Now We Have the Internet, But Why Do We Need It? 340
ReLik writes "BBC News is reporting on a survey carried out on the statistics of internet users in the UK, 'While the battle for digital access is being won, we now face a struggle to convince everyone the net is worth using' said Professor Richard Rose, of the Oxford Internet Institute. It begs the question why goverments around the world are encouraging everyone to use the internet, but is there really enough of a reason for everybody to need to? Is the internet suitable for everybody? Will it ever be?"
Simple (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Simple (Score:4, Funny)
More +1, Insightful than +1, Funny (Score:5, Funny)
Pornography is like the space program, we love to have it, it's hard to justify, and sometimes there are spinoff benefits for everyone not involved in it.
Re:Simple (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Simple (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Simple (Score:2)
Whoa there cowboy, this is a public forum. I didn't want to know about your porn interests! Keep your dirty thoughts to yourself!
Sheesh! Some people!
Re:Simple (Score:2)
Oh wait...
Re:Simple (Score:2, Insightful)
I think that's a bit harsh. Repetive and 'in' jokes help define a community.
Re:Simple (Score:2)
Forgive me for wanting my jokes to be a little clever. Not just puns, "In other news..." posts, or "You must be new here."
Re:Simple (Score:2)
Re:Simple (Score:2, Funny)
--From the guy with a lower UID himself
The Internet (Score:5, Funny)
Now We Have the Internet, But Why Do We Need It? (Score:4, Funny)
Somebody post some hot naked chicks to remind this guy why we need it.
Of Course we need it (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:That reminds me... (Score:2)
Good question (Score:5, Funny)
Its more efficient than going to a library (Score:5, Insightful)
The internet is quick, you can learn about anything at the click of a button, you dont have to spend hours at the library looking through books,
Also you can communicate with complete strangers instantly. You get to communicate with guys like me who can tell you how the internet is useful, but I wont cook your dinner.
Re:Its more efficient than going to a library (Score:2)
Re:Its more efficient than going to a library (Score:2)
But this "outside" is a very deprived and filtered place. If you wanted the same experience as slashdot at -1, you had to visit a very well equipped mental asylum. Anonymous trolls swinging in trees, crapping on blathering eggheads. That's the good stuff!
Re:Its more efficient than going to a library (Score:2, Insightful)
I mean come on. What does Goatse.cx actually teach you about having sex with goats?
And if you paid any attention when they taught you library search skills, it shouldn't take yo
Re:Its more efficient than going to a library (Score:4, Informative)
A printed encyclopedia is great if you want a shallow overview of a subject. But if you want a dictionary of Yiddish, or a transliteration guide, don't bother searching at the North Las Vegas library, or (heaven help you) the Alva library. If you want a intro to an arbitrary programming language, search the net. If you want Victorian potboilers, you'll find more of them at Project Gutenberg then even a midsize university library,
in a format far more portable then microfilm and searchable to boot.
What does Goatse.cx actually teach you about having sex with goats?
Honestly, if you're interested in having sex with goats, you can search a university and find a few articles from doctors and psychologists, or you can search the net and find FAQ's from people who have actual experiance in the matter, complete with pictures. (Hey, you chose the subject.)
it shouldn't take you hours to find what you're looking for at the library.
They are more complementary then opposed. There's a lot of scholarly things I'd go digging around my library first. But when looking up the somewhat obscure actress Dana Hill, I can either dig through big indexes to find a few references to articles (in magazines that few libraries archive) and a out of date filmography, or I can hit www.imdb.com and find a complete filmography, and then search around to find a site with a dozen of those articles online.
Isn't it Obvious? (Score:2)
How are they going to build that detailed profile database [to thwart terrorism/paedophilia/insert topical evil here] on every UK citizen if everyone doesn't join in?
