this post was submitted on 10 Apr 2024
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Programmer Humor

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 months ago (2 children)

It just means that they called their browser “the internet” right? Or am I missing something here?

[–] [email protected] 20 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

It was an actual icon:

(found the image here https://mastodon.social/@benjedwards/11031604817437112)

I don't remember what it did though. I think it wasn't the browser, and I have a vague memory it wasn't for dial up either, but my memory's shit so I personally wouldn't trust me on that

Edit: had to look this up, it was IE. I think I didn't remember it because I never really used IE since I started off with NCSA Mosaic and then Netscape

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

It was Internet Explorer. But, what was probably confusing about it was that anything that required Internet access would start up the program that dialed the modem and connected to the Internet. So, clicking on the icon would eventually launch the browser, but first it would launch the dial-up program, which would take about 30s to connect.

As an aside, it really grates to see how Microsoft called their browser "The Internet". And that's the least dastardly thing they did that let them use their monopoly on operating systems to destroy Netscape.

[–] Mindful 7 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I have a vague memory of the browser icon having the name "Internet" back in the day. Or maybe it was the dial-up icon. Might be that?

[–] AngryCommieKender 6 points 8 months ago

The original "Internet Explorer" icon was a globe and magnifying glass, with the text "The Internet," underneath