looked liked in 1999, one year after they launched their DVD rental service.
Blockbuster was in
Blockbuster had a much better website than Netflix at the time, but we know how that story went.
Toolbar galore
With the rise of more and more browsers, the first-ever add-ons you could get were toolbars to search your favorite websites from anywhere.
Milla Jovovich chatting
Actress Milla Jovovich has many pictures interacting with early computers and gaming consoles, and here, she's answering fan questions in an AOL chatroom in 1995.
RealPlayer
If you wanted to stream music or watch videos on the early internet, you had to install RealPlayer. You'd spend a lot of time just buffering, but it was worth it.
Daily Mail in 2000
The Daily Mail said the internet could be a passing fad in the year 2000. They couldn't have been more wrong.
