Who would've thought?

[Paul]

As much as I love all things retro, the fact that I can write this post from a small wireless phone from anywhere I may roam means I wouldn't want to go back to a world of 1200 baud modems.  How about you? Would you go back?

[RobertB]

...I wouldn't want to go back to a world of 1200 baud modems.  How about you? Would you go back?

Yes, I could go back if necessary.  As it stands, the C128DCR is using a 56K modem right now.

                    Truly,
                    Robert Bernardo
                    Fresno Commodore User Group
                    http://videocam.net.au/fcug
                    The Other Group of Amigoids
                    http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
                    Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network
                    http://www.sccaners.org

[Paul]

Robert, I'm sure you could go back, but would you want to?  56k modems weren't common until the 90's and still kept you tethered.

[RobertB]

Robert, I'm sure you could go back, but would you want to?

To download stuff directly to the Commodore.  To text-browse with the Commodore.

                Truly,
                Robert Bernardo
                Fresno Commodore User Group
                http://videocam.net.au/fcug

[Paul]

I wonder, was it really the computer, or was it the social scene that made it special?  Because if it was the scene, I'm seeing modern day equivalents with things like Facebook, Twitter, and technology like smart phones.

[Rorshach]

I could and would go back. thats the point of all this.  In the end mobile internet on a cell phone is nice but outrageously overpriced and not terribly useful except as a plaything.  I keep my cellphone for one thing, that is making phone calls.  I am not bashing all things new.  I just do not fall for things for the sake of newness.  New technology is something I can go for if its reasonably priced and useful.  There are many things that are not.  Facebook, twitter, myspace and their ilk are fun eye candy at first but ultimately are useless timewasters. Things like email, openoffice are genuinely useful, even world of warcraft is relatively new and has more entertainment value than the self described "social networking" sites.  The same could be said of the old bbs scene, some systems were good, others junk.  I can think of one that will remain nameless.  It was a system run by a co-authour of a bbs program on a 64 with a Lt. Kernal hard drive. Yet he had an "IQ test" as part of the user application, empty file areas, and a bad attitude.  Its not the fault of the technology but how its used.

But the point is yes those of us here can and do use older technology for what its capable of.  I nor anybody needs 500 gigabytes of storage quad core processing and 32 bit colour to type a report or letter (yes some of do write letters).  If anyone thinks I am insane or full of crap for saying this then feel free to quit.  This is, after all, retro link, not a microsoft fan boy site.

[Paul]

I could and would go back. thats the point of all this.  In the end mobile internet on a cell phone is nice but outrageously overpriced and not terribly useful except as a plaything.

I can get unlimited mobile web browsing for $10/month.  Is that outrageous?  Maybe, except that retro-link.com is very mobile-browser friendly; so I see it as money well spent. 

I can think of one that will remain nameless.  It was a system run by a co-authour of a bbs program on a 64 with a Lt. Kernal hard drive. Yet he had an "IQ test" as part of the user application, empty file areas, and a bad attitude.  Its not the fault of the technology but how its used.

Ooh, I remember that one.  I just can't remember the name.  Why keep it nameless?  Send me a PM to jog my memory, please.

But the point is yes those of us here can and do use older technology for what its capable of.  I nor anybody needs 500 gigabytes of storage quad core processing and 32 bit colour to type a report or letter (yes some of do write letters).  If anyone thinks I am insane or full of crap for saying this then feel free to quit.  This is, after all, retro link, not a microsoft fan boy site.

I've grown quite fond of video editing, and whenever I model a house for an energy audit, the software seems to be designed for Windows only.  I'd hate to model a house by hand...

[RobertB]

In the end mobile internet on a cell phone is nice but outrageously overpriced and not terribly useful except as a plaything.

At last Saturday's SCCAN meeting, member Joe M. would pull out his Net-enabled IPhone and check up on C= references for us.  He did that several times during the meeting when we had questions.  (We were not near a connection in order to use an ordinary laptop or desktop.)  It was very convenient just to pull up the information just like that.  We also joked that now he was always connected.

                 Truly,
                 Robert Bernardo
                 Fresno Commodore User Group
                 http://videocam.net.au/fcug
                 The Other Group of Amigoids
                 http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
                 Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network
                 http://www.sccaners.org

[Rorshach]

Hi again.  Paul many cell phone plans do have insane prices.  please do check your fine print your likely to  be shocked "unlimited" rarely is what it says.  In my case I use my cellphone as a phone. I make and receive phone calls thats what its for.  I just do not pay for unneeded things.

the dubious bbs I mentioned was called "soma holiday" I am pretty sure I can still remember the phone number too along with a couple of others.  Why I can remember that bit of trivia I am not sure.  But it sticks out cause not only was the bbs itself very badly run but the software was abhorrant.  CTRL-P was used to exit the text editor which as many people will realize is now commonly used as a printer hotkey and back in the 80's control key combinations like that were used for more than one thing depending on what software was in use.  the net result is the keypress was intercepted by the terminal program usually and handled locally leaving the unfortunate bbs caller with no way of exiting the editor leading them to hangup out of frustration with an inglorious exit from the bbs.

[Paul]

Rorshach, on pay-as-you-go plans, Rogers offers unlimited web browsing for $7/month; Virgin, it's $10.  That doesn't include downloads, but I can browse to retro-link.com, read and post messages, and it's covered.

I do agree with you in regards to smart phones and data plans that go beyond basic web browsing.  I currently use a Palm Z22 as my PDA, and it also has some useful apps I've downloaded such as a conversion utility.  My LG 160 cell phone also has a PDA, but it's rather weak in its scheduling capabilities.  What I really wanted was a cell phone that had a sufficiently powerful PDA built in.  I decided to upgrade to the Samsung Link.  To my amazement, it had worse scheduler software than the lowly LG 160.  The LG 160 could at least hotsync with Outlook via Bluetooth, and repeated appointments would actually repeat.  The scheduler in the Samsung Link wasn't just dumbed down; it was made completely retarded.  Just try to find a phone with a decent PDA built in on a pay-as-you-go plan; it's just not possible.

I'm convinced there's a conspiracy; a phone like the Samsung Link certainly has enough processing power and memory to handle decent PIM software.  This was perfected in '96 with the Sharp Zaurus 5800.  I believe the manufacturers and cell phone providers work together to keep anything useful off the low-end phones, forcing people wanting usefulness to buy into an expensive 3 year contract.  Meanwhile, they're pushing ringtones, stupid games and ringtones like crazy.

[Micheal Clark]

i am back . . . using internet or browsing on your smart device can never come up the experience of your home pc or laptop . the speed the clarity of pic etc etc ... ... there are lot of things which are to be considered .

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