Preparing to go Internet-free [Archive]

Oddball

10-28-14, 2:39pm

My most recent work contract ended last month, and after telecommuting for the past decade, I'm fixing to pull the plug. Eventually I'll return to working, hopefully only part time, and I think I'll want my next job to be offline.

Now (SL forum not withstanding) I'm wasting a lot of time online that I could be spending on artistic or other creative projects. I ditched TV about 20 years ago and have never missed it. Now I'm planning to cancel my home Internet service after I do some online storage housecleaning and sign up for 2015 health insurance next month.

I've never owned a smartphone, but I think soon I'll get the $10 monthly plan from Republic Wireless for basic communication. For essential Internet use, I'm planning to take the smartphone or my Chromebook to a library or coffee shop once or twice a week.

For weather and news, I'm eyeing a simple AM/FM radio (http://store.sony.com/icf-s10mk2-zid27-ICFS10MK2/cat-27-catid-EOL-Small-Home_Electronics). Or maybe subscribe to weather forecasts via text. For tracking expenses, I'm going to buy a plain old paper notebook or ledger instead of logging in to the cloud.

Anyone else doing this (http://www.theminimalists.com/internet/)?

awakenedsoul

10-28-14, 4:20pm

ApatheticNoMore

10-28-14, 4:33pm

I like internet too much, but I've also mentioned that there is no way I could do that and keep my job. It would be one and the same as quitting my present job. I've supported at 2, 3, 4, 6 A.M.. The library doesn't keep those hours.

Telecommuting instead of coming into work on normal hours isn't actually allowed, but working at home non-work hours is required.

ToomuchStuff

10-28-14, 5:21pm

I've thought about cutting back the speed, to the minimum they offer (have to specifically ask), to cut my price. It would hurt my limited video use, as well as torrent download speeds (Linux distro's), but would still allow me to order things for work (no computer/internet there, bosses are computer illiterate) as well as use it as a learning tool.
The internet is my entertainment as well as a utility, I wouldn't want to view it through a phone and don't have that want for an expensive phone (still using a candy bar style, sub $100 a year service).

kib

10-28-14, 7:41pm

deleted - I didn't read the part about you not wanting a smartphone. I have very limited gigs of data on my cellphone plan that works ok for the basics and isn't expensive, but it does require a phone with internet capacity.

Sagewoman

10-28-14, 8:00pm

In the summer I spend at least half my time without internet because it's not available. I do get more done, but I also depend on the internet to learn how to do things on youtube and other sites. How to tile a counter, or paint a shed, or hang a cabinet, etc. etc. I would not want to go internet free for this reason and also it's the main way to stay in touch with far away family members via email (don't do facebook and any of those things). One of these folks has severe hearing loss and it's a godsend to do email with her.

On the other hand, my brain works much better without the internet. There is a good book on this, which I'll post if I remember the title. I am more relaxed and enjoy life, reading, nature, etc.

I know someone who was online all the time and her computer broke. She had no money to fix it and says that it makes a big difference in the quality of her mind and not being "ADD."

Edited to add book reference. Ok, here's the book. "The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains" by Nicholas Carr. It's a real eye-opener. I got mine from the library, so you may be able to find it here.

KayLR

10-28-14, 8:08pm

I hope you come back intermittently to tell us how you are doing. I have entertained the notion of going Internet-free myself.

iris lilies

10-28-14, 9:31pm

OP, once you get out, please I am begging you, throw me a lifeline!
I am sucked into web forums far too much.

Reyes

10-29-14, 1:13am

I am game for getting rid of it, DW is not quite there (yet:-).

Spartana

10-29-14, 2:25am

Mmmm...I've thought about it. I really love having Internet at home, though. It's sort of replaced t.v. for me. My phone is a Jitterbug, and I really don't want to replace it. I could use the computers at the library, but I have to take the bus a few miles to get there. (I use their printers.) Like you, I track my expenses by hand.

