Most of us assume modern life is the peak of human achievement, but is it really? We decided to take a look at the major technologies of the modern world and compare them to their closest equivalent of pre-digital mankind. The results are surprising. (READ MORE)

On October 29, 1969, the Internet came in not with a bang, but with a "lo." Letter by letter, UCLA computer science professor Leonard Kleinrock sent a message from his school's host computer to another computer at Stanford Research Institute. Kleinrock was trying to write "login," starting up a remote time-sharing system, but the system crashed after two letters, and lo! The Internet was born with the first data message sent between two networked computers...

A day after a Swedish court successfully ordered an Internet service provider to take down the torrent-tracking Web site, Pirate Bay returned, and vowed to fight any effort to remove it from the Internet.

"Even though large parts of Internets and many old and famous trackers have fallen or may fall into the grip of the IFPI [International Federation of the Phonographic Industry] and all the odious apparatus of MPAA [Motion Picture Association of America] rule, we shall not flag or fail," the organization wrote in a blog post.

A rehab center has opened in Washington state that aims to treat Internet Addiction Disorder with counseling, psychiatric help, and other activities geared toward getting patients back on track with normal life. If you believe in the disorder, then this is a great first step—but not everyone does.

"NetChoice, a trade group that identifies and fights threats aimed at online communities and e-commerce, released iAWFUL, a list of America's 10 worst legislative and regulatory proposals targeted at the Internet. At the top of the list is a Maine law that would require e-commerce sites to get parental approval before collecting minors' personal information. According to the NetChoice site, 'lawmakers approved the measure despite the fact that Web sites have no means to confirm such consent...