Internet becoming "Small"

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dbCooperAir
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Internet becoming "Small"

Post by dbCooperAir »

Is the internet starting to feel small for your daily personal use?

I use the internet daily for many work functions, I remember doing my job without it for a number of years. At times I wish I could go back to the old way but that's another discussion :wink:

I gave social media a whirl when my kids begged to be active online (they needed to be supervised), don't much care about that anymore. The local online newspaper is ok, I used to enjoy reading papers online from across the country but most of the content looks the same, its like suburbia across the USA.

By far the biggest use of the internet for me is Netflix. Other uses include Bogleheads, a handful of Amateur Radio/SWL sites, online banking, podcast ever so often.

With the dollars I spend for internet access and all the hoopla it has brought me over the years its now starting to feel a little constrained, its just not as new an exciting as it used to be :wink:

If I did not use Netflix I could drop my speed to 2megs for $20 and call it a day.

What say you, any pointers to get more bang for my buck from the internet? Guess this is round about way to find something useful to read/learn :!:
Last edited by dbCooperAir on Tue Feb 09, 2016 2:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him. | -Dwight D. Eisenhower-
mhalley
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Re: Intenet becoming "Small"

Post by mhalley »

I think with anything you can get into a rut. I have about 5 or so websites that I visit daily, but there are probably many more that I would enjoy if I found them. There is only so many hours in a day, even when you are retired.
btenny
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Re: Intenet becoming "Small"

Post by btenny »

My kids have canceled cable TV and now buy Hulu and Netflix and do streaming for TV. They like it much better and say it is much cheaper. I think they are getting a lot of bang for the buck from their internet connection. And both of them work from home a lot. So they get returns that way too.

I know I do not like to look for information on the internet much any more. Everything is "for sale" and almost impossible to find and there are not many good data sources any longer. Nothing is open. And everything is saturated with tons of pop up adds and tons of ads all over the screen like old time news papers. You cannot see the writing for the ads. I suspect that the bandwidth for ads is like 50-80% of the data being set to our computers or maybe more.
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dbCooperAir
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Re: Intenet becoming "Small"

Post by dbCooperAir »

mhalley wrote:I think with anything you can get into a rut. I have about 5 or so websites that I visit daily, but there are probably many more that I would enjoy if I found them. There is only so many hours in a day, even when you are retired.
I think you hit the nail on the head, as in a rut, that's what it feels like.
Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him. | -Dwight D. Eisenhower-
dub
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Re: Internet becoming "Small"

Post by dub »

I think the internet is a great tool that is abused by many people.
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Ron Swanson
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Re: Internet becoming "Small"

Post by Ron Swanson »

While I understand the premise of what you're saying (good content can be hard to find sometimes), I do believe that there is an entire world worth of things to watching and reading online. A few suggestions of things I do online that I enjoy...

1. Go to Wikipedia and read the article of the day, or the "on this day in history" on the main page. I'm no history buff, but there are tons of fascinating articles to read.
2. Find a blog or video blog of people doing things you dream of. I follow video blogs on youtube of people sailing around the world for pleasure. Since I can't do this myself (at least, not yet) it's a good outlet for dreaming.
3. Learn the basics of a new hobby. Want to build a cedar strip canoe? There's videos out there. What to learn to cook middle eastern food? There's videos of that too!
4. Some universities post recorded versions of some of there classes online for free.

There a whole world to explore right from the comfort of your home!
fishmonger
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Re: Internet becoming "Small"

Post by fishmonger »

Agreed. I regularly go to about 5-6 websites. If I'm home and sit down in front of the computer, I tend to go blank unless I have something specific to look up.

I can remember being in college and the web seeming limitless (I'm 34). Not the worst thing I guess..
lightheir
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Re: Internet becoming "Small"

Post by lightheir »

I don't feel it's becoming small at all - it's becoming larger for sure!

What is def happening though, is that as time goes on, us 'older' users of the net are more discriminating now, and quickly filter out the low-value websites. When you do that, the number of high-value websites appears surprisingly small in terms of how much junk is out there.

If it weren't for video streaming (Netflix, mainly), I could easily get by on a limited data plan provided by a cellphone at 3G speed. No problems downloading things like news or forums with that.
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dbCooperAir
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Re: Internet becoming "Small"

Post by dbCooperAir »

Ron Swanson wrote:While I understand the premise of what you're saying (good content can be hard to find sometimes), I do believe that there is an entire world worth of things to watching and reading online. A few suggestions of things I do online that I enjoy...