I think Spartana lives without Internet. Her expenses are really low. Let us know how it goes.I have internet at home now because my sister is there on weekends and wants (needs? demands? can't live without?) it. She pays for it but I use it too. $35/month I think. But I did go home-internet-less for many many years and really enjoyed it and would go without it again if not for my sister's need. I find it very addictive and a big time suck and not really what I want to spend my time doing (except to talk to you guys here of course :-)!). I bought a laptop now for home use, but prior to that (and prior to having internet at home) I used a tablet computer for free Wi-Fi in many places or now when travelling. It worked great for me for the most part as I spent a very small amount of time online, but I having it at home is very convenient when you need to look things up.

rosarugosa

10-29-14, 5:13am

I wouldn't want to give up home internet, but I had designated 2 nights per week as screen-free, and now I've expanded that to four nights to counteract the time-suck thing. I think this is working well for me.

lessisbest

10-29-14, 7:44am

This is one area where one-size doesn't fit-all... I'm an information freak with all the classes I teach, so my top choice is the Internet. BC (before computers) I read around 300 books a year (down to 50-60 now), but I can get more information, and more up-to-date information than I ever could checking out books from the library and the thousands of books I've purchased over the years, so the cost of a computer and ISP has actually saved us money.

We have a landline phone, but no long distance carrier or other frills, and that reduces the monthly fee; and our ISP is from the same company (AT&T). Cell phone service can be difficult to maintain out here in the middle of nowhere, so a landline is a good safety net. We have two TracPhones ($200 a year for both - and we use those for long distance calling). We have basic cable TV (good to have during tornado season here in Kansas). We canceled our subscription to the local liberal "rag" (newspaper), and all other subscriptions, and anything that has dues associated with it.

A few months ago I figured all phones, ISP, and cable TV and it averages just under $110 a month. We have ROKU and subscribe to Netflix and Acorn (we mainly watch British things), and that's only a fraction of what we were spending on videos, so that was a good choice for us.

SteveinMN

10-29-14, 5:27pm

You can take my Internet when you pry my cold dead hands from the keyboard. :laff: Everyone is different. I do a lot on-line: newspapers, most periodicals, our banking/billpaying, make appointments, learn how to fix/make things, some video/audio, and I sync my main calendar/address book via "the cloud". My business depends on it, too, for some advertising, for moving photos to customers, and for software downloads and updates. But I know exactly where the "Off" button is. And I'm not afraid to use it.

You gotta do what you gotta do. But I'm sensing these days that Internet access is becoming almost presumed, the way we presume people have (voice) phone service. Job applications are on-line, notifications (weather alerts, etc.) increasingly are on-line, sales are announced on-line, and some brick-and-mortar stores are just a fraction of what they are on-line as far as selection and information. I don't see that changing anytime soon. Some access to the Internet is, I think, a must. For me, life is much better with near-constant access. To each their own. I'm not wasting my life on-line and people who can live without it all seem to be doing OK, too.

Blackdog Lin

10-29-14, 9:59pm

You can take my Internet when you pry my cold dead hands from the keyboard.

Go Steve. :)

Me too. I will/would give up my television; my vehicle(s); my central air and heat above comfort points; my (1) cheap cell phone, or (2) expensive land line, one or t'other; meat, butter, fish and cheese and any other more-expensive groceries; my washer and dryer.....all these things I would give up before my internet. More, too, I just can't think of any other good examples just now.

The internet improves my life. It gives me ideas. It tells me what is really going on in the world. Even if that's not REALLY what's going on in the world. Which makes me think and gives me more ideas. It gives me radar weather. (that I can check real-time radar, for approaching storms - is that not THE MOST AWESOME AND USEFUL THING EVER?!!!) It gives me frugality ideas. And ideas that make me more productive. Stupid-in-retrospect ideas. Brilliant-in-retrospect ideas (as in, why didn't I try this sooner? This is brilliant.) The internet makes me more able to interact in society, me a serious introvert, providing knowledge of current memes that I have garnered from.....the internet. The internet makes me look smarter than I am. The internet is.....ALL. I would never want to be without it.

I'm a fan, could you tell? :)

(I haven't kept up with the technology, too old and no smart phone or tablet.....but I saw the internet for what it would be in 1993? 1994?. I had the 2nd e-mail address (told to me by our provider) in our corner of the state back then. Feel like I was a pioneer, in spite of being technologically-unsavvy.....

mschrisgo2

10-30-14, 1:04am

I'm with SteveinMN and Blackdog Lin: not giving up my internet, no way! I use my internet for all of the things they mentioned, plus I'm able to Skype and thus stay in real-time touch with friends all over the world. This part has become even more important as many friends are retiring and moving out of California (who can afford to stay here?!) I don't have a TV nor the expense of cable, but when I have time to watch, I stream many great programs.

