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The Net At 40 All Things Considered is exploring the people and ideas behind what we now call the Internet. How has the Internet changed us, and what does the future hold?
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The Net At 40

How Flash Brought The Internet To Life

If you've ever wasted time at work watching a YouTube video or playing an online game, you can thank a man named Jonathan Gay for the animation software that revolutionized the Web.

How Flash Brought The Internet To Life

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Internet Memes Spread Viral Amusement

From the moment a Carnegie Mellon researcher figured out that a colon and a parenthesis could make a face, the Internet has provided its own unique additions to popular culture. Lolcats, Rickrolling and Star Wars kid are just a few examples of an entirely new form of culture that came into its own over the past decade.

Internet Memes Spread Viral Amusement

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Domain Name Creator Made Sites Easier To Recall

When you type a Web address into that little window — our personal favorite, npr.org, for example — you should give thanks to the man who made it so easy: Dr. Paul Mockapetris.

Domain Name Creator Made Sites Easier To Recall

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The 'Wild And Woolly' World Of Bulletin Boards

These days, if you want to find a fling, a friend or a cheap used sofa, you might check craigslist. But decades before Craig Newmark posted his first list, computer users all over the country were connecting through electronic bulletin boards.

The 'Wild And Woolly' World Of Bulletin Boards

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The Man Who Made You Put Away Your Pen

When was the last time you actually set pen to paper and mailed off a personal letter to someone? It's probably been awhile — and the man responsible is Ray Tomlinson. In 1971, Tomlinson changed the way the world communicated when he invented e-mail.

The Man Who Made You Put Away Your Pen

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40 Years Later, Looking Back At The Internet's Birth

Forty years ago this past week, a message was sent across ARPANET, the computer network developed by the Defense Department's Advanced Projects Agency. Many people consider that the day the Internet was born. For our series "The Net at 40," Guy Raz profiles the people who worked to make that transmission happen, as well as the two university lab students who sent the first message. Their goal? Type the simple word "login."

40 Years Later, Looking Back At The Internet's Birth

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Across Globe, Blogging Brings Change

In the 40 years since the birth of the Internet on Oct. 29, 1969, the Web has transformed how we live our lives. It has also spawned a new class of celebrity: the blogger. Three bloggers — one in London, one in Shanghai, China, and one in Mumbai, India — share their stories. Philip Reeves Louisa Lim, Vickie Barker

Across Globe, Blogging Brings Change

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'Lo' And Behold: A Communication Revolution

Charley Kline (left), working at UCLA, sent the first transmission over ARPANET to Bill Duvall at the Stanford Research Institute. Guy Raz/NPR hide caption

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Guy Raz/NPR

'Lo' And Behold: A Communication Revolution

The Internet began with a whimper, not a bang. And not everyone agrees on when that whimper occurred. But 40 years ago Thursday, the first communication over a computer network called ARPANET was sent — a message that said simply "lo."

'Lo' And Behold: A Communication Revolution

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