1. Go to Wikipedia and read the article of the day, or the "on this day in history" on the main page. I'm no history buff, but there are tons of fascinating articles to read.
Thanks for this, I did enjoy this day in history, going to check this one out more often.
Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him. | -Dwight D. Eisenhower-
Ninegrams
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Re: Internet becoming "Small"

Post by Ninegrams »

dbCooperAir wrote:Is the internet starting to feel small for your daily personal use?

I use the internet daily for many work functions, I remember doing my job without it for a number of years. At times I wish I could go back to the old way but that's another discussion :wink:

I gave social media a whirl when my kids begged to be active online (they needed to be supervised), don't much care about that anymore. The local online newspaper is ok, I used to enjoy reading papers online from across the country but most of the content looks the same, its like suburbia across the USA.

By far the biggest use of the internet for me is Netflix. Other uses include Bogleheads, a handful of Amateur Radio/SWL sites, online banking, podcast ever so often.

With the dollars I spend for internet access and all the hoopla it has brought me over the years its now starting to feel a little constrained, its just not as new an exciting as it used to be :wink:

If I did not use Netflix I could drop my speed to 2megs for $20 and call it a day.

What say you, any pointers to get more bang for my buck from the internet? Guess this is round about way to find something useful to read/learn :!:


Ironically, more "bang for the buck" for me would mean using the internet less, I've come to feel it's like a free-time vacuum cleaner, it really sucks. If you have a decent public library with a decent video selection you could drop Netflix and get your $20 2 Mbps connection. BTW, I'm extremely jealous, my 2 Mbps connection( "naked" DSL) is nearly $50!.
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Toons
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Re: Internet becoming "Small"

Post by Toons »

That tools and educational resources the internet has provided me since 1997 have altered my life in a positive fashion,and continue to do so.
I do not feel any constraints or smallness whatsoever. :happy
"One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity" –Bruce Lee
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blueblock
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Re: Internet becoming "Small"

Post by blueblock »

For "best of the web" links to read and discuss, I recommend http://metafilter.com.
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Dutch
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Re: Internet becoming "Small"

Post by Dutch »

Yes, it does sound like you're stuck in a rut of a limited number of websites that you're visiting on a regular basis. Branch out a little!

Youtube alone is enormous, and growing every day.
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pennstater2005
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Re: Internet becoming "Small"

Post by pennstater2005 »

I guess I'm limited to just a handful of websites that I visit regularly. I steam Netflix fine with internet speeds of only 1.5mb/sec. That slow speed still costs me $26/mo.
“If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.” – Earl Wilson
mouses
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Re: Intenet becoming "Small"

Post by mouses »

btenny wrote: I know I do not like to look for information on the internet much any more. Everything is "for sale" and almost impossible to find and there are not many good data sources any longer. Nothing is open. And everything is saturated with tons of pop up adds and tons of ads all over the screen like old time news papers. You cannot see the writing for the ads. I suspect that the bandwidth for ads is like 50-80% of the data being set to our computers or maybe more.
Install AdBlock Plus. Requiring that Flash not run unless you okay it is very helpful too. Run with sound on mute.
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White Coat Investor
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Re: Intenet becoming "Small"

Post by White Coat Investor »

mouses wrote:
btenny wrote: I know I do not like to look for information on the internet much any more. Everything is "for sale" and almost impossible to find and there are not many good data sources any longer. Nothing is open. And everything is saturated with tons of pop up adds and tons of ads all over the screen like old time news papers. You cannot see the writing for the ads. I suspect that the bandwidth for ads is like 50-80% of the data being set to our computers or maybe more.
Install AdBlock Plus. Requiring that Flash not run unless you okay it is very helpful too. Run with sound on mute.
If you want quality stuff on the internet, people have to get paid to produce it. Bear in mind the unintended consequences of eliminating internet ads. Sure, there'll be an occasional site like Bogleheads or Wikipedia where many people give a little each for free, but most sites need revenue to keep pumping out quality content.

I use the internet primarily as a tool and secondarily for information/entertainment. I work on it, invest on it, pay bills on it, book entertainment on it, communicate with others on it, do education on it, shares photos and videos, keep in touch with friends and family etc.
1) Invest you must 2) Time is your friend 3) Impulse is your enemy | 4) Basic arithmetic works 5) Stick to simplicity 6) Stay the course
The Wizard
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Re: Internet becoming "Small"

Post by The Wizard »

It's not just about reading, its about living and doing.

Clothes dryer broke last Friday. Sounded like a broken belt, so I googled GE dryer repair and found YouTube and printed instructions.
And I found replacement part number, ordered it for $9 on amazon prime for free delivery on Super Bowl Sunday.
It works fine now.

I'm about to book a four night stay in NOLA for mid March on Airbnb.

I practically always use Google maps navigation for any trips more than five miles it since knows dynamic traffic conditions and short cuts.

