How cool is the internet!
- Thread starter INVSTOR
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Have to agree. I used to cut travel things out of the paper and collect brochures etc.
Now I can sit here and research travel destinations. Even chat with people who have been there. Ask a question and straight away you get an answer. Love it. I even google mapped Paris and walked down the street from the train to the hotel. Hubby couldn't believe I just walked straight there without having to look at a map.
And it's great for buying houses too.
Now I can sit here and research travel destinations. Even chat with people who have been there. Ask a question and straight away you get an answer. Love it. I even google mapped Paris and walked down the street from the train to the hotel. Hubby couldn't believe I just walked straight there without having to look at a map.
And it's great for buying houses too.
What I find more amazing is people who STILL don't use the internet, or have a computer. When I here people say it I wonder how they manage to do normal daily things.
Such an inefficient life.
Such an inefficient life.
We spent more time with family, friends, going out meeting people etc
My brother lives about 15 minutes outside Port Douglas with his girlfriend and their two kids. He doesn't have a computer or a mobile phone. Doesn't watch much telly, either. He seems to be pretty happy and relaxed and he functions quite well in society.
No evand, I'm talking about people who have little understanding of technology.
One guy I work with was going to drive from Adel-Melb to pick up some things when I suggested he order online. He said he didn't know how to use the internet and instead had to organised time off work and needless expense.
This isn't an old codger, he's 28.
Another work colleague I have was trying to find the best home and contents insurance. He went into every supplier he could think of and asked over the counter, went home and compared. A simple comparison online would have been a lot faster and provider more options than he could think of.
It bugs me when people who are technology illiterate use derogatory lines such as 'I have a life' or say they have better things to do. Sure, but thats like me saying I have a life and don't have time to learn how to drive a car, I'll just go ride a horse everywhere! People need to stop being Luddites and accept modernity.
One guy I work with was going to drive from Adel-Melb to pick up some things when I suggested he order online. He said he didn't know how to use the internet and instead had to organised time off work and needless expense.
This isn't an old codger, he's 28.
Another work colleague I have was trying to find the best home and contents insurance. He went into every supplier he could think of and asked over the counter, went home and compared. A simple comparison online would have been a lot faster and provider more options than he could think of.
It bugs me when people who are technology illiterate use derogatory lines such as 'I have a life' or say they have better things to do. Sure, but thats like me saying I have a life and don't have time to learn how to drive a car, I'll just go ride a horse everywhere! People need to stop being Luddites and accept modernity.
Of course the internet makes things more efficient.
But I think you're missing the point that just about everyone spends 99% of their time online st*ffing around. Wasting time and not being productive.
People used to just do stuff. Instead of endless research, comparing, web surfing etc.....just went out and did it. Just doing is important
I wont even start on the faux facebook friendships etc.
People
But I think you're missing the point that just about everyone spends 99% of their time online st*ffing around. Wasting time and not being productive.
People used to just do stuff. Instead of endless research, comparing, web surfing etc.....just went out and did it. Just doing is important
I wont even start on the faux facebook friendships etc.
People
No evand, I'm talking about people who have little understanding of technology.
One guy I work with was going to drive from Adel-Melb to pick up some things when I suggested he order online. He said he didn't know how to use the internet and instead had to organised time off work and needless expense.
This isn't an old codger, he's 28.
Another work colleague I have was trying to find the best home and contents insurance. He went into every supplier he could think of and asked over the counter, went home and compared. A simple comparison online would have been a lot faster and provider more options than he could think of.
It bugs me when people who are technology illiterate use derogatory lines such as 'I have a life' or say they have better things to do. Sure, but thats like me saying I have a life and don't have time to learn how to drive a car, I'll just go ride a horse everywhere! People need to stop being Luddites and accept modernity.
And you're missing the point that I never suggested that the internet's less useful functions were of great import. E.G. I never suggested that I found it shocking/crazy if a person didn't have Facebook.
All I stated was that it is amazing that people can still not find sufficient benefit in buying a computer and having access to the internet for its superior functions.
All I stated was that it is amazing that people can still not find sufficient benefit in buying a computer and having access to the internet for its superior functions.
If? Pshhhhh. What if your FarmVille crops don't get watered huh? Won't somebody think of the pixels?
I suspect if this had been my brother, he would have just phoned whatever bank he has his mortgage with and arranged insurance through them. If I suggested to him that he get a computer, and get the internet connected, so he could have 'more options than he could think of' and maybe even save himself $30 or so, he would look at me like I was mad. I use the internet and my life seems more complicated than his and I have less spare time. But sadly, there is no turning back
I went back to uni in 1990. That's when I first discovered the "internet".
I was doing a lot of reading of medical/science journals, and the library had arrangements with other uni libraries to get full articles, but you had to do it from the uni libraries or via modem connection to the uni unix server.