How is the status quo going to monitor political association of it's enemies and harvest valuable insights and potential blackmail material of it's opponents, without widespread use of the internet and a few helpful pieces of
Re:Its more efficient than going to a library (Score:4, Interesting)
Exactly. The best analogy I can come up with for this is that the internet allows information which was previously 'liquid' to become 'gaseous' so it expands effortlessly and is practically impossible to contain. (Information went from solid to liquid with the invention of the printing press.)
Re:Good question (Score:2, Interesting)
Of course, the internet is only useful to people that want to know things, buy things, or discuss things. And there's the boobies.
Re:Good question (Score:4, Informative)
It offers you a method to bypass bureaucracy and human limits: On sunday night / monday morning at 1 AM I got a fresh copy of the forms for the "Application for a Permanent Resident Card [cic.gc.ca]" for a friend who got into a jam whole visiting China who desperately needed it without having to go to Canada Customs and Immigration during business hours.
Thats a ridiculous question to ask the internet (Score:5, Insightful)
The question is on a website asking us why do we need it.
Well for one, news, second research, third communication, forth freedom of speech, fifth entertainment, sixth education.
Re:Thats a ridiculous question to ask the internet (Score:2, Interesting)
Is the internet suitable for everybody? Will it ever be?
So it does make sense to ask the current Internet users. For example in my experience some people will never be able to cope technically as the current level of requirements (PC ownership, stopping worm infections, etc.) are too high.
Re:Thats a ridiculous question to ask the internet (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Thats a ridiculous question to ask the internet (Score:2)
Re:Thats a ridiculous question to ask the internet (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Thats a ridiculous question to ask the internet (Score:5, Insightful)
I'd like to expand on this point about being able to get exotic things online. One of the great things about the net IMO is that the 'population' is so large that niche cultures become economically significant.
The perfect example of this I keep seeing is the non-asian market for japanese anime products. In the past, the market was so fragmented, only in large population centres could you get the stuff you want, and then sometimes for insane prices. If you lived in a less populous area, the local stores wouldn't stock anything because the market is so small it takes forever to move the products and when buying such quantities, the price is driven up quite a bit.
But all of the small factions of many niche groups are brought together on the 'net so their buying power becomes significant. There are now plenty of sites where you can get a very wide variety of anime products for decent prices. They can stock a lot of them and thus offer decent prices because the community is big enough.
So basically I'm saying that the internet is important because it allows niche interests to reach critical mass.
The 'big city' doesn't have to be physical (Score:3, Insightful)
$$ in my pocket (Score:2, Funny)
Depends on the use (Score:4, Insightful)
Some people use the Internet for research, discussion, and news; others use it for warez and porn.
Hey, I could take a screwdriver and deside to poke myself in the eye with it... does that mean we don't need screwdrivers?
silly question (Score:5, Insightful)
The internet is a great tool, and just like other tools it's not neccessary, but it improves the quality of life. Of course it not for everyone.
Re:silly question (Score:4, Interesting)
Sort of along those same lines the question of "Do we need telephones, cable/satellite tv, etc." Basically making the point that the internet is another form of media delievery. Just so happens that cable/satellite tv is one way and the telephone is usually limited to one person, you have a broad content on demand information delievery service combined with a great communication tool that has standardized itself that for everyone on the internet, it's local.
So has the internet had a chance to shape society? Not yet, the "children of the internet" are still in college, and still just getting their first jobs. We (the children of the internet) won't be running the world for about 20 more years, you know right about the time the internet stops being cool?
But it will be a pivot point, when the standard of the internet starts to full replace medium delivery options it will make antiquated, such as cable/satellite TV and the telephone. It's already been proven that you can watch a sitcom on the internet and make a phone call on the internet. When it's standard that everyone has some type of "messenger" and standard voice and visual components, we'll have a valid replacement for the telephone/television.
But yeah, I do still agree with you, just thought that comparing the internet to something as vital for life as heart surgery or the automobile was a bit not fair to heary surgery and the automobile.
