Hyperland

The only things i can really remember clearly from this broadcast which was 15 years ago now, is that Douglas Adams and Tom Baker were in it, and there were these cool things called 'micons', movable icons. Anyway this broadcast has stuck with me ever since, i think it basically covered the topics of finding information, being taken from one link to another, and seeing video clips of what you were looking for. Hopefully this will turn up on BBC4 sometime, to show people how the www started out. Douglas Adams did seem to have his finger on the pulse when it came to IT and a enthusiasm for the future of it (IT), and how it can allow people to create and find out for themselves, which he conveyed in his excellent radio 4 series just before he died.

"Are you tired of linear, non-interactive television, Mr Adams?" For anyone who uses the Web or television and thinks about how either works, this is a wonderful and thoughtful exploration of how things might be. It was created just before the Web brought Internet-based communication into the mainstream, and shows how little the television side of things has progressed since then when compared to the rapid evolution of the Web. Strongly recommended for anyone working on interactive TV,Web-based video or who is concerned for the future of mainstream television. If only it was available on DVD, but then I pity anyone given the job of making interactive extras using current DVD technology. But perhaps it'll show up in the Web officially some day?

When I first saw this program on its first broadcast, I had never even heard the word "Internet" before. Computers were, as far as I was concerned, items which were to be used alone. This program opened my eyes.

Within its confines it discusses the ideas of hyper-linking, animated icons and an on-screen "buddy" Tom who helps to guide the progress of the action, all of which were not only very new concepts at the time, but also not particularly widespread.

While some of the concepts discussed in the program are outlandish and still unused today - and still more of them died a rapid death on their first inception at the beginning of the multi-media age, many of them have since become invaluable.