Computer world

Nostalgia for the year 11111001110

Ben Poggemiller Staff

The Internet: creator and destroyer of worlds. Elegant. Shocking. Evolving. Hyperbolic. As long as there has been the Internet, there have been Internet fads. However, I constantly have a strange nostalgia for four years ago, before some new fad or technology changed our lives. Remember 2004? It was a simpler time then, before Facebook.com and YouTube.com. That was when it was great to be a nerd. But what happens if we go back in 10 years in “nerd-dom”?

The year is 1998. You come home from school and you’re ready for the World Wide Web. “Mom, do you need to use the phone?” you ask as you plug the line into the phone jack. You open the dialer for your Internet service provider and type in your user name and password. “Ewwwuweeeuheeee-chkkkkkkkkk,” says your 56k modem.

First, you check your Hotmail.com account. After 30 seconds of loading, you enter your username and password, which is “STARWARS.” Nothing new. None of your six contacts has electronically mailed you.

You make a quick trip to Hampsterdance.com. You don’t know why, but the hypnotic rhythm of waves of rodents entrances you. The nine-second loop of “Whistle Stop” should be irritating but it’s not. This is the frontier of new media. This is the best you have, unaware of the dance mixes to come. Even though the song is taken from the Disney version of Robin Hood, the word “infringement” is unknown to you. You finally remember that you only have a certain amount of hours left on your monthly Internet plan, so you move on.

You sign into ICQ to see if anyone you know is on. You are greeted by only one green flower, one of your friends from school. After you talk for a few minutes about how cool it is to instantly message one another, you get a game of Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II going. It is the best game ever made.

You quit ICQ to conserve bandwidth and you log on to the MSN Gaming Zone. You find the game your friend has set up. He has the game password-protected so nobody else can join. The password is “STARWARS.” You load the game, but it crashes. You and your friend decide to try playing by direct IP instead. You input his IP address and everything works fine.

Your sister picks up the phone and instead of a dial tone, she hears “KCCHHHHHHH.”

“I need to use the phone!” she yells downstairs. Apparently her social life is more important than yours. You are forced to tell your friend “I gtg. My sister needs to use the phone.”

You go and listen to music in your room for the rest of the night. You hate every song on a CD you bought except for one or two. If only there was a way to get just those songs for free.





Volume 95 Issue 22	The Official University of Manitoba Students' Newspaper Website	March 05, 2008

Home About Us Advertising Rates Contact Staff Current Issue PDF Employment Letters to the Editor Meet the Staff Online Archives Volunteer Online Classifieds St. Vincent's Academy Diaries	Font Size Respond Email Print-Friendly Computer world Nostalgia for the year 11111001110 Ben Poggemiller Staff The Internet: creator and destroyer of worlds. Elegant. Shocking. Evolving. Hyperbolic. As long as there has been the Internet, there have been Internet fads. However, I constantly have a strange nostalgia for four years ago, before some new fad or technology changed our lives. Remember 2004? It was a simpler time then, before Facebook.com and YouTube.com. That was when it was great to be a nerd. But what happens if we go back in 10 years in “nerd-dom”? The year is 1998. You come home from school and you’re ready for the World Wide Web. “Mom, do you need to use the phone?” you ask as you plug the line into the phone jack. You open the dialer for your Internet service provider and type in your user name and password. “Ewwwuweeeuheeee-chkkkkkkkkk,” says your 56k modem. First, you check your Hotmail.com account. After 30 seconds of loading, you enter your username and password, which is “STARWARS.” Nothing new. None of your six contacts has electronically mailed you. You make a quick trip to Hampsterdance.com. You don’t know why, but the hypnotic rhythm of waves of rodents entrances you. The nine-second loop of “Whistle Stop” should be irritating but it’s not. This is the frontier of new media. This is the best you have, unaware of the dance mixes to come. Even though the song is taken from the Disney version of Robin Hood, the word “infringement” is unknown to you. You finally remember that you only have a certain amount of hours left on your monthly Internet plan, so you move on. You sign into ICQ to see if anyone you know is on. You are greeted by only one green flower, one of your friends from school. After you talk for a few minutes about how cool it is to instantly message one another, you get a game of Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II going. It is the best game ever made. You quit ICQ to conserve bandwidth and you log on to the MSN Gaming Zone. You find the game your friend has set up. He has the game password-protected so nobody else can join. The password is “STARWARS.” You load the game, but it crashes. You and your friend decide to try playing by direct IP instead. You input his IP address and everything works fine. Your sister picks up the phone and instead of a dial tone, she hears “KCCHHHHHHH.” “I need to use the phone!” she yells downstairs. Apparently her social life is more important than yours. You are forced to tell your friend “I gtg. My sister needs to use the phone.” You go and listen to music in your room for the rest of the night. You hate every song on a CD you bought except for one or two. If only there was a way to get just those songs for free.


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