I just started a new job in August, and I never would have gotten it without 1) being able to apply online, and 2) instantly receive email, on my smartphone, and 3) reply to that email that offered the interview. They emailed 12 people and interviewed the first 5 to reply. I observe that many people in my generation (in our early 60's) remain unemployed because they don't use the available technology.

ctg492

10-30-14, 5:34am

Good Luck. There is so much need today for the net, but there is free wifi so many places that could be an option. Unless you really mean you plan on really dealing with the snail mail and 800 numbers totally.
Me I have not actually watched TV in years. I have found it not needed in my life. The internet, I used to say I could live on beans and rice , but I NEED my net. I have an iPhone and my Mac and iPad, but honestly feel now I could live without connection at home if I had too. I would just connect at the library or cafe. I do not spend really much time on the net anymore. I however do 99% of all bills and banking online. I could never see "waiting" a month for a statement to arrive in that box by the road. I am almost as paperfree as I can be. The radio, NPR for all my news and listening.

Tammy

10-30-14, 9:39am

I've found a balance with the following changes the last few years:

No tv
No computer
No home internet service
No landline

But I do have a smart phone with unlimited internet access.

Everything happens on my phone. If my phone and charger are with me, my home is the equivalent of a hotel ... A place to sleep and put my stuff. My office, life, work, etc are in my phone and always with me.

kib

10-30-14, 11:25am

I can get by with my cell and use it for many things, but it's so much more pleasant to "live" on my laptop. I have no patience for browsing information on a tiny screen with an android processor, and I like to write, typing r u up? makes me feel like as much of a moron as it makes me look. I'm surprised at being able to read and watch movies on my phone and still get lost in the entertainment, but for my own participation, give me my laptop any day!

Gardenarian

10-30-14, 12:21pm

I don't spend a lot of time online, so, no - I haven't considered getting rid of the internet line.
I'm online at work all the time, so being on a computer feels like work to me. When I go online, it's because I really need to contact someone or to look something up.
DD and I go screen free at least one day per week. DH works from home, so he needs it anyway.

I have very mixed feelings about computers and the way the internet is shaping individuals and society.

jp1

10-31-14, 12:37am

If I gave up internet I'd be very isolated. I hate talking on the phone so I only do so for work and to talk to my father, the only person I keep in touch with who doesn't use the internet.

I will admit that it is a time suck, but on the other hand JetBlue gives away internet service for free so I am currently happily passing the time on this plane.

ApatheticNoMore

10-31-14, 1:07am

Yea it's a time suck, rationing makes some sense. OTOH it's the way you find EVERYTHING (by which I mean all the REAL LIFE things!) in the modern world, they way you find: jobs, apartments, relationships, activities to do in person (from silly to serious). If you already have the quantity and quality of all of things you'd ever want, then maybe you aren't the target market :). I use it to make plans and keep in touch as well.

Other than that occasional online shopping that isn't that important to me, listening to an occasional song, occasional random research, reading book reviews, reading political stuff. A lot of it is boring and going around in circles. It's also supposed to make us dumb I suppose but actually if you read decent actual debating or discussing online (and not just the debates in youtube comments - oh heavens not that) you have to run across some really good thinking, which might even make you smarter not dumber. Whether the ratio is that good, probably not, but one tries to remember the interesting stuff and forget the stupid stuff afterall, so it may be the ratio after mental sifting that counts.

Sagewoman

10-31-14, 1:17am

This is sort of what I'm pondering -- minus the constant Internet access. Instead I'd have to find a hot spot to get online but would still have immediate access to calling and texting. I would keep my laptop for doing business online at cafes or wherever (I can't imagine typing a long email on a smartphone).

I started reading "The Shallows" last night. The intro perfectly sums up how I've been feeling after several years of working online: "The computer screen bulldozes our doubts with its bounties and conveniences. It is so much our servant that it would seem churlish to notice that it is also our master."The book described some of the negative things I noticed about being online so much. Because I spend a lot of time in one place where internet is not readily available (I'm glad for that) and the rest of the time where it is, the contrast is very clear to me. I am much calmer and think better. I'll still use it, but am glad when I don't.

