> Do you really believe that there is an information revolution?
> E-commerce? E-banking? E-wanking! You *actually* believe that
> shit? I am amazed.

RG> I know that as a result of the most recent internet virus we
RG> were unable to deposit a cheque into our bank last week.
RG> Thousands of other people, many of them who don't even own a
RG> computer were similarly affected, so I satnd by by comment, The
RG> internet and what goes on on the internet is a fact of life
RG> that affects us all, regardless of whether you like it or not. 

 Drugs, prostitution and gambling are amarket 10,000-times the the
size of the net, and they don't affect me either... whether *you*
like it or not. We are free to make choices quite independent of what
other wankers may be doing with their time and money. On a scale of
what affects me, the net is in the bottom 1% along with white noise.

> The only part of the net that has value is email, and it's set up
> all wrong anyway. Fido had it right...

RG> ROFL. Yeah, I remember when Gaelyne and I first 'met' - we used
RG> to chat via fidonet all the time - Fidonet certainly made it
RG> easy - taking up to a week to get a reply back from any given
RG> message. At least with the internet email it is possable to
RG> actuall 'chat' in real-time. 

 That's not the net... that's cheap satellite downtime. I used to
chat in real-time on the local BBS, but even then I realised how
stupid it was. That's why god invented the telephone.

 The internet is fucked in the head, because of the basic structure.
We need a centralised network with a heirarchy like Fido. *IF* we had
such a sytem, IPs would disappear and be replaced by major companies
(like banks) offering BBS services as an add-on. It's mad to pay $600
a year and only use it for email and occasional banking!

> I've seen fads come and go, and what remains after the bullshit
> clears and the wankers go away,

RG> Sorry to burst your bubble bob, but the Internet is no longer a
RG> fad, and it ISN'T going to go away.

 That's what they said about the hula hoop.

> Maybe you can explain what other part of the net is going to
> affect my life. ROFL!

RG> I've already mentioned last weeks banking scenario.

 You transfer *money* on the net?? (amazed!)

RG> Perhaps I should also mention that the goings on on the
RG> Internet also affected the running of trains in various parts
RG> of the country

 ROFL! Jeeze. I haven't been on a train in forty years!

RG> a large portion of any overseas telephone conversation these
RG> days is dependent entirely on the internet.

 No... it *uses* the net because it exists. This is the classic
*tech* mindset. You only see what is. You can describe how the net
came into existence, you are always big on history, but you just
can't see what part of the system has value.

 I'm wasting my time...

Regards,
Bob
    


--- BQWK Alpha 0.5