Since Flux and I have such the age gap ::ahem::, my internet experience is probably a bit different than his considering how quickly it changes over the course of a couple of years. I don't even remember some of the pre-widespread Internet things he talks about, especially when I was in grade school when he started going on line.

For most of my life I shopped, paid bills, and researched the old fashion way: I left the house to hit the mall, the post office, or the library.

At the parents house I had painfully slow dial up for the first time the summer after I graduated from college. (Yes, my university had a T-1 but the lab was always busy and my computer wasn't set up to log on.) With dial up at home I couldn't bother doing any long term surfing since it took forever to load pictures and I was still paying by the minute. (Oh you kids today who don't know anything but unlimited access!)

Post graduate school, Pre-Flux, and while I was overseas (early 2000), broadband wasn't even an option since it was so pricey-- although it was during the long boring evenings that I really started poking around the 'Net and discovered how much (non)useful information is out there.

I have memories of slowly building up my bookmarks but the fact of the matter is I inherited many "good site" bookmarks and cable internet when I started dating Flux. He pointed me to all the blogs, news sites, etc. and practically forced me to install high speed internet. (We actually fought about it. Come to think of it, I was probably being territorial, certainly being stubborn, but today am eternally grateful he made me do it.)

Today I still love the libraries and bookstores for research, but Amazon.com ("Buy crap!") and Google are far better for giving me leads about what to find in actual Real Life places. YahooMaps is my friend because I don't like getting lost nor do I wish to speak to obnoxious strangers if I don't have to.

So I can't say I really substituted one behavior for another; more like I enhanced the life I have.

And for the romantics, let us all remember that I did play Diablo 2 on BattleNet on dial up, did find Diabloii.net on dial up, which eventually led me to BlackChamapagne. The rest, as they say, is history. Those were the best bookmarks ever. ;-P

 

I find it really weird that someone who had used the internet on dial-up and gotten to use it well would [b]resist[/b] to the installation of broadband. That's just beyond my comprehension - ever since I knew such a thing as broadband existed (and it hasn't for end-consumers in NZ for all that long, since about 98 or 99 at the very earliest) I've wanted it.

Luckily I've shacked up with someone who is a bit nuts about computers and insists on paying $150 a month for 10 mbit that we really don't need.

 

Lanth: I was being stubborn and stupid. Go figure. In hindsight, I'm not sure WTF I was thinking either.

 

M,

That makes sense...I think this might be one of those things that differ between the sexes. My wife and I each had a house before we moved in together and got married. She moved in with me since I had the larger home. I got several questions about her "invading" my living space with clothes, possessions, etc. She kept asking if it bothered me, and I kept saying, "No." She maintains though, that if it had been the other way around there would have been huge issues about what went where and what could even be brought into her house. To this day, she seems puzzled that it didn't bother me. (Hell, I needed a bunch more furniture to fill out the house.)

So I can understand the territory thinking. Relationships aren't always logical, after all. :)