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This absolutely had my inner geek exploding in giddiness. It was one thing for the London Olympics to recognize him as a key part of the modern era, but to also

This absolutely had my inner geek exploding in giddiness. It was one thing for the London Olympics to recognize him as a key part of the modern era, but to also place the (same model?) NeXT Cube next to him just topped it off. This made it memorable for me.

arethuza 14y ago
I realised that the whole event was probably going to be interesting when they had an engineer reading Shakespeare at the start. NB My personal favourite was the NHS/GOSH/kids-fiction section.
djhworld 14y ago
Tim sent this tweet https://twitter.com/timberners_lee/status/228960085672599552 https://twitter.com/timberners_lee/status/228960085672599552 pretty much right at the moment he was revealed, sadly it wasn't from the computer he was using (it was from his iPhone) but a nice touch!
- ralfd 14y ago
  Also a wonder of the modern world: He got phone reception in that heavily crowded stadium.
gaius 14y ago
It should have been an Acorn Archimedes, at CERN all those years ago.
- atomicdog 14y ago
  They used Archimedes at CERN? Truly one of the greatest computers of all time.
- larrywright 14y ago
  The actual computer he used to create the web was a Next Cube, so that was more historically accurate.
  - excuse-me 14y ago
    I think the point was that if this as an ideal world then CERN would have used the most revolutionary personal computer available in the 80s - the archimedes - rather than just a 680x0 unix box in a fancy metal case
djhworld 14y ago
It made me very, very happy to see Tim there. A lot of the media in the UK is very populist and anti-intellectual, celebrating questionable people (pop stars et al.) for their less than desirable achievements. So it was good to see Tim being given such a platform celebrating his input into the world.
- betageek 14y ago
  I don't think that's just a UK problem...
- atomicdog 14y ago
  That's why Danny Boyle did such a good job. If the British media had been in charge of the ceremony in could have very easily been a cringeworthy ordeal featuring a cast of z-list celebrities dancing about. The inclusion of Tim Berners-Lee and the NHS section were excellent ideas.
  - gadders 14y ago
    I thought the NHS section was stupid. You might as well as had bin men.
    - pbhjpbhj 14y ago
      NHS is our largest employer (5th in the world apparently, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17429786 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17429786 - c.5.8% of the working population when coupled with data here http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/february-2012/statistical-bulletin.html http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/f...) and, despite it's failings, is an area the UK have led in (nationalised health care), and an important element of nearly everyone in the UKs life at one time or another. Refuse collection is worthy and widespread but not really something the UK leads in I feel nor would it likely provide the visuals the designer was aiming for ...
      - gadders 14y ago
atomicdog 14y ago
Excellent attention to detail by Danny Boyle. They could have had him on any old PC and 90% of the audience wouldn't have noticed. http://i.imgur.com/bthc3.jpg http://i.imgur.com/bthc3.jpg
- jmj42 14y ago
  I noticed that too. As the house was lifting, I pointed out that the computer should be a next cube. If not, they did it wrong.

arethuza 14y ago

I realised that the whole event was probably going to be interesting when they had an engineer reading Shakespeare at the start. NB My personal favourite was the NHS/GOSH/kids-fiction section.

djhworld 14y ago

Tim sent this tweet https://twitter.com/timberners_lee/status/228960085672599552 https://twitter.com/timberners_lee/status/228960085672599552 pretty much right at the moment he was revealed, sadly it wasn't from the computer he was using (it was from his iPhone) but a nice touch!

ralfd 14y ago
Also a wonder of the modern world: He got phone reception in that heavily crowded stadium.

gaius 14y ago

It should have been an Acorn Archimedes, at CERN all those years ago.

atomicdog 14y ago
They used Archimedes at CERN? Truly one of the greatest computers of all time.
larrywright 14y ago
The actual computer he used to create the web was a Next Cube, so that was more historically accurate.
- excuse-me 14y ago
  I think the point was that if this as an ideal world then CERN would have used the most revolutionary personal computer available in the 80s - the archimedes - rather than just a 680x0 unix box in a fancy metal case

djhworld 14y ago

It made me very, very happy to see Tim there. A lot of the media in the UK is very populist and anti-intellectual, celebrating questionable people (pop stars et al.) for their less than desirable achievements. So it was good to see Tim being given such a platform celebrating his input into the world.

betageek 14y ago
I don't think that's just a UK problem...
atomicdog 14y ago
That's why Danny Boyle did such a good job. If the British media had been in charge of the ceremony in could have very easily been a cringeworthy ordeal featuring a cast of z-list celebrities dancing about. The inclusion of Tim Berners-Lee and the NHS section were excellent ideas.
- gadders 14y ago
  I thought the NHS section was stupid. You might as well as had bin men.
  - pbhjpbhj 14y ago
    NHS is our largest employer (5th in the world apparently, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17429786 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17429786 - c.5.8% of the working population when coupled with data here http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/february-2012/statistical-bulletin.html http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/f...) and, despite it's failings, is an area the UK have led in (nationalised health care), and an important element of nearly everyone in the UKs life at one time or another. Refuse collection is worthy and widespread but not really something the UK leads in I feel nor would it likely provide the visuals the designer was aiming for ...
    - gadders 14y ago

atomicdog 14y ago

Excellent attention to detail by Danny Boyle. They could have had him on any old PC and 90% of the audience wouldn't have noticed. http://i.imgur.com/bthc3.jpg http://i.imgur.com/bthc3.jpg

jmj42 14y ago
I noticed that too. As the house was lifting, I pointed out that the computer should be a next cube. If not, they did it wrong.