The 2000s represented a period in information technology when innovations that emerged from the ruins of the dot-com crash permanently reshaped everyday life. This decade brought the social revolution of Web 2.0, the explosive spread of mobile devices, and the digital ecosystem that still defines how we connect, work, and entertain ourselves.
Dawn of a New Millennium — in the Shadow of the Dot-Com Crash
The start of the 2000s showed a striking duality in the IT industry. While the bursting of the dot-com bubble left behind failed companies and bankruptcies, the same crisis created market conditions that allowed sustainable business models to emerge. During the crash that began in the spring of 2000, the NASDAQ fell by about 75 percent and had dropped below 1000 points by 2001, returning to 1997 levels and wiping out around $4.8 trillion in market value. This massive market cleanup did not mean the end of the internet; on the contrary, it freed the sector from excessive speculation and laid the groundwork for a more pragmatic, user-centered approach that flourished in the latter half of the decade.
More than $300 billion was spent worldwide to prevent the Y2K problem, which paradoxically contributed to modernizing IT infrastructure and improving system stability. The technical solutions put in place for the millennium date change demonstrated that the global IT community could coordinate to address critical challenges — an experience that later benefited other large-scale IT projects. Early in the decade, the spread of broadband internet created the technical foundation without which the revival of e-commerce and the Web 2.0 revolution would have been unimaginable.
The Spread of Broadband and the Digital Divide
The global rollout of broadband internet was one of the decade’s most significant infrastructure shifts, enabling Web 2.0 services and multimedia content consumption. South Korea, Japan, and some European countries led the deployment of high-speed connections, while in the United States competition between cable providers and telephone companies drove broadband expansion. ADSL, cable internet, and later fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) produced speed increases that represented orders of magnitude improvements over previous dial‑up connections.
At the same time, the issue of the digital divide became increasingly urgent. While broadband access became commonplace in developed countries, large parts of the developing world lagged behind, creating not only access disparities but socioeconomic inequalities as the internet became essential for education, employment, and civic participation. By the end of the decade, the global differences in broadband penetration clearly highlighted these new forms of inequality in the digital age.
Linux and the Rise of Open Source
Ubuntu’s release on October 20, 2004, marked a turning point for open-source operating systems by delivering a distribution with easy installation, a six-month release cadence, and a user-friendly interface that made Linux accessible to many users. Backed by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth and Canonical Ltd., Ubuntu was freely available while offering professional support and long-term sustainability. The project’s philosophy — named after an African concept meaning “humanity toward others” — reflected values of community collaboration and accessibility.
Linux’s growth in the 2000s was especially visible on servers and embedded systems rather than desktop PCs. Most web servers ran on Linux, benefiting from the stability, security, and cost-effectiveness open source provided. During the decade, major organizations — including banks and government agencies — migrated some critical systems to Linux, signaling that open source had matured into a reliable alternative to proprietary systems. The impact of open-source philosophy extended beyond operating systems: projects like the Apache web server, MySQL database, and the PHP programming language together formed the LAMP (Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP) stack, the backbone of Web 2.0 infrastructure.
Mozilla Firefox — The Second Act of the Browser Wars
Firefox’s release on November 9, 2004, offered a viable alternative to Internet Explorer’s dominance and was able to capture significant market share. Developed under code names Phoenix and Firebird, the project aimed to create a simple, fast, and secure browser that was open source and freely distributable. Firefox 1.0 reached 60 million downloads within nine months, proving users wanted choice and valued speed, security, and extensibility.
Firefox’s success was closely tied to its developer community. Its extension ecosystem allowed third parties to add functionality, resulting in thousands of unique add-ons. Popular extensions like AdBlock and Firebug showcased the power of an open ecosystem where users could shape their tools. Mozilla Foundation’s Bug Bounty program, launched in September 2004, was pioneering in financially rewarding security vulnerability finders and fostering a proactive security culture. Firefox’s rise also pressured Microsoft to ship Internet Explorer 7 in 2006 after years of stagnation, indirectly improving the overall quality of web browsing.
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The article continues on Stacklegend IT Blog, with interesting stories such:
Google’s Dominance — Redefining Search and Advertising
E-commerce Reborn — Amazon and eBay’s Dominance
PayPal and the Revolution in Online Payments
The Golden Age of the Blogosphere — Personal Media Emerges
Birth of Web 2.0 — The Social Revolution of the Web
Facebook, MySpace, and the Explosion of Social Networks
YouTube, Flickr, and the Democratization of User Content
Wikipedia — The Revolution of Collective Knowledge
Adobe Flash — The Golden Age of Web Multimedia
Skype and the VoIP Revolution — The Age of Free Communication
The Mobile Revolution Begins — 3G, BlackBerry, and Smartphone Precursors
Windows XP and Vista — An Era of Microsoft Operating Systems
Apple’s Renaissance — iPod, iTunes, and the iPhone Revolution
Android — Democratizing Mobile Operating Systems
Second Life and the Rise of Virtual Worlds
The Birth of Twitter and the Microblogging Revolution
Netflix — The Prelude to Streaming Revolution
Convergence in Consumer Electronics — Game Consoles and Multimedia
The Escalation of Cybercrime — Viruses, Worms, and Botnets
Enterprise IT Transformation — Virtualization and the Dawn of Cloud Computing
Programming Languages and Shifts in Developer Culture
Why Knowing the 2000s History of the IT Industry Matters
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