1.) What is the difference between the internet and the World Wide Web? Why was the latter so important in the development of the former? Was the World Wide Web more important from a technological or a commercial standpoint? Justify your answer.

2.) The film reintroduces us to Ted Nelson, whose 1974 book Computer Lib imagined a world of linked PCs not unlike the modern day internet. Why doesn't Nelson like the World Wide Web? Is his critique important? How do you understand the historical passage from countercultural visionaries like Nelson to the modern information society? Did the first help to create the second? Or has the modern information society developed out of different historical processes? What term best describes Nelson's relationship to modern information technology: visionary prophet, founding father, hero, contributor, or crank? Justify your choice.

3.) The history of Netscape offers another paradigmatic case of a successful Silicon Valley company. What old patterns does the Netscpae case illustrate? What new innovations did it pioneer? What lessons about Silicon Valley do you draw from the Netscape case?

4.) Microsoft again generated controversy as a result of its entry into the internet browser market in 1995. In this case, it also triggered the ire of the Federal Government which convicted Microsoft of illegal monopolistic practices in 2000. Was Microsoft's entry into the browser market different from its entry into other software markets? Does the conviction of Microsoft prove the culpability of its overall business practices? Or does it merely reflect the overzealousness of federal regulators? Is Microsoft a menace as many in Silicon Valley believe? Or is it simply an aggressive American company pursuing success within the free-market system?

5.) Netscape's eclipse behind the market dominance of Microsoft's Internet Explorer calls to mind the similar eclipse of Apple behind Microsoft's Windows operating system. Why do Silicon Valley companies so often seem to fail in their battles with Microsoft? Is this a reflection on Silicon Valley as a whole, or just an insignificant conclusion drawn from two superficially comparative cases? Consider Intel, for example, or 3Com or Cisco. These companies have not suffered as a result of Microsoft. What ultimately is your understanding of the Microsoft-Silicon Valley relationship?

6.) Consider the logic behind the new media portal and search-engine companies that the internet created, companies like Excite! and Yahoo! Does the logic make sense? Is this an example of visionary thinking and radical technological innovation or of capitalist hucksterism? Compare the new internet companies to others you have encountered in the history of Silicon Valley. In what ways are they like the others and in what ways are they different? Does the "dot.com" phenomena represent the same old Silicon Valley story playing out again or does it represent something new?

7.) What does India have to do with Silicon Valley? Does the India-Silicon Valley relationship speak positively or negatively about the place of Silicon Valley in the global economy? Should the protesters who have frequented things like the World Trade Organization meetings in recent years be protesting in Silicon Valley instead? Why or why not?

8.) James Gosling is a classic hacker and his computer language, Java, represents one of the latest manifestations of the hacker ethic in Silicon Valley. Another comparable phenomenon is the rise of the Linux operating system and the "open source" software movement. We will encounter these in future films and readings. For now, consider Gosling and Java in relationship to Silicon Valley in the 1990s.What role did Sun Microsystems play in the development of Java? What motivated their actions? What motivated Gosling? Can you draw any comparisons with other histories you've encountered? What lessons about Silicon Valley do you draw from the Sun-Gosling-Java relationship?
 

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