The article deals with the history of the Internet as a cluster of ideas, technical innovations, political contexts and social and cultural conditions. First, it discusses the history and ideas behind computer and network technologies and places them into cultural, political and economic frames. Next, the introduction of the Internet in Slovenia is placed in the context of the development of the European telecommunication system. The conditions that led to "the early Internet culture" are illustrated with statistical data about the spreading of computer technology and the scientific responses to the phenomenon itself. As it is argued by some eminent scientists, it was only through the collaboration in international projects, the persistence of certain people in the scientific circles and their numerous innovative ideas that the Internet in Slovenia was introduced in such a way at such an early time.
|
