So tonight while surfing the net, I went from looking at pictures of Tupolev TU-144's to reading the history of Turks and Caicos and then onto the Jonestown massacre in Guyana. All in the space of 30 minutes. If you had tried to do this 30 years ago, you would have needed to have spent many hours at the library, but now its all there at a click of a mouse and a few words typed into Google. The internet what a brilliant invention.
Its certainly a god send for me at work thats for sure. Allows me to ask daft questions on forums like this!!
It has made the world a much smaller place. If it wasn't for the internet, I wouldn't have started travelling for the first time, at the age of 54! Many years ago I won a competition in the Times newspaper. It would have been much easier with the internet at hand to answer all 234 questions!
When it first came out they referred to it as an "information super highway". Not an expression you hear much of now, but information super highway it certainly is. Especially since dialup :yawn: has been superceded by broadband. They were talking about 3D Skype Video calls, on TV the other day. Imagine the benefits to those in long distance relationships! Amazing. My wife's iPad is starting to fail. It is 2 years old now and the main button ( a known weakness in the build ) is iffy now. So I will get her an iPad Mini which is a good bit cheaper than the iPad but is 4G ready. I wonder if 4G will be enough to support 3D Skype? It is also incredible that my wife here, and her mom in the Philippines 7000 miles away, can text each other at will, wifi to wifi, send photos to each other through viber, wifi to wifi and skype at will wifi to wifi and for them, virtually free. Amazing.
The downside of this Super Information Highway is that it makes us mentally lazy, easier to Google than mentally retain information.
And of course we have Skype... Kay has a sense of humour (it was the third thing I noticed about her - cheekbones, legs - "did she really just say that...!") Consequently we carry on much like Shakespeare's Beatrice and Benedick: Beatrice: What is your will? Benedick: Do not you love me? Beatrice: Why, no. No more than reason. Benedick: Well, then your Uncle, the prince and Claudio have been deceived. They swore you did. Beatrice: Do not you love me? Benedick: Why, no. No more than reason. Beatrice: Why, then my cousin, Margaret, and Ursula are much deceived for they swear you did. Benedick: They swore you were almost sick for me. Beatrice: They swore you well nigh dead for me. Benedick: 'Tis no such matter. Then... you... do not love me? Beatrice: No, truly, but in friendly recompense. [Shakes Benedick's hand] Leonato: Come, cousin, I am sure you love the gentleman. Claudio: I'll be sworn upon he loves her, for here's a paper written in his hand a halting sonnet of his own pure brain, fashioned to Beatrice. Hero: And here's another... Beatrice: No! [Slaps Hero's hand] Hero: ...writ in my cousin's hand, stolen from her pocket containing her affection unto Benedick. Benedick: A miracle! Here's our own hands against our hearts. Come, I will have thee. But, by this light, I take thee for pity. Beatrice: I would not deny you. But, by this good day, I yield upon great persuasion and partly to save your life, for I was told you were in a consumption. Benedick: Peace! I will stop your mouth. [Kisses Beatrice] That was how it was done before the Internet, of course. Nowadays we get this: Beatrice: What is your will? Benedick: Do not you love me? Beatrice: Why, no. No more than reason. Benedick: Well, then your Uncle, the prince and Claudio have been deceived. They swore you did. Beatrice: Do not you love me? Benedick: Damn it's crashed. . Beatrice: He's gone again. I know the type ... Benedick: [strugging with his computer connection] ...
