CYBERSPACE ODDITY The story of BowieNet

In the 1990s it wasn’t only AOL and CompuServe offering internet access, but rock stars, too. Lee Grant recalls the extraordinary story of David Bowie’s ISP

The mid-90s was a race to get the world online. Every month, magazines such as PC Pro carried CDs from faceless ISPs desperate to bag sign-ups, but there was one ISP that was radically different from the rest, spearheaded by a man who was used to shifting millions of CDs of his own. David Bowie didn’t just lend his name to an ISP; it wasn’t some half-arsed piece of merchandise. He regularly joined chats with members, and delivered internet innovations that were well ahead of their time, such as the live streaming of concerts and offering 3D environments for fans to mix in. All this long before YouTube or Second Life were even a thing. We’ve spoken first-hand to the people who worked with Bowie to bring “cyberspace” to the masses. We’ll…

You're reading a preview of

PC Pro (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 2024

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.