I went online at the beginning. Before windows was even invented. You had to know DOS, though I then got a MacIntosh that had a windows type interface. I had a modem that you put into the phone cradle at the start. Everything was text. There were message boards, but no trolls and it was civil and quite interesting. Thing is when it came to the news, the quality of information was much better then. For example, you could download the raw newsfeeds from one of the wire services. I was astounded at the news that never got into the newspapers or on tv. I've never forgotten that relatively brief period of uncensored news from around the world. Things are worldwide now, but shallow compared to that. You could search various databases by interest. This of course was discontinued. I have to say I'm somewhat suspicious of revolutions based on twittering. Are they really revolutions or media events? Where is the hard work and preparation to make something change. The level of debate online is seriously degraded because of trolls and disruptive persons, plus a "sound bite" mentality. I'm not downgrading it all, because I think youtube diy videos are brilliant and some forums like this one are very helpful. But I don't like the process that has evolved. I think the internet process affects my cognitive process in a negative way.

So, here's what I recently discovered. I got a windows 8 laptop when that os first came out. Windows 8 is hell if you have a laptop. Most annoying, the charms pop up and block movement when you try to scroll, and that's what you do on a laptop. I found software that had an old style interface for win8 so was happy, but then the program forced me to upgrade to win8.1. Software that blocked charms no longer worked. I read an article, perhaps on cnet about how win8 is designed for tablets and phones. It works great on them, poorly on laptops. Author mentioned that laptops are designed for productivity, phones and tablets for consumption of entertainment, purchasing, etc. Bingo! I think the online environment is increasingly geared in that direction. Not a good trend and probably why I don't like internet culture much. The internet is now primarily images. It's difficult to reason using images, though good for intuitive thinking. Do we want people voting who rely on images or reason things through? Same with leaders. I could go on, but time for sleep now.

ApatheticNoMore

10-31-14, 1:51am

Whether it's images mostly depends on what you decide to seek on the internet (there may be pictures on FB but then you don't have to join FB). This internet connection isn't fast enough for videos so there's no watching videos through it (yea brief youtubes will often work).

Twitter I was into and out of quickly. If you follow people with interesting things to say then yes believe it or not they WILL actually say some interesting things on Twitter! But I got tired of the crusading going on there and how much time one would have to put in to follow some crusade on some obscure often unimportant thing, so it wasn't worth it for the nuggets anymore (though I follow the nuggets to blogs, and before I know it I'm reading Rumi poems and crying over them).

The image thing started with t.v. (yea, I've read Neil Postman) not internet, so you'd have to go back decades upon decades, the internet may have slightly tilted the balance back toward text if anything. Meanwhile people who like text will seek out text, nearly all of what I do on the internet is text though there's some pretty pictures out there and music (most of the images I see online are probably added as compliments to text or music).

I guess it gets hard to conceive of life without because of path dependency (path dependency was a concept I learned about on the internet), every adult relationship romantic or friendship I've had can be traced to the internet (no not exclusively online dating but people met through groups or activities I heard about initially through the internet etc.), most of the books I own can be traced to the internet (Amazon recommends, blog references, chats, books I read about in other books I found out about through the internet) etc.. It's still too much of a time suck though.

herbgeek

10-31-14, 6:57am

Anything can be a time suck if you allow it.

That said, I'm never giving up internet access as far as I can see. I'm out in the middle of no where, and this allows me to work from home multiple days a week, keep in touch with people who live far away when its convenient for THEM, allow me access to goods I would have to drive far to find (and these days, brick and mortar stores seem to only keep the most popular items in stock, and you have to go on the net to the niche goods anyways), get exposed to ideas I would otherwise never hear of in this small town, declutter my cookbook collection because I can always find something interesting on line etc etc.

I am too far away to make going to a hot spot a viable choice. Our local library has limited hours is only open one evening a week, and the one coffee shop that has free wifi is also only open during the day.

There's a myriad of both good and bad available on the internet and its up to me to choose what works for me, and fit it into the rest of my life as it suits me. I do usually have the laptop off Saturday afternoon and Sunday--although I do use my tablet to check mail on those days. I don't tend to do a lot of surfing on my tablet. Except for Pinterest. That is indeed a time suck. LOL. I have to liimit my time there or I will easily lose half a day without realizing it.

rosarugosa

10-31-14, 8:27am

That's interesting about images vs. text. I've said to DH how I read so much less now that I've been spending so much time online, and he pointed out that I mostly read stuff online as opposed to watching videos or looking at pictures. His point being that I'm still reading, just via a different delivery method. I still plan to continue limiting my screen time though. Just because something is text - whether online or on paper - doesn't necessarily mean it's worthwhile.

