6 ms·

IMDb Turns 19. Yes, 19. Older Than The Web Browser.

34 points by jmonegro 17y ago

daleharvey 17y ago
imdb was what got me interested in computers its such a shame its actually got less useful since that first time I used it.
- jmonegro 17y ago
  Really? How so?
  - daleharvey 17y ago
    just general usability, you never used to have to be logged in to view discussions (logging in loses your location) along with the crazy default of seeing 1 post per page in a conversation, the adverts (I am sure ive seen some pop ups in there as well) and general cramped ui. to be fair the ui hasnt changed all that much since the early days, but my expectations have :)
    - jmonegro 17y ago
      It's true that a major facelift would be a good idea. They have been making minor redesigns over time, but nothing major.
      - mahmud 17y ago
        Or they can just offer a metered API and people would Mint them.
    - rms 17y ago
      That was true about discussions for a while but they fixed it somewhat recently. Now, you can view discussions without being logged in but you have to log in to switch it from single post view to threaded/flat view mode.
dboyd 17y ago
Just to add a couple facts to the context of IMDb being older than the browser... According to http://www.boutell.com/newfaq/history/fbrowser.html http://www.boutell.com/newfaq/history/fbrowser.html the first web browser prototype was developed in late 1990/early 1991. Mosaic was released in March of 1993.
- ugh 17y ago
  The extremely short time scales involved in www history always amaze me. Was there any other invention in human history that was so widely used in such a short time?
  - omouse 17y ago
    www history isn't as interesting as Internet history or computer history.
xsmasher 17y ago
Like the Gracenote* CD database, there were some bad feelings about the commercialization of content created by unpaid volunteers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Movie_Database#As_a_subsidiary_company http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Movie_Database#As_a_su... *When I went to look up info on the Gracenote/Freedb controversy, I found it had been scrubbed from Wikipedia. Hmmn.
- anigbrowl 17y ago
  It's a mystery to me that nobody took that to court and claimed as the victim of an unfair contractual arrangement. Also, good luck trying to get any of your personal information removed from it (eg I added my date and exact birthplace years ago in the mistaken belief that I could filter my own private/public data). Their attitude is that once you've given them a piece of data, they own it.
mhansen 17y ago
Holy crap, it's older than me!
omouse 17y ago
Older than the Web Browser isn't a big deal. EMAIL is older than the Web browser...

34 points by jmonegro 17y ago

imdb was what got me interested in computers its such a shame its actually got less useful since that first time I used it.

jmonegro 17y ago
Really? How so?
- daleharvey 17y ago
  just general usability, you never used to have to be logged in to view discussions (logging in loses your location) along with the crazy default of seeing 1 post per page in a conversation, the adverts (I am sure ive seen some pop ups in there as well) and general cramped ui. to be fair the ui hasnt changed all that much since the early days, but my expectations have :)
  - jmonegro 17y ago
    It's true that a major facelift would be a good idea. They have been making minor redesigns over time, but nothing major.
    - mahmud 17y ago
      Or they can just offer a metered API and people would Mint them.
  - rms 17y ago
    That was true about discussions for a while but they fixed it somewhat recently. Now, you can view discussions without being logged in but you have to log in to switch it from single post view to threaded/flat view mode.

dboyd 17y ago

Just to add a couple facts to the context of IMDb being older than the browser... According to http://www.boutell.com/newfaq/history/fbrowser.html http://www.boutell.com/newfaq/history/fbrowser.html the first web browser prototype was developed in late 1990/early 1991. Mosaic was released in March of 1993.

ugh 17y ago
The extremely short time scales involved in www history always amaze me. Was there any other invention in human history that was so widely used in such a short time?
- omouse 17y ago
  www history isn't as interesting as Internet history or computer history.

xsmasher 17y ago

Like the Gracenote* CD database, there were some bad feelings about the commercialization of content created by unpaid volunteers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Movie_Database#As_a_subsidiary_company http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Movie_Database#As_a_su... *When I went to look up info on the Gracenote/Freedb controversy, I found it had been scrubbed from Wikipedia. Hmmn.

anigbrowl 17y ago
It's a mystery to me that nobody took that to court and claimed as the victim of an unfair contractual arrangement. Also, good luck trying to get any of your personal information removed from it (eg I added my date and exact birthplace years ago in the mistaken belief that I could filter my own private/public data). Their attitude is that once you've given them a piece of data, they own it.

mhansen 17y ago

Holy crap, it's older than me!

omouse 17y ago

Older than the Web Browser isn't a big deal. EMAIL is older than the Web browser...