Government Technology - October 2007 - (Page 31)

WAY BACK FACT Though many of us were still getting comfortable with the CD, in 1995 the next generation of optical media was announced. The digital video disc — DVD — more than sextupled the capacity of CDs and would soon supplant the videocassette as the preferred medium for recording video. Now the question is whether DVDs will be overtaken by nextgeneration Blu-Ray discs, which have up to 50 gigabytes of storage. 4 WAY BACK FACT In Santa Clara, Calif., a Web site formerly known as Jerry’s Guide to the World Wide Web is incorporated. The site was renamed Yahoo. In 2000, Yahoo’s stock would reach an all-time high of $475 a share. A year and a half later, the company’s stock bottomed out at $8.11 a share. In our March issue, Editor Wayne Hanson tried to peer into the future and predict how different life would be in 2005. Hanson imagined that in 10 years, cash would disappear and armed robbery along with it. We’re getting there, but it’s going to be a long time before the cashless society exists. He also believed that by 2005, we’d all be using biometrics like ﬁngerprint scanners to conduct transactions. Hanson’s predictions were also a bit grim as he imagined a world where the government maintained DNA records for all citizens and privacy was quickly being eroded in the name of security. Thankfully most of these Orwellian fears haven’t yet come to pass, right? 1995 3 It’s easy to forget that only a dozen years ago, government was still new to this whole Internet thing. In February 1995, our cover headline was America’s Infostructure, and was supported by three unique stories that detailed the challenges state and local governments would face in the years to come. Peppered throughout the issue were buzzwords of the day, like “information superhighway” and the “national information infrastructure.” Comparing what we had then to what we have now, government can certainly give itself a pat on the back. Everyone has come a very long way in what has been but a wink in time. WAY BACK FACT Americans were infatuated with the socalled Trial of the Century during 1995. For 134 days, TV cameras gave the public a courtside view of O.J. Simpson’s murder trial. The trial was roundly regarded as a ﬁasco and, despite the jury returning a verdict of not guilty, many still claim “The Juice” got away with murder. Later issues in 1995 reinforce the fact that the Internet was a wonderful and frightening new frontier. Government Technology featured articles and editorials that shed light on the growing amount of Internet pornography and the murky First Amendment issues it raised. The Government Technology Conference events of that year featured something called the “Internet Theater,” an elaborate booth designed to help attendees become more adept at surfing the Net. We even ran a column that claimed the “superhighway” metaphor was already dated. Though just 12 short years ago, 1995 was witness to the creation of a whole new way of life. 31

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - October 2007

Contents Point of View Big Picture The Last Mile GT Spectrum Letters How It Works Cerf on the Net Way Back Machine Separation Anxiety Let's Roll Rising to the Challenge Wednesday Afternoon Fever Parking Possibilities Products Signal: Noise

Government Technology - October 2007

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