What good is the Internet? Your thoughts.

[User3k]

I am asking this for a reason. It seems to me that most people think that the internet is the playground of children, that is all about gaming or that it is just for porn. For me it is much, much more. So I thought I would get others views on this and what they think the internet is good for. Will it evolve as well or is it destined to go the way of cable TV and cell phones?

So your thoughts?

[Skripka]

Well of course it is all about the pr0n.

[Psumi]

Well of course it is all about the pr0n.

http://jamiedubs.com/****flickr/data/at-first-i-was-like.jpg

Seriously though, I'm getting away from the Internet, little by little....

[alindgr1]

The internet, as bad as it's dark corners are, has many, many bright corners as well. You can learn all kinds of things, just by looking. You can see places that you may never have the chance to see in person. You can watch a pair of eagles raise their young. You can talk to people you have never met that live perhaps thousands of miles away. You can teach your children new things.

The internet is good for so many things other than porn or getting the latest bad news. You just have to look.

[pwnst*r]

I am asking this for a reason. It seems to me that most people think that the internet is the playground of children, that is all about gaming or that it is just for porn. For me it is much, much more. So I thought I would get others views on this and what they think the internet is good for. Will it evolve as well or is it destined to go the way of cable TV and cell phones?

So your thoughts?

"most people" do not think that way at all. get new friends/acquaintances.

[LowSky]

News, Shopping, Entertainment, Gaming, Banking, Information, Ubuntu --- All found on the internet, what is so childish about any of this.

[RiceMonster]

What the **** is the internet?

[doas777]

I am asking this for a reason. It seems to me that most people think that the internet is the playground of children, that is all about gaming or that it is just for porn. For me it is much, much more. So I thought I would get others views on this and what they think the internet is good for. Will it evolve as well or is it destined to go the way of cable TV and cell phones?

So your thoughts?


the internet is what we make of it. however if you want to keep it that way, and you live in the US, be sure to write your representatives/congresspersons, and the FCC, asking them to provide real meaningful consumer-focused network neutrality legislation. the lobby will destroy teh intarweb, given a chance.

[User3k]

"most people" do not think that way at all. get new friends/acquaintances.

You obviously don't follow US politics.

[Skripka]

What the **** is the internet?

A system of tubes invented by Al Gore.

[User3k]

the internet is what we make of it. however if you want to keep it that way, and you live in the US, be sure to write your representatives/congresspersons, and the FCC, asking them to provide real meaningful consumer-focused network neutrality legislation. the lobby will destroy teh intarweb, given a chance.

I agree. Also fighting the bandwidth caps as well. Especially if they cap all traffic except the websites, etc, the ISP either owns or has special deals with which would be exempt of course.

[RiceMonster]

A system of tubes invented by Al Gore.

Is it serious business?

[User3k]

Is it serious business?

Yes it is. Except when you get a lot of people sending things through those tubes they can block your own personal internet and you won't get emails...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_of_tubes


Ted Stevens's Quote

“ Ten movies streaming across that, that Internet, and what happens to your own personal Internet? I just the other day got...an Internet was sent by my staff at 10 o'clock in the morning on Friday. I got it yesterday [Tuesday]. Why? Because it got tangled up with all these things going on the Internet commercially.
[...] They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the Internet. And again, the Internet is not something that you just dump something on. It's not a big truck. It's a series of tubes. And if you don't understand, those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and it's going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material.[4]

[Skripka]

Is it serious business?

If by "serious business", you mean there are lots of boobies on it...

http://theadventuretravelcompany.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/blue-footed-booby2.jpg

I'd have to say yes.

[MaindotC]

The Internet is not something you just dump something on it's not a big truck, it's a series of tubes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f99PcP0aFNE).

I took a class that covers what you're asking. It's called Investigating Cyberculture (http://sociology.morrisville.edu/2009/fall/sts316/index.htm), and we pretty much came to the conclusion that it's just another technology and with every technology there are benefits and consequences. It's much easier for humans to accept the benefits than to see the consequences so naturally it is so widely accepted. Check out the Schedule link for my class - a lot of interesting reading.

Edit: Damn User3k beat me to it!

[cascade9]

I agree. Also fighting the bandwidth caps as well. Especially if they cap all traffic except the websites, etc, the ISP either owns or has special deals with which would be exempt of course.

How I wish we were 'fighting caps' where I am. (personally, I haven't got a problem with capping, provided you dont get ripped off by the charges for a decent dl limit). This is what australia has to deal with-

http://www.minister.dbcde.gov.au/media/media_releases/2009/115

That legisation is almost certain to pass mid to late 2010 here. Before you laugh to hard, the governemnt here arent the only ones planning this sort of thing. I wouldnt be suprised if it hit europe and canada, big time, post introduction in australia (maybe 2011), then the US in 2012.

BTW, with caps webhosting/websites shouldn't be an issue. Its still easy to get unlimited bandwidth sites even with capping.

[doas777]

A system of tubes invented by Al Gore.

mixed metaphores. lol
I always made fun of gore for that statement, until I did a little study on how the NSF net became the public internet.

ted stephens... I don't make fun of him; he scares me too much. at least he is out of office.

[User3k]

The Internet is not something you just dump something on it's not a big truck, it's a series of tubes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f99PcP0aFNE).

