Tim had inherited his parent’s interest in computer technology. In 1976 he set about building his own computer. He used tools and paraphernalia that could be found in the house. Tim took up employment with Plessey Telecommunications Ltd, a major UK Telecom equipment manufacturer. Working on bar code technology and message systems helped further whet his appetite for computer systems.
One of the most common sights would be to find Tim immersed in his work oblivious to the world. Tim Berners Lee once famously said that, "Anyone who has lost track of time when using a computer knows the propensity to dream, the urge to make dreams come true and the tendency to miss lunch." Tim Berners Lee’s internet adventure started in the Swiss Alps. He was completing a six-month course as a software engineer at CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, in Geneva. In 1980, he came up with a language called HTML (Hypertext Mark-up Language). This has been adopted as the official language for the Internet.
The entire concept of the Internet grew out of a program that Tim Berners Lee had written called "Enquire Within Upon Everything." All the components were already there before Tim Berners Lee had arrived but it is to his credit that he brought it all together. One man has ensured that the rest of mankind will be forever connected to each other. Tim’s greatness lies in the fact that he does not seem to be perturbed about the fact that he has not commercially gained from his idea. He never even thought of applying for a patent. In 1994 he founded World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science in Cambridge, Massachusetts. All technology standards from this institute are based on royalty free technology. According to Eric Schmidt, CEO of Novell, "If this were a traditional science, Berners-Lee would win a Nobel Prize."
Tim’s greatest achievement is however the fact that he almost seems to resent the attention that is occasionally showered upon him. He seems happiest when he is left to himself, doing his research. Tim is married to Nancy Carlson. They have two children.