-----Original Message-----
From: GateKeepeR News <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Chris Fishwick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Saturday, June 13, 1998 11:20 PM
Subject: Re: HTML-formatted mail
>3 hours to get their email..Take us back to the beginning of the
>internet when everyone was using lynx and pine through a dial-up shell
>account..
And there was hardly any information available, and nobody had an economic
incentive to make the pipes wider and more robust, and the resources to
allow a project like Linux to potentially thrive to the point of widespread
hardware support just plain didn't exist, and etc.
Hey, I have an idea; let's skip this Internet crap entirely. We'll all
start Fidonet BBSes and dial in direct again!
And what's up with this lowercase stuff; do we really need two of each
letter of the alphabet? Think how much it would mean for the world economy
if we weren't wasting time hitting shift keys.
I was one of those people using the Internet with lynx and pine through a
dial-up shell account. I think GUI interfaces are a hell of an improvement.
And I like the fact that the Internet is now easy enough to use that I can
email my relatives. I get to talk to them more often, but with less time
spent on the damn telephone. That thing hurts my ear after a while.
I'll tell you something else; when I was using the web via lynx through a
dial-up shell account, I was dialing long distance for it. Email too, the
Internet wasn't widespread enough for the local BBSes to gateway to it yet.
I'm damn glad that the Internet got easy enough to use for the average Joe
that it became economically feasible for local ISPs to come to this rural
community of 16,000 people. I'm willing to trade the occasional tiny font
size or weird color for the extra $100 to $200 I have every month that I'm
not spending on long distance charges.
I'm glad that enough people use the Internet that it's economically feasible
for Amazon.com to give a big discount on books, which they can do because of
the reduced overhead of web-based ordering. They couldn't do this, however,
without enough people using the Internet, and they wouldn't have that
without graphical web browsers and PPP setup via a friendly GUI.
I'm glad enough people use the Internet that I can check available stock on
Insight's web page, then bop out in a seperate window to check out
manufacturer's web sites to compare the products that are in stock.
I'm glad I can do a search for a file now without screwing with Archie's
occult incantations, and that I have a hell of a lot more information
available when I find those files.
I'm glad that my applications are starting to have Internet-based checks for
updates and bugfixes, and I recognize that this wouldn't even be discussed,
much less implemented, if the manufacturers didn't realize that damn near
everyone who uses the programs will have an Internet account.
Luddism is awful damn strange when it comes from a fellow propellerhead.
--
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