I took a class that covers what you're asking. It's called Investigating Cyberculture (http://sociology.morrisville.edu/2009/fall/sts316/index.htm), and we pretty much came to the conclusion that it's just another technology and with every technology there are benefits and consequences. It's much easier for humans to accept the benefits than to see the consequences so naturally it is so widely accepted. Check out the Schedule link for my class - a lot of interesting reading.

Edit: Damn User3k beat me to it!


lol, sorry about that. You would think something like that would get old after awhile. But I still laugh my butt off each time I hear it or read it.

[User3k]

If all of us are not careful then Governments and Corporations will completely own the internet and dictate to use what we can and can't do. Freedom of speech and even freedom of Software (FOSS) will be lost completely.

[pwnst*r]

You obviously don't follow US politics.

rofl, why would i listen to **** from their mouths regarding technology?

[doas777]

rofl, why would i listen to **** from their mouths regarding technology?

ACTA (http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/11/leaked-acta-internet-provisions-three-strikes-and-) [eff.org]

not saying you should embrace US tech policy, but it's not a good bet to ignore it either. one day you may find yourself operating under laws you didn't expect.

[Sporkman]

The internet didn't arrive for mass use until I was in my twenties.

Let me give you some common tasks that an everyday person wants to do, and here's how it was done pre-internet:

- Look up a fact about a country, a famous person, an event, a recipe, how to solve a problem, etc:

>> Go to the public library, look it up in the encyclopedia, or look for a book on the topic for more in-depth knowledge. If it is a current event, you may learn more from a periodical.

- Get a stock quote or weather forecast:

>> Look it up in a daily newspaper, or watch for in on a TV news broadcast.

- Look for & apply for a job:

>> Look in the classified section of the newspaper, go to job fairs. Send resume by mail.

- Order items by mailorder:

>> Send in an order form from a catalog containing a listing of the item you want to purchase. To do price comparisons, get several catalogs selling the same stuff, and also go to the store to see the prices there.

- Check in with your friends:

>> Call them, walk to their house, or go to places they frequent.


...I think you all get the drift. :) And I'd venture to say the internet has opened even more impressive fronts on the business side of things.

[hessiess]

Massive database of free information, it tort me virtually everything I know, including Linux;)

[Sporkman]

Massive database of free information

Not only that, but one that you can access anywhere electronically, as opposed to going to a particular place to access it on paper media.

[Shpongle]

this is the internet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRmxXp62O8g

[User3k]

this is the internet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRmxXp62O8g

I love that one.

[pwnst*r]

ACTA (http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/11/leaked-acta-internet-provisions-three-strikes-and-) [eff.org]

not saying you should embrace US tech policy, but it's not a good bet to ignore it either. one day you may find yourself operating under laws you didn't expect.

eff and what the OP is referring to are two entirely different entities. of course you should pay attention to those types of articles.

[User3k]

Well my point(s) of this post was to ask the question but also have it cover all areas. When I ask "What good is the internet" you can't really leave out all that others want to do our are doing to it. They seem to be passing laws and restrictions based on half truths or lies. Corporations are pumping it for every last penny. They are doing what they can to destroy the internet while they say they are trying to save it. So what good is the internet? Where will it go? How do people see it? Is it just porn, gaming, a play ground, etc like others have said, ex. politicians?

And when you ask "what good is the internet" the discussion will eventually touch on all those other areas that threaten the internet. You really can'y have a partial discussion here and if I could have I would have added more descriptive, in detail, in the title but there is really no room.

[Tristam Green]

sharing. without internet,pc means useless.

Sure, because nobody used a computer for anything at all, prior to the Internet.

[lovinglinux]

I was born in 1972 and I started to use the Internet in 1991 at the University. By that time, we only had Gopher without graphical interface. Anyways, before that time, I had to pay my bills on the bank and do all sorts of bureaucratic citizen stuff in crowded booths, there wasn't e-mail, IM, SMS, I had to read the paper or watch the TV to get news, I had to go to a public library to research anything I wanted to know about, I had to write resumes and wait a long time to get a new job, I couldn't easily search for a company to send a resume, I couldn't easily sell my work to a worldwide audience, I couldn't buy my theater tickets online in advance to make sure I would have a seat or buy anything for that matter, I couldn't check any location on Google Maps, I couldn't visit the Louvre, I couldn't easily communicate with people all around the world, I couldn't learn a lot of stuff without spending too much money and yes, I had to go to the video store to get my pr0n in VHS.

Just imagine how much crap we would still be swallowing from news corporations, product suppliers, corrupt governments without the Internet? Now if someone screws up really bad, the truth will probably surface on YouTube, Tweeter, forums, mailing-lists and a bunch of other communication networks.

Just as an example, we have here in my country a web site called "complainhere" (translated to English) were we can posts complains about or sorts of bad costumer relations. Is really freaking AWESOME. For example, when I switched my satellite TV provider, the old one didn't want to let me go and said I would have to pay 2 more months even with the service disconnected. I was a client for more than 3 years, so there was no "fidelity period" in my contract. After posting a complain there, the provider solved my problem in a couple of days and even refunded me a month of payment.

So the Internet is AWESOME. It has changed our lives to a degree that sometimes we don't even realize, because we are so used to it.