I beg to differ (Score:5, Insightful)
So has the internet had a chance to shape society? Not yet
You seem to be confusing "totally dominating" and "shaping". Did radio and telephone shape society? Mail still exists. Did TV shape society? Radio still exists.
The internet has not replaced everything, but it has significantly altered many aspects of our society. It has vastly changed the nature of communication (heard of email? IM? A few people use them). It has changed the way we get information (could you get instant answers to very detailed, very obscure questions before the internet? No, because as good as reference librarians are, they don't have the sheer scope of details that Google can provide), the way we shop (Amazon? Ebay?), the way buisiness provide information (How often do you call a chain store vs. going to their website for price information, or to get location/hours), the way we get around (Mapquest)... the list goes on and on. The fact that most of these things are household words is evidence that it has, in fact, shaped our society. Not everyone has email, but almost everyone knows what it is.
I have to laugh at your assertion that the automobile is "vital for life", but that the internet has not shaped society. The automobile allows people to get together more quickly, get what they want more quickly, and generally make the country smaller, and less fragmented into isolated pieces. What does that remind me of? Oh right: the Internet.
The internet is "just another form of media delivery" the same way automobiles are "just another form of people delivery".
Technology fighting technology (Score:5, Insightful)
The reason I love slashdot is that even though the editors fuck up every once in a while (don't we all?) someone else is quick to correct it in the comments. Same goes for wikis, usenet and so on. Everyone can chime in.
Sure, it creates a lot of noise, but it's better than the slick, mindkilling flow that comes out of the television.
That governments encourage the use of the net will be their downfall - they can never control it as well as they can control traditional media sources.
Re:Technology fighting technology (Score:3, Insightful)
So not only are people sitting taking stuff in, they're taking a very VERY narrow polished view of the world in, one that simply DOESN'T have alternatives.
The net has tens of thousands of news sites. Y
Re:Technology fighting technology (Score:2)
Right, and the most interesting ones of these are in my opinion the ones that take feedback in, not just serve information out.
Re:Technology fighting technology (Score:5, Insightful)
I agree with this. All the jokes about blog about peoples' boring lives aside, the net lets average people try and publish their ideas. Sure 80% of it's crap, but at least people are doing something.
I love the fact that I can publish a blog and see how people like my writing style. It lets me know without having to write a whole book if I have any talent or not. Try doing that without the net.
Re:Technology fighting technology (Score:2)
That governments encourage the use of the net will be their downfall - they can never control it as well as they can control traditional media sources.
And how would that lead to the downfall of government? Once everybody is on the Internet do you figure they will no longer want their garbage taken our or their pensions or defense from terrorists or negotiated trade pacts or prisons?
Re:Technology fighting technology (Score:3, Insightful)
I figure you don't need the government for those things, but then again your mileage may vary. I'm also one of those who believe that totalitarianism is a breeding ground for terrorism, but then again, that's just my two cents.
Hey, lack of stuff like the TRIPs treaty is to me the main selling point of anarchy! (Been spending most
YES! (Score:4, Interesting)
Everyone should have access to the internet. I know there is a lot of bad things on there, but there is so much more good. Wikipedia, Google, all that stuff; if it weren't for the internet, I'd know practically nothing. It makes research so much easier than driving all the way up to the library, sifting through books and magazines and not even finding the right info.
It allows for fast and easy gathering of information and images, and sharing of all kinds of data (and I don't mean just Kazaa...)
Of course, we don't need the internet, but, we don't really need anything besides food and water, either.
Re:YES! (Score:5, Interesting)
First, I want to make a shirt with that slogan =).
But seriously, if you'll allow me to turn my paranoid rant goggles on, doesn't this allow for the simple erasing of undesirable history, culture, memes, whatever? In many countries, the internet is not exactly a private infrastructure. Governments can and do control access to it, and to some exent, they at least try to control the data on it. Yes, it is much more egalitarian than say, broadcast television. But that is right now. What will the internet be in 20 years? What was it like 10 years ago? While many of us are hoping for The Street ala Snow Crash, I suspect there is a reasonable possibility we will wind up with regionalized AOL-esque services, and a some sort of wasteland like Freenet.
