The prediction, in brief:

As the ’90s proceed, finding a link to the Internet will become much cheaper and easier. Its ease of use will also improve, which is fine news, for the savage UNIX interface of TCP/IP leaves plenty of room for advancements in user-friendliness. Learning the Internet now, or at least learning about it, is wise. By the turn of the century, “network literacy,” like “computer literacy” before it, will be forcing itself into the very texture of your life.

Predictor: Sterling, Bruce

Prediction, in context:

In a 1993 article he wrote for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Bruce Sterling says:”As the ’90s proceed, finding a link to the Internet will become much cheaper and easier. Its ease of use will also improve, which is fine news, for the savage UNIX interface of TCP/IP leaves plenty of room for advancements in user-friendliness. Learning the Internet now, or at least learning about it, is wise. By the turn of the century, ‘network literacy,’ like ‘computer literacy’ before it, will be forcing itself into the very texture of your life.”

Biography:

Bruce Sterling, a writer, consultant and science fiction enthusiast, wrote or co-wrote “Schismatrix,” “The Hacker Crackdown” and “The Difference Engine” and edited “Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology.” In the 1990s, he wrote tech articles for Fortune, Harper’s, Details, Whole Earth Review and Wired, where he was a contributing writer from its founding. He published the nonfiction book “Tomorrow Now: Envisioning the Next Fifty Years” in 2002. (Author/Editor/Journalist.)

Date of prediction: February 1, 1993

Topic of prediction: General, Overarching Remarks

Subtopic: General

Name of publication: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction

Title, headline, chapter name: Short History of the Internet

Quote Type: Direct quote

Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.forthnet.gr/forthnet/isoc/short.history.of.internet

This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Uhlfelder, Evelyn C.