A friend of mine has ordered a new computer. However she doesn't have internet. She'll probably get broadband sometime, but currently she doesn't have even a land line.
After spending half the weekend online, I was thinking what I would be able to do with a computer that is not connected. The answer I came up with is pretty much nothing. Now I have had computers since the age of about 8, and I have only the last few years been connected. I remember being able to use a computer without this thing they call the internet.
But now? Now I see a computer needs to plugs. One for power and one for the internet. Without either it's just a fancy paper weight. And not all that attractive either.
Lets see what I did this weekend on the computer.
- Ripped some CDs: Requires net for CDDB (track listing) lookup
- Installed a new webcam: Requires net for drivers
- Went to movies: Requires net for show times and booking
- Got some music of an album I used to have on minidisk: Requires net for downloading of tracks (illegally yadda yadda yadda)
- Converted (illicit) music from Ogg Vorbis to AAC: Requires net for codecs and howtos
- Communicated with friends: Requires net for email, and instant messenger. At 3am when you best mate is 5673 miles away and has a young child, you don't always 'juts pick up the phone'
- Went to visit a man about some art: Requires net for directions and address
- Fixed tags on music files: Requires net for album art and correct album information
- Surfed the net: Requires the net
I'm sure there is more stuff I did online, as I spent a lot of time with my laptop on my laptop (using a cushion to protect my knackers). But I can't think of a single thing I did that didn't in some way involve being connected. I can't think of what I would do with a computer not connected. Hell I can't think how I would cope without broadband.
Computers have changed. For me they used to be a tool to do things. Now they are an interface to give me access to the tools I need.
I wonder what the next change will be.
1. Em
I’ll admit to feeling naked without having access to the internet in the evenings now. I don’t use the laptops in the evenings much, in less I want to listen to iTunes. I think I need to sort that problem out asap.
2. matthew
Well I hear tell that the US military are currently working on the ‘next’ internet. If you know your internet history you’ll know that it was pretty much inverted by a guy called Paul Baran in 1962 in order for the US air force to be able to continue communicate even after a devestating nuclear attack.
Who knows what they’ll come up with next? I’d imagine it’ll be, as Arthur C Clarke once said, ‘indistinguishable from magic’. Well I certainly hope so anyhoo. I like magic so I do.
3. Ian
I was talking about this very subject with a housemate just the other day. Even my works’ work that I do on my laptop is synched with the rest of the company via the internet.
In fact it would be suffice to day that without the internet I would have negligible use for a computer.
And these days even 512kb just isn’t enough. Will probably be moving onto a 1meg line in January. If you’d told me that 4 years ago I would have laughed in your face.
4. stroppycow
2 uses for an unconnected ‘puter. It saves you from having to deal cards when playing patience/solitaire and it can work as a fancy DVD player in the card to keep young child entertained when driving to Cornwall.
5. Chris
Use for an unconnected computer: MAME. The single greatest application ever written by a human being, ever.
Of course, there’s now versions of MAME where you can play multiplayer arcade games across the ‘net, which just makes it even better. But even unconnected, it’s still brilliant.
6. Destructor
My home computer basically function as my stereo at the moment. It’s connected, but barely. Bring on the Broadband, I say! But yes, I know what you mean. However your list was pretty strawgrabby. You can totally go to movies, burn CDs, communicate with friends and install hardware without the net. I did try surfing the net without a computer, by the waves went right through it like it wasn’t even there.
7. Adrian
You can do all that without the net. But I did do all that on my computer and I couldn’t use my computer to do that without the net.
8. yuvy
Some ideas:
If you like interactive entertainment, and don’t necessarily wish to compete with finger-jockeys online, I could use a dedicated pc for Half-Life 2 and Prince of Persia, the warrior within - great standalone pc games.
Also, if you’re into digital arts, I video edit, create 2d (photoshop), 3d (3ds max/maya) - although the case can be made that they need to be connected for getting raw footage in or completed stuff out, as opposed to burning it. But as a rendering engine maybe?
Being connected helps a lot, but a standalone pc can always be handy if you have the room and need for it…
9. razorhead
broadband is the answer. Computers are irrelevant - I could never persuade my parents to get one for their home, but a cheap, easy, virus/spyware free way of getting their mail and surfing the net…
10. Lori
I remember having a go at the NTL phone monkey who refused to tell me why I had only one out of three of their services - because it wasn’t my name on the bill, he couldn’t tell me anything. I ended up asking him what the hell I was going to do with my evening with only 4 tv channels and no internet connection. He sounded (understandably) confused but I was totally lost without my broadband. I ended up reading a book because I couldn’t think of anything to do using the computer.
As for your weekend… what sort of ‘art’ were you looking at?
11. Adrian
I’m not saying it’s because I’m a geek that you need internet to use a computer, but computers have changed. Even the simpliest fucntions now days have some sort of internet component.
I was looking at an Escher print actually.