I worked on a VRML retail store that had 3D products on 3D shelves and 3D customer service reps you could chat with. It was just like shopping in a real world retail store, except you're tripping on LSD flying uncontrollably upside down through a bright colored world of blocks and pyramids while wearing binoculars until you punch a hole in the sky and your browser crashes. The world just wasn't ready to shop in 3D.
I remember when SGI came by to demo their VRML viewer with an animated character. During Q&A I commented that the web made it easy to learn by 'view source'; "how do you do that with VRML?" I remember being dissatisfied with their response. (I think you were supposed to use one of their authoring tools for it?)
Who needs gopher when you can just ftp to places and download lists of what they have? And lists of what they know that other people have.
Hmm, right. That got tiresome after a bit, so "telnet archie.mcgill.ca" and do an archie search.
I remember that by 1992 the index overflowed signed 32 bit int and started giving "-45%" complete.
Of course we're not old. Those were the ones who could replace a VAX disk pack, and who had to log in via dedicated terminals instead of dial-up via a PC. :)
