A walk through Usenet Memory Lane
PrintLinus Torvalds' first post about his "pet project" and more gems
Posted in Music and Media, 12th December 2001 13:00 GMT
Free whitepaper – Dell/EMC CX4 and Dell PowerEdge blades
Google has ferreted some interesting Usenet posts from bygone days to highlight the integration of 20 years of Usenet archives into Google Groups.
The search engine firm has compiled memorable articles and threads in a timeline which features Tim Berners-Lee's announcement of what became the World Wide Web (August 1991) or Linus Torvalds' first post about his "pet project" (October 1991).
Going further back there's a record of the first mention of Microsoft in May 1981 and the first review of the IBM PC in August 1981. World events such as Usenet reaction to the Challenger space shuttle disaster are recorded, but the list also finds time to highlight lighter material - like the first BOFH posting (in June 1992).
Google now offers access to more than 700 million messages dating back to 1981, making it what is believed to be the most complete collection of Usenet articles ever assembled. ®
Competition Alert
We're honoring the event by offering you the chance to win a pair of unworn (as far as we know) promotion Google boxer shorts. Click here for details.
External links
Related Stories
Google Usenetters get posting rights
Google restores Usenet archive, plans posting
Deja UI too costly to save, Google boss tells Reg
Google mulls premium subscription services
Ex-Novell CEO becomes chairman of Google
Google preps $250m IPO
What Exchange can't do - and Dell can
Enabling the Agile Data Center
Analyst Keynote: The Register Agile Data Center Summit
Analyst Keynote: The Register Agile Data Center Summit
Dirty, dirty PCs: The X-rated picture guide
Top 500 supers - rise of the Linux quad-cores
Early adopters bloodied by Ubuntu's Karmic Koala
Sign up, sign up for The Register IT security newsletter