• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Bill Gates was dismissed when talking about the internet in 1995

Home> News

Published 14:38 11 Oct 2022 GMT+1

Bill Gates was dismissed when talking about the internet in 1995

People have been left feeling nostalgic over resurfaced footage of Bill Gates explaining the dawn of the internet to David Letterman

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck

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.

Advert

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.

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.

Advert

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."

Bill Gates appeared on Letterman in 1995.
Letterman/Youtube

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.

Advert

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 questioned the point of the internet when there were already radios.
Letterman/ YouTube

Advert

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.

Looking back from the year 2022, it's clear Gates has been proven right in his insistence over just how groundbreaking the internet would be.
Letterman/ YouTube

Advert

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.

Advert

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'."

If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected] 

Featured Image Credit: Letterman/YouTube

Topics: Bill Gates, Microsoft, Social Media, Viral

Poppy Bilderbeck
Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

9 hours ago
10 hours ago
11 hours ago
  • 9 hours ago

    'Fridge cigarette' trend explained as Gen Z ditches traditional smoke breaks

    The new trend is taking TikTok by storm

    News
  • 10 hours ago

    Doctor reveals what you should never do in bed as he explains best way to beat insomnia

    Dr. Matthew Walker has offered some tips to curb insomnia and scrub up on your bedtime habits

    News
  • 10 hours ago

    FBI issues urgent warning to 150,000,000 US iPhone users to delete this text as soon as it appears

    Attacks on iPhones and Androids have surged more than 700 percent this month

    News
  • 11 hours ago

    Surprising meaning behind people who keep waking up at the same time every night

    It's surprisingly common

    News
  • Bill Gates made 15 predictions about the future 25 years ago and all of them have come true
  • Bill Gates shares his one major regret when it comes to creating Microsoft
  • Melinda Gates reveals how ex-husband Bill Gates reacted when she asked for a divorce
  • Bill Gates' daughter accidentally shares his medical diagnosis during podcast interview