To me it doesn't seem that different. Downloading software, (cough) images, and documentation using ftp, reading news and discussions from uucp or nntp is much

To me it doesn't seem that different. Downloading software, (cough) images, and documentation using ftp, reading news and discussions from uucp or nntp is much the same as stuff on the web, it's just a different interface. The novelty and magic was being able to do it in the first place. Obviously the speed, scale and variety is different, but the basics remain the same: it's bits over a pipe with global reach.