Bruce Sterling: Internet (1993)
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Bruce Sterling: Internet (1993)
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Re: Bruce Sterling: Internet (1993)
#2It hurts to read this. How did we lose the freedom, the idea that everyone is an equal peer?
Was it just the realities of money, that an end user would rather pay a tiny fraction of the real cost of being truly on line and pay instead with their freedom?
We used to laugh at AOLers because they weren't experiencing the real internet, because they sold themselves out to an online service.
Are today's ISPs with their filtering and port blocking and packet shaping, really any better?
Re: Bruce Sterling: Internet (1993)
#3It hurts to read this. How did we lose the freedom, the idea that everyone is an equal peer? Was it just the realities of money, that an end user would rather pay a tiny fraction of the real cost of being truly on line and pay instead with their freedom? We used to laugh at AOLers because they weren't experiencing the real internet, because they sold themselves out to an online service. Are today's ISPs with their fi…
The masses.
We lost because of the great masses, the eternal october but on a much major scale. The same people that still watch TV and who become numb from their everyday medium to low-wage work, all those who are fighting against each other to climb the ladder just a tiny amount up.
See the original internet users were scientists, officers, business people, those early adopters who have the resources and curiosity to use and shape it it.
Todays internet user is any modern slave whos interests dont stretch out further than facebook and easy entertainment. Most people dont even have a concept of what the internet is. They just kind of randomly click buttons and call their laptops "plaything".
Ive seen people pay for 4G but their modem only by default runs on 3G. Meh.
Re: Bruce Sterling: Internet (1993)
#4It hurts to read this. How did we lose the freedom, the idea that everyone is an equal peer? Was it just the realities of money, that an end user would rather pay a tiny fraction of the real cost of being truly on line and pay instead with their freedom? We used to laugh at AOLers because they weren't experiencing the real internet, because they sold themselves out to an online service. Are today's ISPs with their fi…
> How did we lose the freedom
Money came into the picture. And I'd say we're in worse shape now since even in the AOL days, you would still know that this isn't the real "internet". Now, we've been lulled in the false sense that we're getting unfiltered (un-throttled) access, when in fact, it's just a carefully crafted image.
I look forward to the day "Internet Service Provider" has been completely replaced with "Ubiquitous Wireless Mesh".
Re: Bruce Sterling: Internet (1993)
#5> Learning the Internet now, or at least learning about it, is wise. By the turn of the century, "network literacy," like "computer literacy" before it, will be forcing itself into the very texture of your life.
Wow, the prediction is a decade off... but 100% correct for those who live in the developed world!
It's funny, because EXACTLY the same could be said right now about cryptocurrencies, blockchains, and Distributed Anonymous Corporations (DACs). The rapid rise of Bitcoin being just the tip of the iceberg.
Re: Bruce Sterling: Internet (1993)
#6It hurts to read this. How did we lose the freedom, the idea that everyone is an equal peer? Was it just the realities of money, that an end user would rather pay a tiny fraction of the real cost of being truly on line and pay instead with their freedom? We used to laugh at AOLers because they weren't experiencing the real internet, because they sold themselves out to an online service. Are today's ISPs with their fi…
The masses. We lost because of the great masses, the eternal october but on a much major scale. The same people that still watch TV and who become numb from their everyday medium to low-wage work, all those who are fighting against each other to climb the ladder just a tiny amount up. See the original internet users were scientists, officers, business people, those early adopters who have the resources and curiosity…
Those unwashed masses are what make modern tech possible. Should we go back to BBS days?
Re: Bruce Sterling: Internet (1993)
#7It hurts to read this. How did we lose the freedom, the idea that everyone is an equal peer? Was it just the realities of money, that an end user would rather pay a tiny fraction of the real cost of being truly on line and pay instead with their freedom? We used to laugh at AOLers because they weren't experiencing the real internet, because they sold themselves out to an online service. Are today's ISPs with their fi…
What are you talking about? The internet has been a great success for the masses: Wikipedia, Google, Youtube, Facebook all bring an immeasurable benefit to it's users. Of course not everything is perfect, but I much rather have today's internet than the internet of 1993
Re: Bruce Sterling: Internet (1993)
#8Weird, no mention of Al Gore's role in creating the Internet.
Re: Bruce Sterling: Internet (1993)
#9It hurts to read this. How did we lose the freedom, the idea that everyone is an equal peer? Was it just the realities of money, that an end user would rather pay a tiny fraction of the real cost of being truly on line and pay instead with their freedom? We used to laugh at AOLers because they weren't experiencing the real internet, because they sold themselves out to an online service. Are today's ISPs with their fi…
The masses. We lost because of the great masses, the eternal october but on a much major scale. The same people that still watch TV and who become numb from their everyday medium to low-wage work, all those who are fighting against each other to climb the ladder just a tiny amount up. See the original internet users were scientists, officers, business people, those early adopters who have the resources and curiosity…
But aren't we too the masses? It was before my time, but wasn't it the Eternal September?
Re: Bruce Sterling: Internet (1993)
#10It hurts to read this. How did we lose the freedom, the idea that everyone is an equal peer? Was it just the realities of money, that an end user would rather pay a tiny fraction of the real cost of being truly on line and pay instead with their freedom? We used to laugh at AOLers because they weren't experiencing the real internet, because they sold themselves out to an online service. Are today's ISPs with their fi…
> How did we lose the freedom, the idea that everyone is an equal peer?
It's not lost in any real sense, you just have a romanticised picture of "the good old days". Look up the the term BOFH for a reality-check.
A dial-up ISP would be oversubscribed and thus effectively throttled, just like today. Downloading too much on your university account, especially in peak hour, would get you banned.
If you want total freedom, then as now, you are free to buy a dedicated line - and they are much, much cheaper today.