Alan

10-31-14, 8:51am

I was internet free my entire life until sometime in my 30's, although it wasn't a choice. Back in those days I read a lot of newspapers and magazines, the physical kind. These days I still do, although their form has changed, and the cool thing is I now have much more variety. I'll never give that up.

I also don't read physical books anymore. I've collected my own digital lending library on a home computer and load a few at a time on my iPad and read them there. With the internet, I can access them from anywhere. Doing without would seem so......limiting, at least to me.

jp1

10-31-14, 3:57pm

I'd agree that the question of images vs. text is dependant upon the individual. Unless it's a how to video I much prefer to read my information. And like Alan, the internet has significantly broadened the number of sources where I can get news and information.

SteveinMN

10-31-14, 5:58pm

I read an article, perhaps on cnet about how win8 is designed for tablets and phones. It works great on them, poorly on laptops.
I would not read too much into the future of computing based on Windows 8. Microsoft has admitted they stepped in a deep pile of #*%^ with Windows 8.0 and has been moving away steadily from the paradigm of a universal user interface with each successive update.

Author mentioned that laptops are designed for productivity, phones and tablets for consumption of entertainment, purchasing, etc. Bingo! I think the online environment is increasingly geared in that direction. Not a good trend and probably why I don't like internet culture much. The internet is now primarily images. It's difficult to reason using images, though good for intuitive thinking. Do we want people voting who rely on images or reason things through? Same with leaders. I could go on, but time for sleep now.
I'm not sure I'd read too much into the future of personal computer usage with that, either. I'll grant that I have not read that book. But I wonder if the author accounts for physics and economics in his/her assessment of tablets and smartphones. Tablets and smartphones are lousy "production" devices at least in part because our hands are not shrinking along with the devices. At some point tapping screen elements and typing on a keyboard that can fit into the device just isn't going to be pleasant.

Similarly, tablets and smartphones hold down the lower end of the personal-computing price spectrum, making them available to people who, maybe ten years ago, would never have had the money to buy their own computer and put it on the Internet. Very few computer companies will sell you a laptop for $10 down and $4 a month for the next two years. But T-Mobile will sell you a (Windows Phone) smartphone for that kind of money. So there are lots of devices which are OK-to-good for consumption and lousy for production. But many more people now can participate. Good or bad?

The whole mostly-images thing? Humans are intensely-visual beings. Two hundred years ago, there were almost no sources of information which weren't printed or live -- few pictures, no radio, no TV, no Internet, no movies. Very few sources for alternate viewpoints. He who owned the press owned the opinion. A hundred years ago, newspapers were attracting customers with bold type and huge pictures on the front page. Fifty years ago, John Kennedy realized the power of appearances; Richard Nixon figured it out only some years later. Thirty years ago, politicians told stories of welfare queens driving Cadillacs without ever producing pictures or videos to document the millions apparently abusing the system. >8)

People were led and misled hundreds of years ago and they will be now. Blame a 7x24 news cycle; blame the fear most people have of silence; blame the institutionalization of purchased politics; blame our educational system. But I don't think tablets and phones have done anything that the press and other people weren't already doing.

Edited to add:
I am hopeful this thread is not turning into a referendum on the Internet. Oddball already said (s)he was not walking away from it entirely. My initial post simply stated my preference for constant access. That's kind of a different thing, I think.

kib

10-31-14, 6:50pm

Did microsoft actually admit a mistake with Win 8? My god I can't remember the last time I hated a new roll-out so much, I actually tried and returned two different laptops and a tablet before deciding to just suck it up and keep my battered old one with its precious Win 7. What are they doing in the work environment? For the life of me I can't imagine productivity not nosediving with Win 8.

SteveinMN

10-31-14, 6:58pm

Did microsoft actually admit a mistake with Win 8?
Every update to Windows 8 and the UI to Windows 10 pulls the "desktop" interface closer to that of Windows 95/98/Me/XP/2000/Vista/7; Start button, non-Metro wrap, and so on. Here's (http://mashable.com/2014/04/05/microsoft-windows-8-retreat/) Mashable's take on it.

