Bill Gates was dismissed when talking about the internet in 1995
Topics: Bill Gates, Microsoft, Social Media, Viral
Poppy Bilderbeck
Featured Image Credit: Letterman/YouTube
Topics: Bill Gates, Microsoft, Social Media, Viral
People have been left feeling nostalgic over resurfaced footage of Bill Gates explaining the dawn of the internet to David Letterman.
It's strange to think the internet wasn't invented that long ago (1983) when, in this day in age, most five-year-olds have their own iPads, we regularly have conversations with Siri or Alexa and seeing our screen time at anything lower than five or six hours is a rare and cherished occurrence.
However, while our lives may now be pretty governed by technology - and particularly the internet - when it was first created, it wasn't seen as such a big deal.
People have been left in stitches over a video of Bill Gates being dismissed by American television host Dave Letterman when speaking about the rise and developments of the internet.
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Prepare to be thoroughly amused:
In an interview which took place in 1995, 12 years after the internet was first officially born, Gates was asked by Letterman if he 'knew anything' about the world wide web.
Gates responded: "Well it's become a place where people are publishing information. So everyone can have their own homepage, companies are there, the latest information.
"It's wild what's going on. You can send electronic mail to people. It is the big new thing."
However, Letterman - who admitted it's 'easy to criticise something you don't understand' - questioned whether the internet wasn't just copying what the radio was already doing.
Queue an awkward laugh from Gates before the now-business magnate swiftly pointed out the 'difference' between the internet and radio.
"It's not a huge difference but you can listen to the baseball game whenever you want to," he added.
Although, Letterman quickly jibed: "Do tape recorders ring a bell?"
Letterman also questioned whether a computer could really give him more information and teach him more about 'cigars or auto-racing statistics' than two magazine subscriptions and a few phone calls.
"You can find other people who have the same unusual interests you do," Gates joked.
While resolving he probably would end up trying it, Letterman contested that using the internet is simply like an eye test - clearly not convinced it was anything groundbreaking.
Despite Letterman's opposition to just how pioneering the internet would turn out to be, looking back from the year 2022, it's clear the television presenter has been proven very wrong.
Social media users flocked to the video in stitches over Letterman's dismissive attitude towards the internet, but also with nostalgia, reflecting on just how much has changed in the 27 years since the interview took place.
One user said: "Its ironic that we're now watching this on Letterman's YouTube channel."
"Feels like a lifetime ago doesn't it? and yet, 20 years later everyone has a computer in their pocket. No other generation in history has seen such a dramatic world change," another wrote.
A third commented: "Dave: 'So you can listen to a baseball game on your computer. Does radio ring a bell?'
Bill: 'Well Dave, in 27 years you’ll publish this video clip on YouTube'."
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