• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Bill Gates was once mocked for believing internet was next big thing in 1995 interview

Home> News> Technology

Published 16:12 19 Sep 2024 GMT+1

Bill Gates was once mocked for believing internet was next big thing in 1995 interview

Bill Gates was mocked for his view on the internet on The Late Show with David Letterman back in 1995

Anish Vij

Anish Vij

Featured Image Credit: CBS

Topics: Bill Gates, Social Media, TV and Film, Viral

Anish Vij
Anish Vij

Anish is a Journalist at LADbible Group and is a GG2 Young Journalist of the Year 2025. He has a Master's degree in Multimedia Journalism and a Bachelor's degree in International Business Management. Apart from that, his life revolves around the ‘Four F’s’ - family, friends, football and food. Email: [email protected]

X

@Anish_Vij

Advert

Advert

Advert

Bill Gates - one of the most revolutionary computer developers of all time - was once mocked for thinking that the internet was next big thing.

I mean, to doubt the co-founder of Microsoft, now the second biggest company in the world behind Apple, takes some doing.

Though mind you, back in 1995, things were obviously a lot different, not just because it was the year I was born.

Bill Gates on The Late Show with David Letterman back in 1995 (CBS)
Bill Gates on The Late Show with David Letterman back in 1995 (CBS)

Advert

Rather, Gates' opinion on the internet wasn't taken so seriously by audience members attending The Late Show with David Letterman, as they found the whole thing pretty hilarious.

Ironically, the short clip has been shared again and again on the internet, and for most of us, it came to our attention when Elon Musk retweeted it on X in 2022.

During the interview, Gates is asked: "What about this internet thing? Do you know anything about that?" To which he replies: "Sure."

The audience then started to chuckle as Letterman added: "What the hell is it exactly?"

Gates explained: "Well, it’s become a place where people are publishing information so everybody can have their own homepage, companies are there, the latest information...it’s wild what’s going on. You can send electronic mail to people."

Advert

If only he knew what else the internet would go on to do...

Gates was mocked for his views on the internet (CBS)
Gates was mocked for his views on the internet (CBS)

"It is the big new thing," the tech expert claimed.

However, Letterman didn't seem to be convinced.

He replied: "Yeah, but you know it’s easy to criticise something you don’t fully understand, which is my position here.

Advert

"But I can remember a couple of months ago, there was, like, a big breakthrough announcement that on the Internet, or on some computer deal, they were going to broadcast a baseball game."

He continued: "You could listen to a baseball game on your computer and I just thought to myself, 'Does radio ring a bell?'"

At this point, the mid-90s audience broke out into laughter as Gates attempted to explain the difference between the two, adding: "It’s not a huge difference, but you can listen to the baseball game whenever you want, too."

Letterman then asked if it’s 'stored in one of your memory deals', which Gates confirmed was the case.

Advert

Well, we know who got the last laugh.

The internet was actually first used in the 1960s as ARPANET, a US military project to connect computers.

By the 1980s, universities adopted it for research, and in 1989, Tim Berners-Lee developed the World Wide Web, which we now use today.

The internet quickly became accessible to the public, a move which changed our world forever.

Choose your content:

7 hours ago
8 hours ago
10 hours ago
  • 7 hours ago

    Girl, 9, dies after mum left her in the car whilst she went to work

    She was left unattended in the car for hours

    News
  • 7 hours ago

    Incredible photo shows woman hanging on to tree before being rescued from freak flood that killed 27

    The woman had been swept 20 miles downriver before being rescued

    News
  • 8 hours ago

    Man robbed bank claiming 'it was art' and filmed the whole thing

    Gonna have to try this one

    News
  • 10 hours ago

    Someone made a £5000 Bitcoin investment in 2011 and has now made ridiculous profit 14 years later

    Maybe they're a time traveller who did what we all dream of

    News
  • Bill Gates made 15 big predictions 25 years ago and all of them have come true
  • Bill Gates was mocked for believing internet was next big thing in 1995 interview
  • Bill Gates reveals his perfect answers for three most common interview questions
  • Hilarious footage of Bill Gates 'dad dancing' at Microsoft 1995 launch has resurfaced