The Web - early visions, present reality, the grander future

Summary form only given. Features of today´s Web environment were advocated and predicted as early as 1945 (Vannevar Bush) followed by McCarthy, J. C. R. Licklider, and Douglas Engelbart. Technology has also been important (the stored program computer itself), time-sharing, CRT displays and now flat panels, the mouse, the Internet, the personal computer (with all its troubles), the Web, and adequate search engines. We compare what was advocated and predicted with the present interactive environment. Some things came out better than predicted, and some things that were advocated have still not been realized. Beyond what was predicted, there are still more possibilities, especially some involving artificial intelligence (e.g. understanding a confused user´s state of mind), but also some involving (mere) hardware, e.g. the pocket computer with adequate display and input. Some of the present problems are institutional - combining making sure that authors get paid with universal access to their works.