Internet History Podcast

If you'll remember a few years ago I spoke with Rod Canion about how Compaq created the industry standard computer platform that finally supplanted IBM. Well, this week, on September 16, a new documentary about the Compaq story, called Silicon Cowboys, is coming to theaters, On Demand and various rental and streaming services like iTunes, Google Play and Amazon Video. So, we spoke briefly with the director of the film, Jason Cohen. Find out more about where the movie is showing and view the trailer here.The film will be opening in theaters this Friday in the following cities..New York, NY Pasadena, CA Santa Monica, CA San Jose, CA Houston, TX Columbus, OH Chicago, IL San Francisco, CA Grapevine, TX South Miami, FL Phoenix, AZ Westminster, CO Cherry Hill, NJ Arlington, MA Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I originally wanted to talk to Mike Slade about Starwave, the innovative company that launched some major names onto the web, including ESPN.com, ABCNews.com, MrShowbiz.com, and after an eventual sale to Disney, put together the pieces that eventually became the Go.com portal play. But Mike is one of those guys who has had such a varied and interesting career, I couldn't help but go into other eras of his career. The dude worked at Microsoft in the early 1980s. He worked at NeXT in the early 90s. And from 1998 through 2004 he was Special Assistant to Steve Jobs as he saved Apple as a company, launched the iPod and kicked into motion the modern gadget era. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've spoken a lot on this show about Netscape and the "Browser Wars," but there's a key angle to this story that we haven't had the chance to delve into yet. While Netscape was out in California creating Navigator, there was another company, Spyglass, that had licensed Mosaic's browser code and was attempting to build a business around web browsers at the exact same time. Spyglass helped bring browsers to market before Netscape did, and even went public before Netscape's famous IPO. And one more thing? Internet Explorer was developed as a competitor to Netscape Navigator because Spyglass did a deal with Microsoft. Douglas Colbeth was a co-founder and CEO of Spyglass, and in this episode, he gives us all the background and fascinating details surrounding the opening salvoes of the Browser Wars. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SummaryJoel Johnson has spent nearly his entire professional career, working in digital media. He went from being an anonymous online commenter to being an early editor of Gizmodo, to eventually becoming editorial director of Gawker Media. Essentially, Joel was there from the very beginning when blogging began to "go pro" and evolved into modern media as we know it today. Joel recounts the history of the blogging "industry," Gawker Media especially, and gives us his own perspective on where digital media has been, and where it might be going. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steven Sasson, the inventor of the world’s first digital camera at Kodak, shares his groundbreaking journey in digital photography. He dives into the skunkworks project that birthed the camera and reflects on Kodak's struggle with technological disruption. Sasson discusses the skepticism surrounding digital imaging back in the 70s and how internal conflicts hindered Kodak’s transition to digital. He also highlights how smartphones have democratized photography, making it an essential part of our daily lives and creativity.

Quick, special announcement of a book, based on the podcast, coming from Liveright (W.W. Norton) in 2018. Regular episode to come next monday... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SummaryJeff Wilkins was the co-founder and first CEO of CompuServe, perhaps the original consumer online service. Jeff recounts for us CompuServe's founding in 1970, the launch of it's consumer-facing service in 1980, and all of the innovations that CompuServe brought to life: the first commercial email product; the first newspapers online; the first airline listings; and most interestingly, CB Simulator, the grandaddy of all chat apps in the world. We even revisit the famous AOL CD carpet-bombing campaign from a new angle, and Jeff shares his insights about how and why AOL was able to become the dominant online service of the 90s. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Special Note: We’re testing something new this week. You can read a full transcription of this episode here.Everyone’s favorite, friendly neighborhood Venture Capitalist, Hunter Walk, discusses four amazing segments of his career: Late Night With Conan O’Brien, Second Life, Google Adsense and YouTube. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SummaryKen and Roberta Williams were the founders of the legendary PC gaming company Sierra Online. Assistant Professor of Digital Media in the School of Literature, Media and Communication at Georgia Tech, Laine Nooney, joins the show to discuss the history and legacy of Sierra Online. You can find out more about Laine's work at her website, LaineNooney.com and by following her on Twitter at Sierra_OffLine.Pictures of Ken and Roberta Williams: Picture 1 Picture 2 A screencap from King's Quest II: Romancing the Throne A screencap from Kings Quest V A screencap from Leisure Suit Larry Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Selcow and Matt Glickman were the founders of BabyCenter.com. The story of BabyCenter is a combination of several themes we've discussed on this show: creating community as a strategy for building a sustainable audience, attempting e-commerce in the 1990s, and, most interestingly, we get into an in-depth discussion of their experiences of the DotCom bubble. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.