How Many Years...

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It's really a love/hate relationship with my computers. I love being able to do all the cool things you can do with them, but ithey end up taking all my time away. There are so many other things I want to do, but have fallen into a cyber grip of sorts.

We have a wireless modem and I send it with Momma when she goes to work. This way I get all my chores done, hobbies done, hang out with the kiddos.....overall I'm much more productive.

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The wife and I are both trying to spend less time on the computer when we're home @ night. We catch up on household crap and other stuff that needs to be done so our weekends can be freed up a little. On the nights when there are no chores, I've actually started reading actual books again!!! I still hop on the computer for maybe an hour a night, tops, but that's still a lot less than I used to.

Same here as well! I've noticed that once I start on the computer in a given day I can't stay off....but when Momma has the modem and then comes home I'm in that groove and stay off of it. Last night I shut it down around 7:45-7:50 PM! It was great!

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It's funny, I have this habit of watching a movie or tv show and going to the IMDB to read the trivia and goofs sections about the movie or tv show and trying to spot the things they talk about.

Have you ever gone to Nitpickers.com Sentinel? I do the same thing sometimes...after a particularly good movie, or one with some issues or controversy I like to talk about it.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

spectrefate wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I never had one when I was single and living alone in my apartment.

...and that would have been the ideal time to have one....

but the lure of free internet porn would have turned me into a reclusive compulsive masterbating hermit.

Its really not as bad as you would think.

I'm surprised so many of you got into the game so late... especially since most are older than me!

thejokeriv wrote:

C64, 300 baud modem, calling BBS' (one computer on at a time)- 84/85

C64 was my first computer, inherited from our old family business. I think it finally came home to our house for personal use around '88. They had some business/bookkeeping programs for it, but I just used it for games. We didn't have a modem for it and I wouldn't have even known what a modem was back then.

So what exactly was there to do with a C64 & modem?

Metal Misfit wrote:

I'm surprised so many of you got into the game so late... especially since most are older than me!

thejokeriv wrote:

C64, 300 baud modem, calling BBS' (one computer on at a time)- 84/85

C64 was my first computer, inherited from our old family business. I think it finally came home to our house for personal use around '88. They had some business/bookkeeping programs for it, but I just used it for games. We didn't have a modem for it and I wouldn't have even known what a modem was back then.

So what exactly was there to do with a C64 & modem?

Post messages on bulletin Board Systems (BBS). Back then, only one person could log on at a time. Some of them would post games for the C64 and some people would download them. The beginings of today's "download it for free" culture. I used the name "Thrash Man" back then - the early blabbermouth type idiots (they were around back then too!) though it was funny to call Trash Man - they didn't Thrash Metal!!!!!!

Also, try to hack into the government computers and play tick tack toe - o wait, that was War Games! Never mind!

My brother and his friends were always using the C64 and the modem to download games, 87-88ish. I remember the pirated games had a scroll that was like a shout out with different names flashing by. California Games was my favorite one they got.

I did some internet (mainly emailing really) in college. In 96 I got a Mac as a birthday present and saw an ad for a local ISP. Signed up and would sit for long periods trying to get on. Hoping to hear the static connect and three lights come on the modem. Then when I finally would, it would click off after a half hour. That was pretty much my first year with the internet.

I've only had the high speed deal for two years and can't believe I ever did without it.

Funny thing is the more time I spend away from the internet the less the urge to get on becomes. I'd also say it has almost completely replaced TV for me.

[quote]Funny thing is the more time I spend away from the internet the less the urge to get on becomes. I'd also say it has almost completely replaced TV for me.[/quote]

I notice that myself....

The first computer I ever bought had a quad speed cd-rom (which I had never even heard of at the time), 8 megs of ram and a 14.4 modem. It was a screamer!

I'm guessing it was around '94 or so. Not too sure.

October 2000.