Google, as described in a turn-of-the century “Internet 101” book: “No ads, no distractions, no portal litter.”

Photo courtesy of AcidCow. Click to see the source.

The text from this great random internet find reads:

Google (www.google.com) is a pure search engine — no weather, no news feed, no links to sponsors, no ads, no distractions, no portal litter. Nothing but a fast-loading search site. Reward them with a visit.

This was true of Google around 1999, when the textbook was printed, but a lot’s changed in the last 15 years. The “no portal litter” is a reference to Yahoo! of that era, when people still thought of it as a search site.

Still, given the choice between Google, the internet, and tech in general circa 1999 and Google, the internet, and tech in general today, I’ll pick the latter.