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Technology Web

The time is now 1997

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

Back in 1996 and into 1997, frames were big, as was the use of HTML tables to organize a web page. The current look for this site was copied directly from backup files I had for 1996 through 1998. The links, if you try them, will open up various pages to example code, most of which hasn’t been touched in close to 8 years.

If you access a specific post, the page will open up my traditional look, primarily because this design from 1996 made use of frames, and frames play havoc with weblogging templates–the URI parameters don’t get passed to the each frame document. Just one of the many challenges we were faced with, daily, when designing web pages years ago. Back before XHTML and structured design; back before CSS had wide support; back even before Flash–when dynamic scripting was new and cross-browser development was an exhausting adventure into never-ever-again land.

From now through this weekend, I’m going to be revisiting much of my old, old content from the so-called Web 1.0 — revisiting it, republishing some of it, and writing on the state of the technology then and now. I’ll be putting up old designs and linking to associated pages in the Wayback Machine (such as Scenarios–check out the bottom of the pages), which demonstrate even more of the technology and philosophy that ruled the web then.

(I’ll be making screenshots of these pages for including when the design reverts back to the norm.)

For many of us, creating web pages and samples and bits of code to give away in the 1990’s was a true labor of love. We didn’t make any money, and didn’t really expect to; or to achieve any form of fame. We didn’t have ranking systems, comments, and such; the only feedback we had was when a person would send an email now and again and say thanks, or we’d see something we created in use elsewhere (and what a joy and thrill that was).

Back then, our pages were bright colors, because in prior years all the only color we had was white. We embedded images for anything because in prior years all we could add was text. And animated GIFs and BLINK weren’t the enemy the way they are now, because they were the first example of a living page.

All of this was new, and every month it seemed, some marvelous new technology would be released.

Welcome to the Web 1.0. Welcome to 1997. It was a good year.

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