During the early 1980s, a radical new toolset was exploding on the scene… a sort of paleo-Google that was primitive by modern standards, but was life-changing for those who could adapt and learn to incorporate online information retrieval into their work. I covered this industry for Online Today and a few other magazines, and the…

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This was a hugely pivotal article in my unfolding adventure. First, the author unwittingly named the whole escapade, and second, this was published just before launch. That meant that almost every CompuServe subscriber had a heads-up that there was a guy on a computerized recumbent bicycle taking off around the country, posting tales online (paleo-blogging)…

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by Steven K. Roberts Online Today August, 1983 It was only, I suppose, a matter of time. The writing craft has always had to deal with plagiarism, the software business is grappling with piracy, and now the on-line industry has suddenly found itself face-to-face with database downloading. Yes, downloading. Is there about to be a major…

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