Oh, for the love of god, go away

[theaveng]

Computers don't really do anything new... they just convert stuff from paper to electronic. Board games are now video games. Written paperwork is now electronic. Hand-delivered mail is now becoming wire-delivered mail. Entertainment in the form of Books became Movies. Now computers are making the Movies interactive (like Kingdom Hearts).

The major advances in society already happened during the Industrial Revolution (~1800-1950) when production moved from the Home to the Factory. THAT was the revolutionary idea. Now we're in a holding pattern where inventions (including computers) are merely improvements on older ideas.

The computer is an evolution on old ideas, not a revolution.

Troy

[CPUWIZ]

New Rule. NO ONE, I mean ABSOLUTELY NO ONE, gets to complain about microsoft unless they're running Linux. If you have ANY Microsoft product (Including Linux emulated) on your computer, you can't complain about microsoft.

Sound reasonable? I think so.

Even if they pull crap like this ?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2329519.stm

[mattpfeil]

My computer is the best, and i dont have an OS
my computer consists of 2 things...and abacus and an etchi-sketch
its all ive ever dreamed of

[Ruudos]

Computers don't really do anything new...

You're right about what you said, but there's one thing that computers did what is quite something new and that is the Internet.
Well and video games too, msot of them aren't electronic board games.

[Aswald]

But what has the Internet done that can be considered (in a practical sense) useful? Sure, websites such as the Digital Press are great, but...what else?

The Internet did NOT prevent the theft of the 2000 election.

It did NOT prevent the Constitution from being scrapped (Patriot Act).

It is NOT giving us any more say in the political process- now politicians just ignore e-mail, instead of regular mail.

It did NOT improve our schools- if anything, the opposite.

We have NOT made any significant technological advancements lately. When 2001: A Space Odyssey was written by Mr. Clarke, all of the things it predicted seemed perfectly reasonable at the time, given the rate of advancement in the previous decades. Well- here we are, and we still don't even have a good space station, let alone a moonbase. All of our recent advancements are geared toward computers, it merely increases itself.

I have here, right now, a list of key players involved in the recent financial scandals (Enron alone: 70 BILLION DOLLARS in losses). I also have a list of brokerage houses and financial firms involved. A few dozen of these criminals managed to literally steal over HALF A TRILLION DOLLARS from our crippled economy in a scandal that makes the 1980s Savings and Loans look like petty theft. Remember when we were assured that computers would make us better informed and "keep things more honest?" Looks like the opposite happened. Remember all of the slick hype over the dot.com companies and the "new economy?" I rest my case.

[Arcade Antics]

But what has the Internet done that can be considered (in a practical sense) useful? Sure, websites such as the Digital Press are great, but...what else?

The Internet did NOT prevent the theft of the 2000 election.

It did NOT prevent the Constitution from being scrapped (Patriot Act).

It is NOT giving us any more say in the political process- now politicians just ignore e-mail, instead of regular mail.

It did NOT improve our schools- if anything, the opposite.

I'm pretty sure the internet was never designed to do any of the above things.

The internet is *very* practical and useful. Like any tool.

If I give someone a wrench and they choose to use it to pound nails into the wall, that's their problem. It doesn't diminish the utility of the actual wrench.

[Aswald]

The only problem with that analogy is that the Internet is being made a part of every aspect of our lives. Nobody is forcing you to use that wrench, one way or the other, but try not using the Internet today. We are expected to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars (each) for the computer revolution, yet what have we gotten out of it?

[cerex]

we have got alot out of it,i mean look at mp3's dont have to pay for cd's unless you choose too,that saves you money right there,and you find cheaper stuff on the internet they you would ever find in a store,the internet is capable of alot just depends on how you use it.

[Arcade Antics]

The only problem with that analogy is that the Internet is being made a part of every aspect of our lives. Nobody is forcing you to use that wrench, one way or the other, but try not using the Internet today. We are expected to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars (each) for the computer revolution, yet what have we gotten out of it?

Huh?

Who is forcing you to use the internet?

Who expects you to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for the computer revolution? Who are these people? </Seinfeld> If you don't want to buy a computer, then don't.

I'd say we've gotten plenty out of it. I don't know how you could suggest otherwise.

[portnoyd]

GEE, THAT XBOX FLASH IS PRETTY CHILDISH AND STUPID DON'T YOU AGREE

Hehe, I had to.

dave