Timothy Birdnow

This makes me sad; the end of an era.

America Online (AOL) just announced it is discontinuing dialup internet service.

I had AOL from the time I got online at the end of the nineties until I switched to Netzero, my current provider, where I still use dialup. If it ain't broke don't fix it, sez I.

But it's sad to see it go. Now there are no economical options for people who just want basic service without all the bells and whistles that cost so much. I don't need streaming services and cute little graphics; I just want text and maybe basic photos.

Of course my ability to connect has become increasingly limited as websites all update to more tech and leave the older stuff behind. I recently lost Google because they no longer support my systems. A pox upon them! I lost Facebook a while ago for the same reason.

We live in an Alvin Toffler world, where change for change's sake is the norm. Does all this change really benefit us in a material way? In some ways many of the innovations are wonderful but are they worth the price? Our young are essentially drooling idiots, incapable of independent thought.If ita ain't in the machine they cannot conceive of it.

Dialup limited the machine and made a buffer between our thoughts and it's thoughts. I think slow computers were a benefit to society. While we need fast computers for things that actually require computers I think personal computers should slow down so people have time for their minds to follow. Right now everyone is on a runaway roller-coaster.

So beware the electronic Beast; it rises out of the sea of electrons with it's digital claws set for the American mind. And mourn the dialup system, which gave us so much but in the end fell to the rising tide of civilizational suicide.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 06:55 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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