When governments push anything, it is usually all the better to govern us with. =/
I think that it has the opposite effect (Score:2)
Good uses I've found (Score:5, Insightful)
Personal research. Never before has it been so easy to find out if it's normal for your testicles to itch periodically. Not just great for sexual stuff either, it really helped me as a teen to understand social norms, and make me feel less abnormal.
Consumer research. I no longer drive to kmart, walmart, target, best buy, circuit city, etc when I want to buy something. I hit their respective websites to price check, feature check, etc.... then go to the store I plan on buying from. Not to mention the benefits of sites like newegg.com.
Communication. Duh. Email is awsome, so long as you can manage the spam. Instant Messaging is awsome. Internet(email/www/IM) to cell phone (sms) is awsome.
Resource sharing. Via the Internet, work and school I have instant access to countless various Unix/Linux computers and windows boxes. Usually I just leave my work up on a VNC server on a unix box and connect to it from wherever.
I can certainly imagine life without the net (and it's nice to try it sometimes)... but for computer use, I definitelly feel naked without it.
Re:Good uses I've found (Score:2)
Do we need it? Yes, and with almost all government information going online and accessible to the public, this truly is the Information Age.
The article should really be called "Do we need Broadband". If you call anything
Re:Good uses I've found (Score:3, Funny)
We need the internet.. (Score:2, Insightful)
To communicate about new standards and protocols that will develop the internet further.
Have you ever thought of the interconnectedness of people in this digital era, while under the influence of some mind altering substance? It's a beautiful thought.
We don't know why we exist, but communcating must, if not be a reason, then at least a mean to finding a reason.
maps.yahoo.com (Score:4, Interesting)
Exchanging email with family.
Finding recipes.
Reading people's websites.
C'mon, "who needs the Internet?" is a silly question. The Internet is tremendously useful now (and offers lots of "unproductive" stuff, too -- quotes because the line between productive and unproductive is a mostly useless, fuzzy gray line not worth respecting in the way it's usually used) and will be more and more later on. People survived without it, just like you would survive without any of the foods you like best, or without recorded music, or without being able to read
timothy
Are we not users? (Score:2)
mug
Only accepting gold nuggets (Score:2)
Not at the prices they charge here. I moved to London and was shocked to find that internet access is a small fortune in some areas. About $2 an hour for a slow modem or $35 for one gig of high speed wireless access.
We need it to quickly verify truth (Score:2, Insightful)
The irony is that the Internet was built on the back of U
Re:We need it to quickly verify truth (Score:2)
If we didn't have the internet, or as quickly available a framework of information gathering, we couldn't all see for ourselves the veracity (or lack of it) of SCO's claims against linux
Dear
The internet is based on IP and we own rights to all IP in the world. In other words, SCO owns the internet. Stealing our IP-based internet to check validity of our claims is hence extremely unfair, shockingly unethical and plain wrong. Please send us a sum of $699 to protect yourself from our IP lawyers
Who needs it? (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, who needs that?
100% (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:100% (Score:2, Insightful)
Communication and Information (Score:2)
I can communicate with anyone in the world over email, instant messenging, and newsgroups -- all free; remember that telcos would charge a fortune if you did this over long distance telephone.
The access to Information aspect is huge. I work in the Engineering field, and if I ever run across something I don't know it's only a Google [google.ca], Yahoo [yahoo.com], or AltaVista [altavista.com] search away. Anything I'll ever need: historic pu
why gov.uk wants internet (Score:2)
Gov.uk wants to put all it's services in the net so it can close down bricks&morter offices.
But they are discovering exactly the same problems as the dot.con companies discovered. People just give up when presented with overly complex and unreliable web services.
b2b (Score:4, Insightful)
If you're only looking at web pages, you're missing 75% of the traffic that traverses the Internet today.
