[opendtv] Re: Another point of view on walled gardens
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 4 Feb 2010 14:29:48 -0600
John Shutt wrote:
> Wow, what a revision of history, Bert. And you're old enough
> to remember the truth.
>
> When CompuServe was conceived, there was no other way to reach
> the "internet" for anyone outside of academia and the military.
> The local Telcos weren't offering dialup internet access. The
> web browser hadn't yet been conceived.
Whoa. First of all, they were talking WWW not just Internet. The WWW was
introduced in 1993/1994, along with Mosaic and also a low-budget browser you
could add to MS Word. Let me quote from the article:
"In those early days of the Web, users viewed content using those specific
systems; that is, AOL users saw only AOL content."
So, they are talking WWW. They aren't going as far back as when access was only
via .mil and .edu. (Which I do remember well too, of course.)
Secondly, there certainly were ways to access the Internet, and therefore the
Web, without using AOL or Compuserve. Guess what? That's why I didn't use
either service! I used a dialup service called Erol's at the time, when at
home. At work, of course, we had full access too, and much faster than dialup.
In college, my daughter equally had open access.
> CompuServe introduced the idea of buying airline tickets online
> at a discount. CompuServe and AOL partnered with businesses to
> get the whole concept of eCommerce started.
We would have to go and look at specific dates, John, because we were using
e-commerce from way back, without being impeded by either AOL or Compuserve.
We have different perspectives probably due to the different ways we were
introduced into this Internet. But the simple fact remains, the Internet and
the WWW were **NEVER** walled gardens. The procols are not walled. It was those
two companies that created the barriers, NOT the protocols.
So it is simply FALSE to say that "you can't put humpty dumpty together again."
Maybe AOL can't get away with it anymore is much closer to the truth.
Sorry, John, I ain't the one who got it backwards.
Bert
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