I tried upgrading from Mozilla 1.0 to Mozilla 1.2. There were a bunch of bugs in it…like using the Ctrl-F keys to find a word in the page. Using that function completely crashed Mozilla. So I downgraded back to Mozilla 1.0.
The only reason I tried to upgrade was due to a plug-in I was trying to add to it. It was supposed to let you blog while surfing in the same browser window. The plug-in was supposed to work well with Mozilla 1.2, but unfortunately it didn’t work with Windows 2000. So my hopes were dashed.
I helped a friend of my mom’s get setup with Juno email. Nice old Windows 95 machine with 48MB of RAM. Probably adequate for her needs. Had a 33.6 USB External modem. It’s been a while since I saw an external modem. Anyway she’s happy. I’m happy. And she can email away.
The big companies that control our lives have done a good job at convincing us that email and the internet are vital to our lives. So that some retired grandmother in Omaha HAS to subscribe to AOL in order to continue contact with her grandkids in Missouri. So we HAVE to have the internet. Its the next big thing. The great white hype. The new frontier. The next best thing since sliced bread.
So apparently everyone NEEDS the internet. Everyone NEEDS email. As if our lives weren’t already complicated enough as it was. And somehow I’ve convinced you that my life is important enough to share (and for you to read) on this webpage.
Juno email? You’ve come a long way, baby. Circa 1996: Juno email becomes available. Everyone rejoices. Finally…free email without paying those huge tuition bills at your favorite junior college. So its been good for those grandmothers who don’t know anything about the net but want to send fickle messages back and forth.
Still this whole internet thing seems halfway between a huge inside joke and something remotely legitament. Legit for people who use it as a real tool. A huge joke for people who…well, use it as a huge joke.
Stories I’ve read lately:
Tale of the Big Giant Cheeto on Ebay
Anti-Americanism affect American Tourists