Modem speeds had just moved up to 9600kbs from memory. But that was ok, as everything was in text.....graphical browsers didn't get invented until 1993. I was using unix apps - pine for internet etc and everything worked well.
I became fascinated with the potential of the web. I could have real time text chat with academic friends in the US, email, and search libraries and various govt depts in the US. It fascinated me. Then there were BBS's where you could interact with people re similar interests.
I knew this technology was going to take off, and often thought of how to get involved in it. Things really started to move when graphical browsers came out and net speeds picked up. I remember a conversation I had with a Boeing programmer in 1993 where I said no one would make a lot of money out of net commerce for another 5 years. That might have been so, but those who were ready could have been establishing themselves as market leaders in that time.
My first website was quite a hit - "How to buy a used computer". (lots of hard core info about stress testing and compatibility, hdd, etc) I used to be chatty with Tom Pabst from Tom's Hardware and a couple of other guys that did computer reviews and had maintenance sections. We all fed each other info about hacking BIOS and clearing passwords from hdd which was important when buying used corporate computers.
I was getting around 35,000 hits a month at its peak from all over the world. Never made any money out of it. But it gave me insight into the hunger for information. Tom's site went from strength to strength. I bailed from mine around 1997 when new puter prices came down dramatically and speeds and tech were changing more rapidly. I decided it wasn't worth going to auctions to buy used stuff, especially when Mum and Dad were going and bidding crazy prices for used gear.
I've known a few guys who lost a lot of money starting up ISPs in the 90s, only to get eaten and spat out by Telstra. Have also met a few that retired in the early noughties in their 30s or 40s.
Anyway, the internet has certainly been a commercial revolution. And I wonder if the world will ever see another like it. I sense future change will be baby steps....the 90s was giant steps.
I somehow think the next big 'issue' will be scarcity of petroleum. a much more pressing problem than global warming.
I was doing a lot of reading of medical/science journals, and the library had arrangements with other uni libraries to get full articles, but you had to do it from the uni libraries or via modem connection to the uni unix server.
Modem speeds had just moved up to 9600kbs from memory. But that was ok, as everything was in text.....graphical browsers didn't get invented until 1993. I was using unix apps - pine for internet etc and everything worked well.
I became fascinated with the potential of the web. I could have real time text chat with academic friends in the US, email, and search libraries and various govt depts in the US. It fascinated me. Then there were BBS's where you could interact with people re similar interests.
I knew this technology was going to take off, and often thought of how to get involved in it. Things really started to move when graphical browsers came out and net speeds picked up. I remember a conversation I had with a Boeing programmer in 1993 where I said no one would make a lot of money out of net commerce for another 5 years. That might have been so, but those who were ready could have been establishing themselves as market leaders in that time.
My first website was quite a hit - "How to buy a used computer". (lots of hard core info about stress testing and compatibility, hdd, etc) I used to be chatty with Tom Pabst from Tom's Hardware and a couple of other guys that did computer reviews and had maintenance sections. We all fed each other info about hacking BIOS and clearing passwords from hdd which was important when buying used corporate computers.
I was getting around 35,000 hits a month at its peak from all over the world. Never made any money out of it. But it gave me insight into the hunger for information. Tom's site went from strength to strength. I bailed from mine around 1997 when new puter prices came down dramatically and speeds and tech were changing more rapidly. I decided it wasn't worth going to auctions to buy used stuff, especially when Mum and Dad were going and bidding crazy prices for used gear.
I've known a few guys who lost a lot of money starting up ISPs in the 90s, only to get eaten and spat out by Telstra. Have also met a few that retired in the early noughties in their 30s or 40s.
Anyway, the internet has certainly been a commercial revolution. And I wonder if the world will ever see another like it. I sense future change will be baby steps....the 90s was giant steps.
I somehow think the next big 'issue' will be scarcity of petroleum. a much more pressing problem than global warming.
spend half my free weekday time standing in bank queues.
the other half was spent scouring local newspapers, ringing agents and driving past properties that weren't even remotely what i was looking for.
oh - also trying to plan overseas free range holidays by making expensive international phone calls to obscure b&b's.
gosh - i started work pre fax machines, we had to teletxt everything ... there was no such thing as computers so huge reports needed to be typed word perfect first time - and if any inserts needed to be made then it was a case of cut and paste and photocopy (yes, there were photocopiers).
makes me feel so old - but i'm not really!
I don't really care if someone doesn't want a mobile phone or the internet....... except when they then want me to drive them to appointments to see homes that they could see the inside of on the net (that they NEVER would have looked at if they saw the internal photos first), refuse to use their home telephone to call an agent (or anybody else) on a mobile number (because it costs SOOOOO much) but asks if it would be okay to use MY mobile phone to call an agent ...... but not any more!! I have learned to say "no".
...... but not any more!! I have learned to say "no".
