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<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>In praise of ... Sir Tim Berners-Lee <br><br>Leader<br>Monday December 19, 2005<br>The Guardian <br><br><br>It may seem mundane to others, but to the sleepless fanatics of the world wide web it has been their Princess Diana moment, a catalyst for a worldwide release of affection and emotion. The event? One more person has joined the 23 million others around the world who write blogs or online diaries. The difference is that this one is Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the web itself.<br><br>Sir Tim believes that blogging is a milestone for the creativity he intended for his invention. Characteristically modest, he started his blog, untrumpeted, a week ago. It was only on Friday that it was noticed by another blogger. Since then the news has spread around the internet in the usual word-of-blog way, creating a spontaneous gush of gratitude from hundreds around the world.<br><br>Typical was this comment from gus3: "Dear Sir Timothy/ For helping me with my job/ For helping me with my education/ For helping my mother find her family/ For helping my brother know about the medicines he needs/ And for so much more. With tears in my eyes, I say, 'thank you'." Another observed: "Without you, who are we?" A third said he was a god among men - maybe or just God. Another complained that Sir Tim should have had a dukedom, not just a knighthood.<br><br>It is not given to many to change someone else's life for the better. But Sir Tim has done that many millions of times over without seeking payment. His bequest to the human race is the world wide web itself - not a bad achievement for anyone's CV.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/leaders/story/0,3604,1670273,00.html">www.guardian.co.uk/leader...73,00.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> <p></p><i></i>

A great, great man. Refused to patent his invention, said it was for the good of the world, not for his personal profit. Think how rich Bill Gates is. Think how rich he'd be if it had been he who had created what Tim Berners-Lee created.<br><br>There are good guys out there, heroes, role models. They just don't get the column inches that Mariah Carey does. <p></p><i></i>

Happy 20th Birthday -- World Wide Web --

Tim Berners-Lee on the next Web | Video on TED.com

BBC NEWS | Technology | Berners-Lee 'sorry' for slashes

The forward slashes at the beginning of internet addresses have long annoyed net users and now the man behind them has apologised for using them.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, has confessed that the // in a web address were actually "unnecessary".

He told the Times newspaper that he could easily have designed URLs not to have the forward slashes.

"There you go, it seemed like a good idea at the time," he said.

He admitted that when he devised the web, almost 30 years ago, he had no idea that the forward slashes in every web address would cause "so much hassle".

His light-hearted apology even had a green angle as he accepted that having to add // to every address had wasted time, printing and paper.

Sir Tim is currently director of the World Wide Web Consortium and he is also working with the UK government to help open up access to government data.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8306631.stm

There is something so utterly English about inventing the Web - and then saying 'Sorry' about the slashes.

England was once described as the country where if it is raining and you poke someone in the eyeball with your umbrella, THEY say sorry.

MinM wrote:His light-hearted apology even had a green angle as he accepted that having to add // to every address had wasted time, printing and paper.