Re:b2b^H^H^Hp2p (Score:2)
I hate these stupid questions (Score:4, Insightful)
For starters I've observed that almost all the people who say those things when they say "internet" actually mean "web", and furthermore are basing all of that on the sites that they have seen or heard about. These people also typically do not read much I've noticed.
Secondly they dont equate email with the Internet.
Its like the people who say that computers are "useless" and "boring" then you point out to them that they use computers every time they pick up a phone or turn on the TV.
To say that one does not need the Internet is the same as saying that one does not need communication.
Answers (Score:2)
Governments want the people to use the Internet for several reasons:
- Their representatives can go to world conferences and claim "we're the most advanced country in the world"
- They want to save money on forms (read: let citizens print their own forms on their printers, or avoid having
What we get (Score:4, Insightful)
That information can be of almost any type or of any form.
Want to read about the mercury space program, or see the latest pictures of nebulae? Go search for it. In the old days you could have headed to the library and look for this stuff, but they would be unlikely to have Hubble photos released this morning.
You think your Aunt Tellie has Diabetes? Go search for the symptoms... and support groups too. In the old days tis was a trip to the library, a local clinic, or you had to wait for a doctor's appointment
Need to find out if someone is selling a 4 barrel carbeurator for your 1974 Chevy Impalla?
If your local shop doesn't have it, Go search on Ebay or another sales site. If not, maybe do a directory search of auto parts stores in the city next door. In the old days, you were SOL until your local shop got the part
Hey, there's a new Rush album and DVD coming out. Cool. Head over to their website and see if there's a clip or some photos.In the old days you were lucky to hear the guy on the radio announce that Rush was releasing a record..or did a week ago
This is all information that can now be obtained in a matter of minutes.
That's what the net gives us, instant information and knowledge.
p/g
Re:What we get (Score:2)
Curse you, Internet! You've ruined my day for the last time. To the scrap heap with you, modem!
Reminds me of Newt Gingrich (Score:3, Interesting)
I remember this township in South Africa that got this big box of computers for their school. Only problem was the electrification project hadn't even begun and there was only one working telephone.
I'm sure at the time they were very disappointed at not having the needed power and DSL line to connect to JenniCam.com, despite not having a proper sewage system, water purification or lights. Maybe they could have run an extension cord to the McDonald's three miles down the street (no joke, how messed up is that?).
A lot depends on PC saturation too... (Score:3, Insightful)
During those few weeks, it struck me how utterly useless the PC was without Net access. I couldn't get security fixes or any other software without actually buying it on CD via mail order or at a store. I couldn't check news, sports, music or computer-related sites whenever I liked and I certainly couldn't e-mail anyone with it (and who sends hand-written letters nowadays?). BTW, if you point out to the average person in the UK that CDs and DVDs cost up to a third less online than they do in UK stores, I'm sure they'd rush to get online :-)
It's a tool. That's all. (Score:3, Interesting)
--Word processors and laser printers work quite well without the presence of E-mail. I would simply start using postal mail more than I do now.
--Web site? An interesting toy, but is it something I REALLY cannot live without? I don't think so! I would find other ways to advertise my side business. There are enough cheap print mediums specific to my chosen field that I think I could afford a couple of small, well-placed ads.
--FTP? Handy, but hardly indispensable. Before the advent of the 'net, manufacturers of electronic and computer equipment would maintain dial-up bulletin board systems containing docs, drivers, and other such goodies. I'd simply start using them again.
What do all three of the above have in common? One word: COMMUNICATION. What does one need to know to be an effective communicator? Good writing and speaking skills, and the ability to THINK CAREFULLY about what you're writing or saying to your intended recipient(s).
No one "needs" the Internet to develop such skills. What is needed is a lot more focus on teaching such things in the school system, as well as the skills of critical and analytical thinking.