ApatheticNoMore

10-31-14, 7:05pm

What are they doing in the work environment? For the life of me I can't imagine productivity not nosediving with Win 8.

most windows work environments have never shifted off Windows 7. By and large I don't think Win 8 was ever regarded as a work ready platform by business.

rosarugosa

10-31-14, 7:56pm

Alan: I see more and more e-readers and fewer books on the subway each day; I fear I am almost quaint at this point with my dead tree books. I do wonder about loss of power though - what if one's battery runs out of juice mid-commute? I think I would always need to carry a backup paper book just in case (when I smoked, I carried two packs of cigarettes, two lighters and two books of matches at all times just in case; to say I like to be prepared for contingencies would be quite the understatement). So I figure I might as well just read the backup book and not tote around an e-reader too. I always have a pile of good books waiting to be read, and I get them for free, so I don't really feel limited. I like my bite-sized reading online just fine, but I'm still attracted to paper books for a more substantial read. On the minus side, I'm increasingly weighing weight into the equation when deciding who comes on the train with me and who only gets read at home, so I guess that's limiting. I'm sometimes carrying my work laptop back and forth, so with my handbag and tote bag, it can amount to 25% of my body weight being carted around!

Alan

10-31-14, 8:12pm

Alan: I see more and more e-readers and fewer books on the subway each day; I fear I am almost quaint at this point with my dead tree books. I do wonder about loss of power though - what if one's battery runs out of juice mid-commute?
I have a couple of small charging devices, one solar powered, that I take with me when I'm away from home for more than a day. The week before last my wife and I spent the weekend white water rafting and tent camping in West Virginia. Since it rained each evening and night we were there, we spent a lot of time reading in the tent and returned home with power to spare with two each iPads and iPhones. We also keep charging cables in the cars, motorhome and motorcycle, so keeping the batteries charged hasn't been a problem for us yet.

I will admit I was slow to transition from paper to pixel but now that I have, I really like it.

rosarugosa

10-31-14, 8:27pm

Thanks, Alan, I appreciate the input and it's good to know that battery life isn't a real issue. I'm actually pondering a Tracfone right now, so an e-reader could be in the cards for me in this lifetime. I do love my iPod (full of Grateful Dead music, so don't tell Packy whatever you do)!

awakenedsoul

10-31-14, 8:45pm

Oddball,

I get what you mean about wanting to spend more time on artistic and creative projects. How much time do you spend on line now? I'd like to reduce the time I spend on line to an hour or two a day. I've noticed that my house has gotten messier as I've started surfing the net. Sometimes I don't get my daily music practicing in, either.

What kind of projects are you doing? Hope that's not too personal a question. I think what you're doing is great. Keep us posted.

Tussiemussies

11-1-14, 6:15am

I could never give up the Internet, I find so many creative things that I have signed up through Facebook groups that I have joined. I am almost stuck at home so the internet is my connection with the outside world. I don't watch TV or listen to the radio. Maybe it has been overkill to the OP and he needs a break from it before he sees the good side of it as fun?

ToomuchStuff

11-1-14, 9:34am

Steve,
Do you remember the old show Connections, with James Burke?
You talk about tablets and smartphones as production devices but miss where something else my connect with them and change them to just that. In hospitals and such tablets are starting to be used more (different interface, but run on the hospitals online services/cloud and have pc's the info connects to on the desk) and phones have things like bluetooth and HDMI. (connect with a screen, use with keyboard and mouse) I don't think the processing power is there yet, but the cloud push, things like Metro and Unity and some discussions I have had with non power users, make me think that could be where we are headed.
There will still be power users, in the same respect there are still mainframe users.

Alan, is there any dead tree editions you prefer to hold rather then a digital device?
I have both and found there is still a LOT of books that I either can't find digital versions (not all authors have gone that way), or the used dead tree edition costs quite a bit less (part of what was supposed to be a benefit of electronic ones, yet you can't loan out electronic ones, or resell). Some, I still prefer a physical version. (woodworking books with plans and photo's)

I am quite a bit old fashioned when it comes to some things. I still use snail mail for all my bills, no online banking (know how easy it is for MITM attacks), while tech has replaced other things (rare, expensive, long distance phone calls, or family letters, how to video's/books, etc). To me it shouldn't be any different then another tool, that people either love, hate, go crazy over, or just use; a vehicle. Here we have those that have even gone away from them, because they can get stuff delivered to them, with the internet. The thing we haven't figured out (and companies have tried to kill every effort that provided it) is "the last mile". That is where you get billed for your connection to the net (at whatever price they choose and you accept), where there have been municipal broadband attempts, that cable companies have sued against. (high speed fiber optics to the home at a monthly cost of less then $20 a month) I look forward to the day where access is just another utility.

