



"NeXTcube," a NeXT computer, including screen, keyboard and mouse, made by NeXT, Redwood CIty, California, United States, 1990. Used by Tim Berners-Lee to design the World Wide Web, at CERN, 1990.
"NeXTcube," a NeXT computer, including screen, keyboard and mouse, made by NeXT, Redwood City, California, United States, 1990. Used by Tim Berners-Lee to design the World Wide Web, at CERN, 1990.
This is the original NeXT computer used by Sir Tim Berners-Lee to design the World Wide Web and host the first web page at the European laboratory for particle physics, CERN in December 1990. In March 1989 Tim Berners-Lee wrote a document on “Information Management: A Proposal” for colleagues at CERN. His boss, Mike Sendall, described the proposal as ‘vague but exciting…’ and, in 1990, approved the purchase of the NeXT computer. This was the ideal platform for Berners-Lee to demonstrate his vision, merging the ideas of hypertext with the power of the Internet. The machine was the first web server and to turn it off would have simply meant turning off the World Wide Web, an idea which is inconceivable to us today.
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Science Museum: Information Age Gallery: Web
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Who invented the world wide web?Details
- Category:
- Temporary Exhibitions
- Object Number:
- L2014-4158
- Materials:
- electronic components, glass, metal (unknown) and plastic (unidentified)
- Measurements:
-
mouse: 100 mm x 60 mm x 30 mm,
cube: 305 mm x 305 mm x 315 mm, 17 kg
keyboard: 450 mm x 150 mm x 20 mm,
screen: 400 mm x 400 mm x 460 mm, 15 kg
- type:
- personal computer
- taxonomy:
-
- furnishing and equipment
- tools & equipment
- computer
- credit:
- Lent by CERN - European Organisation for Nuclear Research
- copyright:
- European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
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