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The Internet @ 40

metirish Oct 29 2009 11:48 AM

I've been reading this great interactive look at 40 years of various versions of the Internet..... http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/se ... rnet-at-40 http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/in ... et-arpanet I remember getting online around 1999 maybe even '98......I remember getting hooked on a soccer quiz on I think espn.com. ...then I found a site that I frequented for a few years over on ezboard called Rock On....had lots of fun there.....I got on the message boards on Mets.com at some point and found ballooNots Mets board from there......and then found this place.......the rest as they say...... Going through the second link above year by year reminded me that I found out about 9/11 from my homepage when I got to work that morning.... I complain at times about optimum online at home or here at work about the network but I fondly recall sitting and staring and waiting for AOL to dial up and get connected......sometimes it would take ten minutes and more......downloading a booster to speed it up.....buying songs on Realplayer and it taking seven minutes for them to download... I spent many early years on a site called Irish Abroad and had a blast there....it was all so exciting....50 of us had a meet up a few months after 9/11 at a bar in midtown.......fun memories...... what are your memories?

Rockin' Doc Oct 29 2009 02:40 PM Re: The Internet @ 40 Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Oct 29 2009 07:10 PM

I first got online around 1991-1992 with a 4800 baud rate internal modem on a Packard Bell 386SX. There were a few locally hosted sites for basic games (mostly various card games) and basic message posting that I frequented. Everntually as the internet grew I read my kids interactive stories on Sesame Street.com. For years I primarily used the internet to check the weather forecast, read the news, read music reviews, and get sports scores from ESPN. Then sometime around 1997 (or 1998) I stumbled across Brian Hoch's MOFO site and my internet addiction was sealed forever.

Benjamin Grimm Oct 29 2009 02:49 PM Re: The Internet @ 40

A friend at work told me about Prodigy back in the summer of 1992. It was so cool to be able to get news and talk to people on my PC, which was previously completely disconnected from the rest of the world. All I could do on it was play Pursue the Pennant and word process.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 29 2009 02:52 PM Re: The Internet @ 40

My first Internet experience was trading emails with a girl I met back in 95-96. I had a compuserve address that was all digits. I didn't get my own computer until early 98 I believe, 28.8 bauds or something rockin fast like that.

themetfairy Oct 29 2009 02:56 PM Re: The Internet @ 40

We first got a computer with Internet capability in 1997. At that point, MK was a baby and I was a house hostage much of the time. Being able to have conversations during the day on AOL that didn't involve diapers and/or apple juice was a lifesaver, and I was hooked.

Farmer Ted Oct 29 2009 03:02 PM Re: The Internet @ 40

Pine Mail, circa '94. Only one computer in the office with this revoluntionary device so we had to take turns logging in, which took about 10 minutes.