Tradd

11-1-14, 12:37pm

I prefer to have some books in hard copy. Jane Austen, Dickens, Shakespeare. I have Austen and Dickens on my Kindle, but Shakespeare just doesn't work well on a Kindle, at least not for me. Some books aren't available on Kindle.

I'm old-fashioned when it comes to some things, too, TMS. I pay my bills online, but I pay cash for nearly everything else. I still write letters and have a very active correspondence with two friends. I write on Crane paper. I don't like writing on cheap paper. I have a 1960s manual typewriter I pound out some of my letters on. I even write to my local and state politicians via snail mail. Paper letters to DC are an issue since the anthrax scare right after 9/11, so I sue email for those.

I've been considering going back to snail mail for my bills. I bank with Chase and those who used online banking or the mobile app were those who had their info hacked during a recent attacked. Those who had Chase accounts, but no internet/mobile use did not have their info compromised. I had used my debit and credit cards at Target last November during the time frame when Target's system was hacked. I did not have any fraudulent charges on either card, but Chase still automatically replaced my cards just in case, as they did with everyone who had used their cards at Target within a specific time period.

If I want to check my balance or to see if something has cleared, I can always use the bank-by-phone capability. I did that for years before online banking was a reality. Might be something to think about.

Tradd

11-1-14, 12:39pm

SteveinMN

11-1-14, 4:26pm

Steve,
Do you remember the old show Connections, with James Burke?
Yes, I do! I really liked that show, though sometimes you just had to accept Burke's assumption of historical events to follow the rest of the story.

You talk about tablets and smartphones as production devices but miss where something else my connect with them and change them to just that. In hospitals and such tablets are starting to be used more (different interface, but run on the hospitals online services/cloud and have pc's the info connects to on the desk) and phones have things like bluetooth and HDMI. (connect with a screen, use with keyboard and mouse) I don't think the processing power is there yet, but the cloud push, things like Metro and Unity and some discussions I have had with non power users, make me think that could be where we are headed.
There will still be power users, in the same respect there are still mainframe users.
I don't recall calling tablets and smartphones production devices specifically. But I can see how that could be an interpretation of what I wrote.

Tablets and smartphones are production devices in that they are accessible to greater numbers of people at more times during their days than desktop computers wired physically to the Internet. The content may be photos/tweets/Facebook posts/blog comments, but it is content. These same users also are buying things over the Internet (entertainment, certainly, but also small appliances and groceries and airline tickets). The demand for all of this propels the choices everyone has. One thing I'm seeing more of is tablets preloaded to replace sets of printed manuals for people like airline pilots (leave the satchel of Jeppesens at home) and emergency responders (like firefighters and hazmat teams). Easier to tote and updatable widely and quickly.

I'll agree the processing power isn't there in small portable devices yet, but it is getting there. Ten years ago I was toting a Samsung flip phone that offered a miserable on-line experience with a proprietary WAP browser and data measured in KB. Now my wife's iPad can connect to pretty much any Web site worth visiting and she has almost as much functionality on a site as I do on my MacBook Pro.

Perhaps the biggest limitations are physical: the screens still are tiny. On-screen keyboards are not conducive to writing long works like blog posts or news articles or repair procedures. The physical limitations are coinciding with a populace that is increasingly driven by the visual instead of the written word. There are keyboards which pair wirelessly with phones and tablets (DW has one; it's pretty nice, actually). You mentioned HDMI outputs for connections to bigger screens.

But I think things will continue to move beyond that. Every Apple device in our house (including the 7-year-old laptop) can transfer content wirelessly to our TV; I'm sure Apple is not unique in that. Maybe HDMI ports are a waystation and the real answer is connection via WiFi or Bluetooth. Perhaps the drivers for things like Bluetooth keyboards will stabilize eventually to a library usable by any OS so that any Bluetooth keyboard can connect through a phone or tablet to access information regardless of platform.