Older generations ‘more grateful’ for Sir Tim’s ‘information mine’

SIR TIM Berners-Lee invented the world wide web because he was frustrated at having to log on to a different computer every time he wanted to access information not stored on his own machine.

He considered a number of names before settling on world wide web. Among the other contenders were Mine of Information, Information Mesh and The Information Mine – whose initials spelled his first name.

Years before Internet Explorer, Sir Tim had also created the first web browser, which went by the same name, WorldWideWeb.

The first web page, at his CERN laboratory, went live in 1990, two years before the first domestic dial-up internet services became available.

A takeaway pizza is said to have been ordered online as early as 1994, but it was not until the following year that the so-called “browser wars” between Microsoft and Netscape awoke the world to the possibilities of the web.

Today, generations who remember a time before the internet have more of an appreciation for the lifestyle changes it has brought, a report to be published today suggests.

Around 44 per cent of over-50s questioned by the networking firm Cisco said they were grateful for its presence, despite reservations, compared with only 29 per cent of those aged 16-24.

Meanwhile, a third of Britons said it would be “virtually impossible” to manage their personal lives without it.

They identified the areas most ripe for development over the next 30 years as better access to healthcare, education and easier avenues of income.