HN user
What's a good resource for learning about the web bubble of the 90's? I would assume that a large portion of the HN audience (including myself) didn't actually live or work during this time, so it's hard to compare to today's tech industry. Is it worth knowing the details behind it?
I think a more salient point than "Bob only has to do the work once" is "Bob has done the work ahead of time", no? In fact, even in the long run, Bob is doing a lot more work than necessary (computing inverse one-way functions for all/most possible inputs). It's just that he's preemptively computing them.
I've always been curious what display advertising is and how it generates so much revenue for Google. Are there any good resources to learn more about what exactly goes on behind the scenes? Do those little ads on my gmail sidebar really create billions in wealth? Or is there some super secret illuminati-esque subliminal advertising going on?