Hello, I like to watch TED talks to help keep me current with new topics of interest. Have you ever seen one?
I've seen many of them, yes! There's tons of them to watch, as it was founded in 1984 as a conference and then has been held annually since 1990.
I didn't realize that it has been around for so long. Do you know if they have always distributed their content online for free?
I believe they have always been free, yes, from a cursory Google search. And the actual events have been held throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, but, as you said, they have live-streaming for those that can't attend.
Yes, I have never attended one in person but I hope to one day. I hear that speakers are usually given a maximum of 18 minutes to express their ideas at conferences.
You're correct about that. And some of the most notable speakers to do so would be people like Bill Clinton (former president), or Jane Goodall (anthropologist), Al Gore, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Bill Gates, Bono, and even the founders of Google! This list doesn't even include Nobel Prize winners to give talks, either.