Podcast: The Future of the Internet (from 1993)

The NPR show Science Friday pulled one an old show from their archive this week. It dates from 1993, and the topic is the Internet. Normally a show this old wouldn't be all that interesting, but this is NPR's first podcast. Also, one of the participants was using VOIP (more likely a pre-VOIP protocol). How cool is that?

FLATOW: Now let's make it clear to everyone who's listening that you're not on the telephone, are you?

TOM: No, I'm sitting in front of a workstation, and I have a microphone and a speaker. And I can see a list of the people who are getting ready to talk. And I can hear your voice.

FLATOW: Hmm. Is this something that only someone with a big computer can do?

TOM: The computer I've got is about the size of a phonebook. It's a UNIX workstation. It's about an $8,000 investment. And while I'm doing this, I'm also reading electronic mail and doing a little programming, waiting for my turn.

Leaving aside the expensive computer, he just described mine and many other people's daily life.