Tim Berners-Lee

Programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz achieved groundbreaking work in social justice and political organizing. His passion for open access ensnared him in a legal nightmare that ended with the taking of his own life at the age of 26.

The London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony took place at 9pm on 27 July 2012. Titled 'Isles of Wonder', the Ceremony welcomed the finest athletes from more than 200 nations for the start of the London 2012 Olympic Games, marking an historic third time the capital has hosted the world’s biggest and most important sporting event. The Opening Ceremony reflected the key themes and priorities of the London 2012 Games, based on sport, inspiration, youth and urban transformation. It was a Ceremony 'for everyone' and celebrated contributions the UK has made to the world through innovation and revolution, as well as the creativity and exuberance of British people.

Twenty-five years after the world wide web was created, it is now caught in the greatest controversy of its existence - surveillance. With many concerned that governments and corporations can monitor our every move, Horizon meets the hackers and scientists whose technology is fighting back. It is a controversial technology, and some law enforcement officers believe it is leading to risk-free crime on the dark web - a place where almost anything can be bought, from guns and drugs to credit card details.

Foreveryone.net connects the future of the web with the little-known story of its birth. In 1989, 33-year-old computer programmer Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web and his visionary decision to make it a free and accessible resource sparked a global revolution in communication. Tim has declared internet access a human right and has called for an “online Magna Carta” to protect privacy and free speech, extend connectivity to populations without access and maintain “One Web” for all. Tim’s dramatic story poses the question: will we fight for the web we want or let it be taken away?

Tim Berners-Lee programmed the first web server, the first website and the first browser almost single-handedly. Today, Time magazine lists Tim Berners-Lee as one of the 100 outstanding personalities of the 21st century. The magazine compares his invention to Johannes Gutenberg's printing press in terms of its significance. The "neues spezial" documentary by Winfried Laasch uses historical archive material and interviews with Tim Berners-Lee, among others, to guide us through the history of the internet and the web based on it.

A portrait of the inventor of the letterpress, who was a key figure in the history of mankind, but also an enthusiastic inventor, a daring businessman, a tenacious troublemaker: the life of Johannes Gutenberg (circa 1400-68).

Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.

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