Frustration of the internet

[Captain Nemesis]

Throughout the 90's & into the millenium I was a senior part of the company that put PC's into most homes.

"The" company? Surely by then there were a number of large manufacturers of PCs, many (most?) of which offered products with a consumer focus?

Was any UK retailer dominant at the time?

"put PC's into most homes".

Bit of a problem with that:

Percentage of households with home computers in the United Kingdom (UK) from 1985 to 2018

I helped to create the first 'free' home internet access

Define "free"?

I was a major player in the dirty campaign that forced BT into finally adopting ADSL.

I didnt know BT was majorly opposed to ADSL. Obviously they were doing well out of metered dial-up, but, bearing in mind the lack of nimbleness in a company that size, how much did they drag their feet once ADSL hardware became commercially realistic?

 

[mattylad]

Having a family of 5 going down to 4 we use our dw every day, which magazine did some tests and figured out that if you wash more than 8 items in it then it's mroe economical than doing it by hand.
The problem is in who fills and who empties it... lol

Yes glasses still come out sandblasted - we are probably not using it correctly though.

RE the internet, without it a great many more would have been lonely. I'm fairly sure that my own daughter would not still be here today without the ability to talk to others via it as she is mainly housebound.
Some (as in a great many) websites are not updated as the internet improves so they do not work well.

 

[JP_]

Moaning about the internet, on an internet forum..

 

[Brigade77]

There were indeed a few established & successful PC manufacturers by that time, can you name ONE who sold direct to the public from a store?

At the time we were launched as a RETAILER of PC's, the biggest supplier to the public were a mail order company called Granville Computers. Who we later bought from their receivers. (Do I have a tale to tell about that one)

Can I define "free". No I cannot, the word "free" means different things to different people. All I can say is most people were in favour of ditching the subscription access business model in favour of our NON subscription access business model. Why wouldn't they be? After we launched FREESERVE it took 3 (THREE) days for the CEO's of Compuserve & AOL to track me down & get me on a phone, we had discussed & rehearsed our response . . . "you snooze you lose" & slam that phone down.

Did BT ever try to surpress the UK introduction of ADSL in the UK. You bet your 'effin life they did. We only won that battle because we knew & were fully prepared for just how dirty that fight would get. It quite took them by surprise that we had far dirtier tactics under our sleeves. Incidentally, most of their 'dirty fighters' transferred their loyalties to us & went on to great wealth in several internet related Co's . . . . !

Does this answer your questions? I think not, you'll find something to spout your bile at. Spout your bile at this, my last monthly salary with this Co' was £340,000. That's £340k x12 . . . . ! Tell the world what your work is worth & maybe I'll share a few other things.

 

[Brigade77]

Blimey, you seem to have mirrored Dork Lards illustrious career! Have you met him?

<hugs Mottie> Yes my dear, we are quite aquainted. </unhuggs Mottie>

Is there any possibility you could get your responsible adult to explain it to you ?

 

[conny]

There were indeed a few established & successful PC manufacturers by that time, can you name ONE who sold direct to the public from a store?

At the time we were launched as a RETAILER of PC's, the biggest supplier to the public were a mail order company called Granville Computers. Who we later bought from their receivers. (Do I have a tale to tell about that one)

Can I define "free". No I cannot, the word "free" means different things to different people. All I can say is most people were in favour of ditching the subscription access business model in favour of our NON subscription access business model. Why wouldn't they be? After we launched FREESERVE it took 3 (THREE) days for the CEO's of Compuserve & AOL to track me down & get me on a phone, we had discussed & rehearsed our response . . . "you snooze you lose" & slam that phone down.

Did BT ever try to surpress the UK introduction of ADSL in the UK. You bet your 'effin life they did. We only won that battle because we knew & were fully prepared for just how dirty that fight would get. It quite took them by surprise that we had far dirtier tactics under our sleeves. Incidentally, most of their 'dirty fighters' transferred their loyalties to us & went on to great wealth in several internet related Co's . . . . !

