Computers and Internet: Welcome to the New Decade

摘要

As we enter the new decade, one's thoughts inevitably both look forward to the challenges of the new and back to the experiences of the past; it is difficult to believe that, only 10 years ago, lawyers were obsessed with the issues of the new millennium (and particularly the onset of the millennium bug); looking back we can see how most concerns in that regard proved unfounded. A decade ago high-speed broadband was only for academics on the Janet network; the thought of having a 50Mb connection to the home or Gb networks at work was unthinkable. The Internet was starting but for most it was still an irrelevance; high speed communication meant the fax; only the techies and geeks communicated by e-mail. That seems like the Dark Ages now.