History Main / TheAlternet

No relation to [[http://www.alternet.org/ Alternet.org]], a left-wing American political news website.

No relation to [[http://www.alternet.org/ the real Alternet,]] a left-wing American political news website.

The Brazilian writer Creator/MachadodeAssis wrote the essay * [[https://pt.wikisource.org/wiki/O_Passado,_O_Presente,_e_o_Futuro_da_Literatura O Passado, O Presente, e o Futuro da Literatura]] (The Past, Present, and Future of Literature) published in 1858 with the following excerpt:

** Philosopher [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Nelson Ted Nelson]] created [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertext hypertext]], a foundational technology of the World Wide Web. However, his proposed implementation of it is called [[https://www.xanadu.net/ Xanadu]], and has several advantages over the Web, mainly two-way unbreakable links (the Web only has one-way breakable links), simple and standardized copyright protocols complete with micropayments to authors (the Web is very confused on copyright and does not have such micropayments), three-dimensional graphical links allowing comparisons between different pages (the Web does not allow this), “zippered lists” and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compound_document compound documents]] that allow computers to collate pieces of other pages to create new ones (the Web does not allow this) and (according to Nelson’s claims) superior security. The Xanadu project is an infamous example of VaporWare, having been in development from 1960 to its release in 2014, while the Web’s extreme simplicity meant it was widely adopted much faster during that period.

* A concept in UsefulNotes/QuantumPhysics known as “quantum computing” (invented by R. P. Poplavskii, Paul Benioff, UsefulNotes/RichardFeynman, and David Deutsch) involves allowing computers to go beyond the binary thinking of classical computers that is commonplace today, and instead use quantum states to make calculations much faster. Some quantum physicists, notably several professors at [[https://qutech.nl/research-engineering/quantum-internet/ Delft University]] in the Netherlands, dream of building a network of quantum computers that would serve as an [[https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/quantum-internet-explained alternative to the internet]], existing alongside it while being able to solve select problems much faster. (Sidenote: The current industry estimate for when a quantum computer might be able to break the existing internet’s main security systems is [[https://physicsworld.com/a/the-dream-of-a-quantum-internet-is-closer-than-you-might-think/ 2033]], but a 2022 [[https://arxiv.org/abs/2212.12372 preprint]] suggested that the technology is available right now.)

* A concept in UsefulNotes/QuantumPhysics known as “quantum computing” (invented by R. P. Poplavskii, Paul Benioff, UsefulNoted/RichardFeynman, and David Deutsch) involves allowing computers to go beyond the binary thinking of classical computers that is commonplace today, and instead use quantum states to make calculations much faster. Some quantum physicists, notably several professors at [[https://qutech.nl/research-engineering/quantum-internet/ Delft University]] in the Netherlands, dream of building a network of quantum computers that would serve as an [[https://news.uchicago.edu/explainer/quantum-internet-explained alternative to the internet]], existing alongside it while being able to solve select problems much faster. (Sidenote: The current industry estimate for when a quantum computer might be able to break the existing internet’s main security systems is [[https://physicsworld.com/a/the-dream-of-a-quantum-internet-is-closer-than-you-might-think/ 2033]], but a 2022 [[https://arxiv.org/abs/2212.12372 preprint]] suggested that the technology is available right now.)

[[folder: Web Original]]

[[folder: Film -- Live-Action]]

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

[[folder: Music]]

[[folder: Theatre]]

** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Otlet Paul Otlet]], a Belgian pioneer of library and information science, conceived the [[https://daily.jstor.org/internet-before-internet-paul-otlet/ Mundaneum]], a GreatBigLibraryOfEverything consisting of index cards filled with encoded information, and tried to established a research service that allowed the paying public to phone his team to look up information, imagining that it would expand to include a technology called “electric telescopes” that enabled live streaming of multiple document lookups (an early version of search engines) and allowed viewers to see associations between documents (anticipating the Semantic Web detailed below). He convinced the Belgian government to fund his efforts, but the Mundaneum, without the research service, was mostly destroyed by the Nazi invasion of 1940.
** The essay [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_We_May_Think As We May Think]], published in ''The Atlantic'' in July 1945 by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vannevar_Bush Vannevar Bush]], later to become the first science advisor to President UsefulNotes/HarrySTruman, describes the concept of memex (short for memory expansion), a device the size of a large desk for storing and scanning knowledge, largely through microfilm. Memex predates concepts such as hypertext, photo scanning, personal computers, the Internet, the World Wide Web, speech recognition, and online encyclopedias.

