Computing Now Marks Web's 25th Anniversary; Explores Its Potential for Next 25 Years LOS ALAMITOS, Calif., 17 July 2014 -- Computing Now, IEEE Computer Society's online destination for computer professionals, is commemorating the 25th anniversary of the World Wide Web with an exploration of its past and future potential with publication of a special issue. Readers are invited to share their ideas about where they see the Web going in the next quarter-century. "In a mere 25 years, the Web has irrevocably transformed the world," said San Murugesan, guest editor of the Computing Now special issue and a corporate trainer, consultant, researcher, and author. "It has become indispensable, impacting nearly every aspect of human activity in practically all fields. And it continues to leap ahead offering new capabilities and extending its reach and utility." Created with the modest goal of providing a means for a small group of scientists to share information, the Web had its genesis in a 1989 project proposal by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, then a software engineer at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. The first Web page went online two years later, and in 1993, CERN allowed the technology to be freely used by all. Since then, the Web has been evolving as a powerful and ubiquitous platform. While Web 1.0 focused on connecting information, Web 2.0 focused on connecting people. As we move into the age of Web 3.0, the focus has shifted to integrating data, knowledge, and apps to make the Web a more meaningful and collaborative platform. Web 4.0 is aimed at leveraging the power of human and machine intelligence on a ubiquitous Web in which both people and computers reason, act, and assist. The special issue of Computing Now includes:
A video with Bebo White, who became involved with WWW development while on sabbatical at CERN in 1989; University of South Carolina professor Michael Huhns' exploration of the Web's potential to perceive, reason, and act (A Robotic Web); An article on the Open Web Platform by Ian Jacobs, Jeff Jaffe, and Philippe Le Hegaret of the World Wide Web Consortium (How the Open Web Platform Is Transforming Industry); An overview of Web accessibility technologies by Lourdes Moreno and her colleagues at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Toward an Equal Opportunity Web: Applications, Standards, and Tools that Increase Accessibility); A discussion of interdisciplinary approaches to the Web by Thanassis Tiropanis and his colleagues at University of Southampton (The Web Science Observatory); An examination of options for building mobile Web apps by University of Navarra's Nicolás Serrano, Josune Hernantes, and Gorka Gallardo (Mobile Web Apps); And a discussion of Web vulnerabilities by John Maguire and H. Gilbert Miller (Web-Application Security: From Reactive to Proactive).
Readers are invited to share their ideas about where the Web is going next. Murugesan notes that we're entering a new era of the Web, driven by semantic technologies, the Web of Things, Internet of Everything, RFID, smartphones, gadgets, cloud computing, open standards, and open source software. New types of Web apps on the horizon will be more ubiquitous and smarter than current apps and will be accessible anytime, anywhere, and from any device. The Web will also reach billions of people at the bottom of the socioeconomic pyramid who have not yet had the opportunity to embrace and benefit from it. The Web's 25th anniversary issue is available for free on Computing Now and can be viewed at http://www.computer.org/portal/web/computingnow/archive/july2014. IEEE Computer Society's July-August issue of IT Professional and Internet Computing also feature articles on the Web's 25th anniversary. IT Professional features an article on "Masterminds of the World Wide Web," by George Strawn, director of the Networking and IT Research and Development program. IEEE Internet Computing includes the article "Web at 25, W3C at 20: An Opportunity to Reflect and Look to the Future," by Jeff Jaffe, CEO of W3C. About IEEE Computer Society IEEE Computer Society is the world's leading computing membership organization and the trusted information and career-development source for a global workforce of technology leaders including: professors, researchers, software engineers, IT professionals, employers, and students. The unmatched source for technology information, inspiration, and collaboration, the IEEE Computer Society is the source that computing professionals trust to provide high-quality, state-of-the-art information on an on-demand basis. The Computer Society provides a wide range of forums for top minds to come together, including technical conferences, publications, and a comprehensive digital library, unique training webinars, professional training, and the TechLeader Training Partner Program to help organizations increase their staff's technical knowledge and expertise. To find out more about the community for technology leaders, visit http://www.computer.org.