Description:
Before Linux, before Windows NT, before the cloud—there was UNIX. It didn’t just run servers; it powered entire workstations, built the early Internet, and dominated research labs, engineering, and AI long before modern computing as we know it.
But somewhere along the way, we forgot just how revolutionary UNIX was.
In this video, we’re diving into:
✅ The rise of UNIX workstations and why they were so powerful
✅ How Berkeley BSD created TCP/IP and built the backbone of the Internet
✅ Why AT&T’s STREAMS networking was ahead of its time (and why we lost it)
✅ How I got early Internet access in 1982 via a DEC VAX 11/780
✅ Why the first web browsers and servers all ran on UNIX
✅ What happened when Linux took over—and what we lost in the process
And most importantly—was the shift away from UNIX actually a good thing? Or are we just repackaging old ideas as “new” innovations?
💬 Drop your thoughts below—was UNIX the peak of engineering, or was Linux the inevitable evolution?
📌 Next episode: UNIX vs. Linux—The Myths, The Hype, and The Reality (Coming soon!)
Chapters
00:00 - Intro
00:54 - Arpanet
04:08 - Gopher
04:34 - UNIX
04:58 - Workstations
05:35 - LAN
07:19 - MTU
08:23 - UNIX Workstation
09:20 - Sun Microsystems
09:50 - Personal Experience
11:38 - Mosaic
12:51 - Peoria Astronomical Society Web Site
15:10 - What Happened to UNIX?
16:14 - Let the Legal Battle Begin
17:38 - And here Comes Linux
19:00 - Linux May Have Won...
19:09 - ...and then there is X11
19:58 - Why is Linux Having so Much Trouble With Wayland?
21:05 - Who has a UNIX(R) License?