IBox (Internet in a Box) was one of the first commercially availableInternet connection software packages available for sale to the public. O'Reilly & Associates (now O'Reilly Media) created and produced the package, in collaboration with Spry, Inc. Spry, Inc. also started up a commercialInternet service provider (ISP) calledInterServ.[1][2]
The IBox software included theWinsock program andTCP/IP stack that were needed to connect a computer runningMicrosoft Windows to the Internet in 1994.[3] The IBox package also included a licensed copy of theNCSAMosaicweb browser calledAIR Mosaic,[4][5] AIR Mail (anemail client), AIR News (anNNTP news client), AIRTelnet, AIRGopher, and anFTP Network File Manager.
Combined with InterServ's dial-up access, Internet in a Box provided a complete solution for members of the general public to access the Internet, a network previously available almost exclusively to government and collegiate users, or to the public only indirectly through e-mail gateways provided by hosted systems such asBBSes andCompuServe. The inclusion of a web browser further gave access to the then-nascentWorld Wide Web.
The pioneering Internet book from O'Reilly, Ed Krol's 'Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog' (US-1993) was included in the US product. The European edition of the product also included Sue Schofield's 'UK Internet Book' (UK 1994).
Spry, Inc. was a small software company headed up by David Pool inSeattle, Washington. Spry was the first company licensing theMosaic Web browsersource code.[6] In 1995CompuServe bought Spry, Inc. for $100 million in cash and stock ofH&R Block (the parent company of CompuServe).
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