Cliff Stoll has already written extensively on this same topic (I.E., does anyone really need the Internet). Check out his books 'Silicon Snake Oil' and 'High-Tech Heretic.'
Re:It's a tool. That's all. (Score:2)
He's certainly entitled to his opinion, and his technology consumption preferences, but for him to take the next step and say that
The Internet is a tool. It is my slave. It does as I bid it. I use whatever tools ar
Of COURSE we need it! (Score:4, Funny)
Finally, if we didn't have it, I'd have to go outside once in a while. And interact with real people! And someone could mug me, take my wallet, and use the information in there to impersonate me and open up credit accounts in my name. When I'm sitting at home on the internet, those kinds of things can't happen. I-- oops, hold on. It seems AOL has lost my account and credit card information, AGAIN! I'll finish this post in a sec, as soon as I fill out the form on the webpage they directed me to.
BRB...
~Philly
Ode to the net (Score:2)
Filled with new lover's joy, and a not-mother's pain
Show me the world, through another's eyes
Tell me of conspiracies, and corporate lies
Give me technical papers, on new giant machines
Give me heated discussions, on what truth really means
Give me heart-wringing tales, of a harsh man's young wife
Give me detailed accounts, of each day of your life
Show me amazing new worlds, of which I've never dreamed
And embarrassing photos, when your shorts split their seams
Show
The Internet is in it's infancy. (Score:3, Insightful)
Imagine what the Internet could be used for in the future. The Semantic Web [w3.org] or something like it is set to revolutionalize the Internet of the future. Imagine being able to organise and sort information based on the qualaties - instead of quantaties - of the information (See Microsoft's qualatative search [slashdot.org]). The position the Internet is in today is that most of the information contained in it is quantative in nature, it is stored in a manner that reflects machine organization of information. Qualative information on the other hand is much more useful for performing searches and organizing information, it allows the retrieval of information to be based on attributes rather than specific-word-matches. Going back to the Microsoft search link, using qualatative information as the criteria of the search you could search for a base attribute of "cars" and refine the search using arbitrary attributes such as "sleek form", and "red". In this example, a web page that held information about "Ferrari's" would be included in the "car's" search results even if it did not explicitly contain the word "car" as part of it's web page text - in the semantic web XML markup, "car" would be one of it's attributes.
Pull vs push media (Score:2)
All prior media, from speech and the printing press onwards (including email) have been media wherein the transmitter attemps to force information upon an audience, many tune out.
Do we need a reliable global comms infrastructure? (Score:4, Funny)
We need the people, they don't need the internet (Score:2)
Usefulness is decreasing (Score:2)
Once it becomes just 'another media portal', then its pretty much dead as far as I'm concerned. It will be nothing more then a cheap VPN tunnel for me at that point.
Sad to see, it had so much long-term potential.. its barely an infant at this stage.
Network of friends (Score:5, Insightful)
You don't really absorb information by reading an srticle; the best learning experiences involve interaction and feedback. This is why teachers still exists, even though most information has been available in books for a long time. The internet provides a way to extend and accelerate your network of friends beyond what would ordinarily be physically possible. In a way, snail-mail could do this, but the process of searching out like-minded individuals and communicating usefully was impractical.
On the internet you can talk with a dozen people who may each have 1/12th of a solution. You can communicate with text, images, and sound. Publishing your solution for others to use is incredibly easy.
It's also a giant retail store, surplus store, garage sale, and swap meet. Just this week I needed a specialized high-voltage supply for an older industrial flat-panel display. There was no way I was going to find one locally. I simply posted my query to the appropriate Usenet group, and in one day I had someone ask me for a photo of the supply, because they might have one in a box in the attic. I already have the power supply and it works. It might have taken me months to find one any other way.
The internet is pretty easy to abuse, and just once I'd like to get my hands on the punk who put out this last email worm. It's probably not possible, but I wish there was a way to find a balance between anonymity and accountability.
