Have computers become “geekfree,” or have we all become geeks?
Predictor: Andreessen, Marc
Prediction, in context:The following comes from notes taken by William P. Barr at an appearance by Marc Andreessen as a guest lecturer at a graduate class at Stanford University: ”Have computers become ‘geekfree,’ or have we all become geeks? Marc suspects the latter – especially in light of the average user trying to network Windows 3.1.”
Biography:Marc Andreessen worked with Eric Bina at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois in 1992, to develop a browser that would be usable on any computer, easy to use and graphically rich. In 1993, their browser, Mosaic, completely changed the face of the Internet Ð it allowed HTML “image” tags which make it so text and art can appear on the same page; it allowed easy text scrolling; and it introduced hyperlinks, allowing users to simply click on an area of the screen to go to another document on the Internet. In1994, Mosaic was developed and marketed; the product eventually was named Netscape. (Pioneer/Originator.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: General
Title, headline, chapter name: The Future of the Internet
Quote Type: Paraphrase
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.sd28.bc.ca/QSS/fnetscap.htm
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Allen, Patrick J.