Dylan Beattie's entertaining NDC talk imagines an alternate history of the web, asking what if different decisions had been made on operating systems, browsers and standards. It blends real history with humor.
Why Hacker News points people here: HN commenters strongly recommend it as a fun alt-history of the web and bring it up whenever people muse about how the web could have been different.
“Edit 2: finished, it is definitely worth watching.”HN comment, 2023
“Edit 2: finished, it is definitely worth watching.”
Entertaining alt-history talk with Kildall/IBM story.
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> I feel like more people should watch Dylan Beattle's "The Web that Never Was" presentation. Didn’t know about it, here is the video of that talk in YouTube: this video There is a poem-style intro titled “Flatscreens / a song about code” until the talk proper starts at 5’11”: this video Edit: I’m watching it and it is done in an entertaining style but is a bit loose on some details I know about, such as implying that the IBM PC development was started in the early 1970’s when it was in fact started in 1980. Still worth watching so far. Edit 2: finished, it is definitely worth watching. It goes into “The Twilight Zone” of a very interesting alternative history. And does a good job reporting on the Gary Kildall / IBM missed deal for their PC OS.
Strongly recommendsx-complexityAug 2024
“Then you'll especially love Dylan Beattie's talk on this exact subject, regarding an alt-history take on the web.”
Alt-history take on the web.
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Then you'll especially love Dylan Beattie's talk on this exact subject, regarding an alt-history take on the web. this video
Strongly recommendsx-complexityMay 2026
“my favorite Dylan Beattie talk about such a hypothetical alternative”
Hypothetical alternative web.
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Whenever someone talks about forking/rebuilding the web, I'll always link to my favorite Dylan Beattie talk about such a hypothetical alternative: this video
RecommendstaejavuJan 2024
“You might enjoy this talk by Dylan Beattie, it explores that kind of alternate history.”
Explores alternate history of the web.
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You might enjoy this talk by Dylan Beattie, it explores that kind of alternate history. “The Web That Never Was”: this video
JokeartemissianJan 2023Full comment
They should ofc have used SELECT CREATE UPDATE DELETE SUBMIT and nothing more :D #TheWebThatNeverWas this video
