Video: MPEG-1 file (16MB)

The first browser intended for widespread use was called "www", and it worked in line mode. Links had to be selected by pressing number keys, because a great many mutually incompatible terminals were still in use then. The HTML version number was still less than one, i.e. there was still no sign of tables, frames, Java or multimedia. Pictures could only be viewed using NeXT-workstation prototype browsers, so that the first WWW pages mostly only consisted of simple unformatted text. In all its elementariness, this program launched the triumphant progress of the World Wide Web, by demonstrating to people what a global hypertext network could mean in practice.

The line-mode browser has been totally replaced by the full-screen, text-mode lynx, which works on almost any current terminal, except for IBM mainframe terminals and paper terminals. Text-mode browsers, which do not display images, are still in use, because they are fast even on slow connections. Also, particularly those with problems seeing can use a text-mode web, so all good websites should also allow for basic access without images and other refinements.

Here is an example of what FUNET's homepage looked like in 1993 on the line-mode www browser:

                                                     FUNET Information Services

                                    [IMAGE]

                                       

FUNET Informaatiopalvelut



   FUNET Information services in English are here[1].

   

   FUNET[2] tarjoaa  Suomessa tietoliikennepalveluita korkeakouluille,

   yliopistoille, ja  muille tiedeyhteisön jäsenille.  FUNETin palveluihin

   kuuluvat tietoliikenneyhteyksien (Internet, NORDUnet, BITNET/EARN) lisäksi

   mm. kattava julkisohjelma-arkisto, X.500-hakemistopalvelu, erilaiset

   informaatiopalvelut (Gopher, WAIS, World Wide Web[3]) sekä  yhdyskäytävät

   muihin sähköpostijärjestelmiin (X.400, Elisa, Mailnet, IBM X.400).

   

   FUNETin jäsenistä löytyy lisätietoa täältä[4].  Myös suomalaiset kaupalliset

   Internet-verkot tarjoavat informaatiopalveluita, mm. EUnet Finland[5].

   

   FUNETin tarjoama julkisohjelma-arkisto ftp.funet.fi[6] on yksi Internetin

   suurimmista ja tarjoaa käyttäjilleen mahdollisuuden tutustua verkon antimiin

   helposti.

   

   Haluatko nähdä muita uusia WWW-palveluita[7] ?

   

   ____________

   

                                                               info@funet.fi[8]

                                                                               

   

     [End]



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WWW LineMode Browser version 3.0 (WWWLib 3.0)   COMMANDS AVAILABLE



You are reading

 "FUNET Information Services"

whose address is

  http://nic.funet.fi/t/index-old.html



  Top             Return to the first page of the document.

  Up              Move up one page within the document

  List            List the references from this document.

 *  <number>        Select a referenced document by number (from 1 to 8).

  z               Interrupt a request

  REFresh         Refresh screen with current document

  Go <address>    Go to document of given [relative] address

  PRInt           Print text of this document. *

  ! <command>     Execute shell <command> without leaving.

  > <file>        Save the text of this document in <file>. *

                  If <file> exists use '>!' to overwrite it.

  >> <file>       Append the text of this document to <file>. *

  | <command>     Pipe this document to the shell <command>. *

  CD <directory>  Change local working directory.

* Prefix these commands with "Source " to use raw source.



  Verbose         Switch to verbose mode.

  Help            Display this page.

  Manual          Jump to the online manual for this program

  Quit            Leave the www program.



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