** The essay [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_We_May_Think As We May Think]], published in ''The Atlantic'' in July 1945 by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vannevar_Bush Vannevar Bush]], later to become the first science advisor to President UsefulNotes/{{HarrySTruman}}, describes the concept of memex (short for memory expansion), a device the size of a large desk for storing and scanning knowledge, largely through microfilm. Memex predates concepts such as hypertext, photo scanning, personal computers, the Internet, the World Wide Web, speech recognition, and online encyclopedias.

** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Otlet Paul Otlet]], a Belgian pioneer of library and information science, conceived the [[https://daily.jstor.org/internet-before-internet-paul-otlet/ Mundaneum]], a GreatBigLibraryOfEverything consisting of index cards filled with encoded information, and tried to established a research service that allowed the paying public to phone his team to look up information, imagining that it would expand to include technologies that enabled live streaming of multiple document lookups (an early version of search engines) and allowed viewers to see associations between documents (anticipating the Semantic Web detailed below). He convinced the Belgian government to fund his efforts, but the Mundaneum, without the research service, was mostly destroyed by the Nazi invasion of 1940.

** In the essay [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_We_May_Think As We May Think]] published in ''The Atlantic'' in July 1945 by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vannevar_Bush Vannevar Bush]] describes the concept of memex (short for memory expansion), a device for storing knowledge, memex predates concepts such as hypertext, personal computers, the Internet, the World Wide Web, speech recognition, and online encyclopedias.

** In the essay [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_We_May_Think As We May Think]] published in The Atlantic in July 1945 by Vannevar Bush describes the concept of memex, a device for storing knowledge, memex predates concepts such as g hypertext, personal computers, the Internet, the World Wide Web, speech recognition, and online encyclopedias.

-->-- ''Anime/MiimuIroiroYumeNoTabi''

** All in all, it's pretty darned impressive for a show that aired in 1984, predating even ''Series/MaxHeadroom''. And when you consider that the show's very titular character is a "meme" that the gang finds on the "Information Network System"... it goes way, way, beyond impressive and slides right up to the edge of "maybe [[Franchise/{{Whoniverse}} Time Lords]] are real".

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

* In the ''Trails Series'', the continent of Zemuria has the "orbal net," an orbal energy network capable of transmitting various kinds of data wirelessly. It is still in the early stages of development, however, so the orbal net is more accurately a rough analogy to the real-life ARPANET in that it's basically a primitive Internet that is primarily used by the military. A late sidequest during the first ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel Cold Steel]]'' game in the Roer Industrial City reveals there are plans to expand it for civilian use.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'', the "orbal net" exists in the Empire of Erebonia, an orbal energy network capable of transmitting various kinds of data wirelessly. It is still in the early stages of development, however, so the orbal net is more accurately a rough analogy to the real-life ARPANET in that it's basically a primitive Internet that is primarily used by the military. A sidequest late in the first game in the Roer Industrial City reveals there are plans to expand it for civilian use.

* In the alternate history of ''TabletopGame/Etherscope'' humanity discovers an adjacent 'etheral plane' in the 1860s. Etherspace can be explored, used for energy production, and even manipulated by machines. The titular Etherscope is the collective name for the various cities humanity has constructed in etherspace. The Etherscope has essentially become this world's version of the internet, allowing the storage of information and global communication. In true cyberpunk fashion, people can even transfer their minds into the etherscope using 'scopejacks' or 'scope tabs'.

* In the ''Series/MurdochMysteries'' episode "Prendrick's Planetary Parlour", James Prendrick's latest venture is the Prendrick Portal; a screen and keyboard connected to an analytical engine, which itself is connected to a "cellular telegraph" system, enabling the transmission of text and pictures, either person-to-person, or in group "chat spaces". Like all of Prendrick's ahead-of-their-time inventions, it's abandoned before the end of the episode, but not before Brakenreid almost falls for a 419Scam, various permutations of hacking are discussed, and Murdoch gets to express his bewilderment that the main thing this miraculous system seems to be used for is [[TheInternetIsForCats sharing pictures of cats]].

* The City of Mind in Creator/UrsulaKLeGuin's ''Always Coming Home'' (1985).