the net began back in 1969. it was a tool of the pentagon. but nowadays, just about anyone with a computer and a modem can join in. >> the internet was a really dorky, hard to use and extremely nerdy thing. none of your friends would have been on this. just fellow people in tech. >> the internet really was not a huge factor in the early '90s. but netscape changed things. >> they're calling him the next bill gates. 24-year-old marc andreessen. 15 months ago, andreessen, fresh out of the university of illinois, helped start a company called netscape. at 11:00 a.m. this morning, the company's stock went public and wall street went bonkers. so what does netscape produce that now makes the company worth $2.9 billion? this. the netscape navigator, software which makes it easy for people to connect to the global computer network called the internet. >> microsoft has a long history of feeling threatened by hot, new upstarts. you could easily argue that bill