what is "internet?"

God, this news report from 1996 is strange to watch-- the aloof, anthropological tone used to discuss this strange new thing called "Internet" is so funny in retrospect, but I guess it made sense at the time. The trouble is, now I feel like I'm watching a couple of Victorians scratch their heads over a horse-less carriage. It's hilariously lacking in foresight, and yet, also sort of sweetly nostalgic-- I feel so bad for the poor guy enthusing over how polite and conflict-free Usenet is.

I was 10 when this was filmed. It was at least another year before my dad signed us up for embryonic AOL. And now I watch embedded video on my tiny, shiny laptop, before going off to update my Livejournal and maybe post some digital photos to Flickr. Doesn't this much change usually take longer?