Re:Network of friends (Score:2)
How often do you actually do this successfully? It seems to me that maybe you can post a question on a Usenet group and get 12/12ths of an answer eventually. But probably you're going to get responses from 100 people on the way to getting there, so you had better be good at filtering out useless information.
What I'm trying to say is that I agree with you that this benefit is there, but it comes at
Re:Network of friends (Score:3, Interesting)
Well, maybe, but I've found an interesting way to convince people who dismiss the Net as pr0n and spam: I send them to news.google.com. I tell them that, while the news stories are interesting, they are mostly what you'll see in the commercial media. But there's something there that's much more valuable: The lists of hundreds or thousands of news sources on each story. I suggest that they spend a l
These are silly questions, IMHO.... (Score:3, Insightful)
The Internet is, quite simply, an entirely new form of mass communications. Arguments about the "Net being too centered around Americans to be very useful for " are invalid. *Anyone* can publish his/her own web pages once he/she is online! If the Internet currently offers nothing for you, then all you need is enough motivation to *create* some content that IS useful to you.
Perhaps too many of us have gotten used to all the passive forms of mass media (television, newspapers, magazines, radio) where the "end user" sits down and digests whatever the publisher/content creator chooses to feed you?
The Internet makes *everyone* a potential publisher with the ability to reach the entire world at minimal cost (practically free in many cases!). Write fluent Japanese and think there aren't enough sites in Japanese? Make some! Can't find a discussion board covering political issues in Zaire? Maybe you'll be the first to offer one to the masses?
Tell me again why this seems to be of little use to citizens of a country?
It's a timesaver (Score:5, Interesting)
While this may sound like a luxury, throughout human history "free time" has been an indicator of wealth. Those who have to spend all of their time on day to day tasks have less time for leisure. Those who have mechanisms (servants, for example) at hand to take care of the myriad little tasks that pop up in daily life therefore have more time to spend doing whatever they like.
The Internet shortens the amount of time we have to spend on arranging the minutiae of life, and provides the *option* to spend more of our time on pursuits that we find enjoyable. How people spend that extra time (by working that much harder, by watching more TV, by going on a hike, etc.) is up to the individual. But if the duty of a representative government is to help improve the quality of its citizens' lives, then a robust Internet infrastructure is something governments should be pursuing.
The above points don't even touch on the *potential* productivity gains possible through true integration of the Internet into the fabric of business and government.
Friction matters! (Score:5, Insightful)
The Internet may, strictly speaking, not make anything possible that wasn't possible before. So what? Neither did telephones, automobiles, or even writing. People were talking to each other before telephones. People were moving around before automobiles. People were communication information to each other, even across great time spans, before there was writing.
To diminish the Internet as much as I am diminishing telephones, automobiles, and writing in the previous paragraph is as naive as it is in those cases. By making something easier, more people do it, more often, to more benefit to all.
I find when my Internet dies, the least tolerable thing to me is that I loose Google, which isn't a public library but sure does help me find information now. Which has in turn increased the quality of my own writing as I can support things better.
Would we have free software without the Internet? Probably, but it would be a mere shadow of what we have now, because the harder it is to communicate, the more likely the project won't form at all. Hell, would we be having this discussion without the Internet, and would it be anywhere near as large or as comprehensive?
Boo hoo, there's no "soundbite" for the Internet, therefore it must be useless. Bah!
The Internet is information exchange (Score:2, Interesting)
Also companys are offering our information for sale, for $100USD I can buy my complete credit, criminal, medical, and court history from many different services. I can even buy a SSN and other information by providing a name, address, phone number, and the money. Big Brother lives, apparently and is selling our
Most of the Internet is useless (Score:2)
The web is filled with cute-but-contentless flash animations, news sites who really just promote advertisements, magazine sites who just reprint the same content that's already in their magazines, websites filled with bandwidth hogging graphics but very little content, etc. Email is filled with spam, newsletters we never read but subscribe to anways, and indecipherable messages from our f
Internet Is A Nice Network, But The Content Sucks (Score:4, Interesting)
I didn't know anyone was asking that question, which is based on a doubtful premise.
