Sounds of cyberspace: How the internet has influenced music

If there are any two things that are constantly changing with the times, it is music and the internet. Good things happen when one meets the other. The internet has had a helping hand in bringing musicians and fans together in ways once impossible, but the internet’s influence on the actual sound of music raises questions.

How can one take the merely visual internet, and associate it with sounds? Can the internet make a sound? And how do we come to the unanimous decision regarding what defines the “noise of the net”? Musicians of the 21st century have found ways to bring aspects of the internet into not only their visual aesthetic, but also into their styles. Continue reading “Sounds of cyberspace: How the internet has influenced music”

Web browser history part 2: The browser wars

See also: Web browser history part 1: The evolution of the browser

88x31 buttons promoting Internet Explorer and Netscape
88×31 buttons of Web 1.0 promoting Internet Explorer and Netscape. These were commonly found on both personal and professional web pages at the time.

In its prime, the Mosaic browser was instrumental in bringing the web to the average person. As its architecture carried over to the foundations of future software, developers found ways to improve its features. This was done not only through creation of their own browsers, but also in finding ways to knock out any other competition. This ushered in the first of few eras of “browser wars”: A competition among developers to have the most popular browser. Continue reading “Web browser history part 2: The browser wars”

Web browser history part 1: The evolution of the web browser

Original WorldWideWeb logo
Original WorldWideWeb logo, designed in 1990 by Robert Cailliau

If there’s any 20th century invention that changed the world in a revolutionary way, it is the World Wide Web. What started as a small project to easily host internal information over the internet has since transformed into an integral part of our modern society. The information and content we have today would not be accessible without the creation of web browsers. Before web browsers, internet users did not have much to rely on aside from e-mails and newsgroups. This has since changed. From simplistic software in its early days, to multi-functioning products today, browsers have come a long way. Continue reading “Web browser history part 1: The evolution of the web browser”

The madness of ManBeef

The internet is the information highway. Unfortunately, it also holds plenty of misinformation that gets spread to naive users. There are also just-for-fun hoaxes created with the intention of fooling gullible internet users. Sometimes, these practical jokes become bigger than expected. In 2001, manbeef.com made its mark as a hoax site that took inboxes by storm. Continue reading “The madness of ManBeef”