Does this answer your questions? I think not, you'll find something to spout your bile at. Spout your bile at this, my last monthly salary with this Co' was £340,000. That's £340k x12 . . . . ! Tell the world what your work is worth & maybe I'll share a few other things.

I assume that being the magnanimous person you portray,
(I remember the young lady with a very rare illness & I remember helping her set up the BBS group that connected the 100 or so worldwide sufferers & their carers. I especially remember co-ordinating with an IT technician in Sydney Australia, to set up a video feed into his parents home so he could show off with their new grandaughter. I also remember chatting with my local independant travel agent & predicting that most High St travel agents would disappear & her counter arguments about why they wouldn't. I guess we were both right, she adopted a few of my ideas but kept a High St presence & sold her business for £40million when she retired . . . .),
that you pay all relevant UK taxes on all these earnings.

What I find fascinating that people with this lifestyle and these earnings actually participate in a General Discussion Forum on a DIY site where most other members are basically trades people or average home owners wanting to improve their diy skill set.

 

[Mottie]

What I find fascinating that people with this lifestyle and these earnings actually participate in a General Discussion Forum on a DIY site where most other members are basically trades people or average home owners wanting to improve their diy skill set.

Perhaps Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have blocked him from their WhatsApp group?

 

[conny]

Perhaps Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have blocked him from their WhatsApp group?

 

[Brigade77]

What I find fascinating that people with this lifestyle and these earnings actually participate in a General Discussion Forum on a DIY site where most other members are basically trades people or average home owners wanting to improve their diy skill set.

Assuming makes an ASS out of YOU and ME.

I have sat at the table & drank beer this Sunday dinnertime with a chap who drives a 14yr old Ford Fiesta & lives in a cottage that attracts an almost constant attention from "home improvements" brochure sellers. He's worth north of £10million & has never knowingly bought anyone a drink in that t'pub.

He's not unusual. You are.

 

[Mottie]

 

[bernardgreen]

bought from their receivers. (Do I have a tale to tell about that one)

The media had a tale to tell

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2005/dec/02/news.business

 

[conny]

Assuming makes an ASS out of YOU and ME.

I have sat at the table & drank beer this Sunday dinnertime with a chap who drives a 14yr old Ford Fiesta & lives in a cottage that attracts an almost constant attention from "home improvements" brochure sellers. He's worth north of £10million & has never knowingly bought anyone a drink in that t'pub.

He's not unusual. You are.

You are the one who used the word 'assuming'

Assuming makes an ASS out of YOU and ME.

I have sat at the table & drank beer this Sunday dinnertime with a chap who drives a 14yr old Ford Fiesta & lives in a cottage that attracts an almost constant attention from "home improvements" brochure sellers. He's worth north of £10million & has never knowingly bought anyone a drink in that t'pub.

He's not unusual. You are.

I didn't ask what you had done on Sunday, I asked if you paid all relevant taxes due to this government. Prevarication is not a good trait.

And I am unusual because?

 

[bernardgreen]

At the time we were launched as a RETAILER of PC's,

Would that have been Dixons ?

https://techmonitor.ai/techonology/dixons_urges_investors_to_gamble_on_freeserve

 

[ReganAndCarter]

 

[diy_fun_uk]

I'm a child of the 70's/80's and with hindsight I'm pleased my childhood was computer and Internet free, bar the ZX Spectrum I got one Christmas. I enjoyed going out with my mates and mucking about on our BMXs etc without the temptation of a computer or games console to keep us indoors.

Having said all that, I'm equally pleased we do have easy access to relatively cheap computing and Internet these days, well, most of us. Digital exclusion is still a real thing that needs fully addressed. In equal measure, I feel sorry for kids for whom using social media is completely intertwined with their day to day life. So much so they often can't 'switch it off' even when they're being targeted by bullies and the like.

Unfortunately, as is always the way, technology will be used for bad as much as good, we'll never get away from that. However, I think on balance 'the Internet' has been a welcome invention and as others have touched on, we'll never stop progress and neither should we.

I'd love to come back 50+ years from now to see what kind of progress has been made, especially around AI.