But, the Internet is just a big network. By itself, it is empty. The real question is this:
Is the content made available by the Internet worth it?
My answer:
Content created by "old" media and made available via the net is worth it. E.g., having on-demand access to the best news reports around the globe is very much worth it.
But, content created by "new" born-after-the-Net media is largely useless, consisting of silly and hopeless attempts to mimic other media and with polished spins on old-fashioned bulletin boards.
Purpose is to bypass bad government (Score:4, Insightful)
Be it unethical copyright imposition, overbearing controlls on finances and money, censorship, or myrad of other obselete rules from anything to gambling to free anonymous speech. It seems to me that the internet is the best bet to bypass restrictions imposed by poor governinment the world over.
Why we need the internet? (Score:5, Funny)
The Internet is only as useful as the users (Score:2)
However, on the off-chance that ten good geeks can be found, thus appeasing the Net Gods, we need to think about what the Internet actually is.
Changing purposes (Score:2, Insightful)
"Why do we need the Internet?" isn't a simple question anymore. There are many many different answers to that question depending on who it's put to.
There are many more uses than there used to be. There are many more users and as a result there are many more useful reso
There are two types of people in the world: (Score:3, Insightful)
Those who just want to watch TV don't need the internet.
Do I need the net? (Score:3, Interesting)
Yesterday a friend of mine was in town and wanted to hang out with me, so she had her boyfriend IM me and give me the phone number where i could reach her.
I realized that i hadn't been to the club we were going to meet at in quite awhile and wasn't sure i remembered how to get there, so i did a search on the name and got the address.
Then i went to mapquest and printed out directions.
Then i IMed my girlfriend to tell her i was going to be leaving work a little early and heading off to the club, so we needed to make the nightly call earlier than usual.
Then of coruse there are the more usual activites of checking up on news, paying bills, reading reviews of the newest games, chatting with friends, looking up random tidbits of information, etc.
Most of that stuff could technically be done without the net, given the necessary other resources, but the net sure made it a lot easier and more convenient.
Re:porn joke omg lmfao shut the fuck up (Score:2)
Of course, I do also see that it can be good for people. I just think that usually it's counter-productive.
The Internet has damaged me, but I've also learned everything I know thanks to it. And yes, that doesn't include the ability to write coherent sentences.
Re:porn joke omg lmfao shut the fuck up (Score:2, Funny)
So many numpties, so little time (Score:2)
You seem to have mistaken the World Wide Web for the internet and are clearly a complete numpty. It'd be nice if Slashdot had killfiles.
Re:The internet is a failure. (Score:2)
Huh? Are you reffering to scatological porn? I assure you your sample is nonrepresentative (you didn't site a source, but I can't imagine you'd be brash enought to just throw presumtious quantitative values onto a website!). It's not at all my speciality, but if I were to estimate, I'd guess that less than 1% of porn is shit porn or "scat porn." At least I certainly hope so.
as for the SCO stock, I don't hate you for it, but pity does come to mind.
Re:The internet is a failure. (Score:2)
The whole idea of a moderated internet is to get rid of stupid people, like people who fail to patch LONG KNOWN security holes, people who write viruses, people who think th3y r t3h 1337357 and people like you. Go away, the internet doesn't need you nor want you and judging by your utterly retarded comment, I highly doubt society has much use for you either. Go back to flipping burgers instead of typing trash on your daddy's "komputah".
Re:The internet is a failure. (Score:2)
YHBT HAND
Re:Some short answers. (Score:2)
Well, he could Google on "dirt" and find out that as a crop, it is very lacking in nutrition an
just be glad (Score:2)
Is this a loosing battle?
And, as you can see from the other reply re "your definition", the retards get angry about it.
"You said it was on the left but there's nothing there"
"yeah, by *your* definition of left"