Digital distribution
| Digital distribution | |
| Developer | Various |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Various |
| Platforms | AOL Desktop, GOG.com, Nintendo Switch Online (Genesis, NES, NES, SNES), Steam, Telltale Games, Virtual Console (3DS, New 3DS, Wii, Wii U) |
| Released | 1969-present |
| Added to Museum |
See Digital items owned by WEC Museum |
Digital distribution, also known simply as digital, is the distribution of software, music, films, television series, books and comics through digital means.
ARPANet
Digital distribution of software began in 1969 when the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) went live. Software developed would be shared between mainframe computers connected to the ARPANET.
Terminals could connect to mainframe computers through timesharing services such as Call-A-Computer of Long Island, NY.
Bulletin Board Systems
Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) allowed users to connect to computers via modems. The first was Community Memory, which launched in 1973. It allowed users to connect to an SDS 940 timesharing system in San Francisco via a 110 baud modem from a teleprinter at a record store in Berkeley.
Until the early 1990s, dial-up Bulletin Board Systems were among the most popular ways to digitally distribute software.
World Wide Web
Since the World Wide Web went live in 1991, it has been the most popular digital distribution method.