And I'm googling Oriental recipes for Chinese eggplant for the near future.

The list goes on...
Attempted new signature...
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Bustoff
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Re: Internet becoming "Small"

Post by Bustoff »

I saw a PBS documentary a while back that referenced Tor. I recall the show remarking that Tor was the Wild West of the Internet.
likegarden
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Re: Internet becoming "Small"

Post by likegarden »

I have Adblock plus, so I do not have to worry about ads. But some story head lines are made to draw you into malinformation ads, happens to me once in a while. We have a very fast internet due to one here playing games. I like to go to hobby and foreign newspaper sites. I am spending much too much time in the internet. But soon there will be spring and work outside!
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vitaflo
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Re: Intenet becoming "Small"

Post by vitaflo »

EmergDoc wrote:
mouses wrote:
btenny wrote: I know I do not like to look for information on the internet much any more. Everything is "for sale" and almost impossible to find and there are not many good data sources any longer. Nothing is open. And everything is saturated with tons of pop up adds and tons of ads all over the screen like old time news papers. You cannot see the writing for the ads. I suspect that the bandwidth for ads is like 50-80% of the data being set to our computers or maybe more.
Install AdBlock Plus. Requiring that Flash not run unless you okay it is very helpful too. Run with sound on mute.
If you want quality stuff on the internet, people have to get paid to produce it. Bear in mind the unintended consequences of eliminating internet ads. Sure, there'll be an occasional site like Bogleheads or Wikipedia where many people give a little each for free, but most sites need revenue to keep pumping out quality content.
Lets face it, many sites don't produce quality content, and any site that goes under because of adblockers will be replaced by a different site on the same topic soon after. This has always happened online since the beginning. Frankly I find it allows sites to innovate more. You've got to change with the times if you're going to be successful online.

It's also ridiculously easy for content creators to get around adblockers, the only reason they don't is because they're lazy and buy into some ad service.
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vitaflo
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Re: Internet becoming "Small"

Post by vitaflo »

lightheir wrote: What is def happening though, is that as time goes on, us 'older' users of the net are more discriminating now, and quickly filter out the low-value websites. When you do that, the number of high-value websites appears surprisingly small in terms of how much junk is out there.
The joke in my world (I've been designing websites professionally since 1994) is that the number of high value websites hasn't gone up at all in the last 20 years, it's just that the only thing being added since then is junk.

That's obviously said in jest, there is a ton of great stuff out there, but finding any of it is a nightmare. With search engines being mostly based on popularity, many of the needles in the haystack are never found.

As such on my website I try to write about things I'm interested in that I haven't seen documented elsewhere (or not in many other places). Since most of my sites have decent google rank (from being so old), I'm attempting to do my part in allowing people to find good info that they'd have a hard time finding otherwise.
ourbrooks
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Re: Internet becoming "Small"

Post by ourbrooks »

You would think that with international news networks, that the news in every country would be pretty much the same. Surprisingly, it's not. Most foreign news web sites, even the ones in English, have different stories than the ones on U.S. news web sites. The Birmingham Mail doesn't even cover the U.S. elections. Many of the foreign news sites have ads, but don't block them; the ads are primarily targeted at readers from the country of the web site and what's being advertised tells you more about the country.

Of course, most foreign news sites are in foreign languages. Sometimes, they have an English edition (Der Spiegel from Germany); other times, you can use Google Translate. But why settle for a translation? There's lots of free foreign language tutorials available on line and, if you've worked your way through what you can read, you can hire a live tutor over Skype.
alg0280
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Re: Internet becoming "Small"

Post by alg0280 »

I think the thing is defining the Internet as the "Web". Where I find increasing value in the Internet in this day and age is in the fact that everything is connected. I stream video and audio daily, I can access portions of my house (lights, temp) remotely from my phone. Even simple things like I have a recipe app that syncs between a tablet, my phone and a computer. I use this while cooking, yet at the same time I can pull the recipes while at the store to determine what I need to buy for ingredients. My wife and I sync photos taken of our son between our phones and computers. Family members stream video content from a server that runs at my house. I collaborate with volunteers for a charity where we develop documents across the country using Google Docs to support shared editing.

The value in all these things is not in consuming "professional" content. Its providing a constant connection between any devices that I wish to have connectivity anywhere and everywhere. A lot of these operations could still occur over a local network, but having connectivity everywhere makes the same activities much more pervasive.
gbru316
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Re: Internet becoming "Small"

Post by gbru316 »

There is so much good content on the web, you just need to look for it.

Lately, I've been into "Long reads" when I'm bored. Usually some sort of long-form investigative journalism, or a long-form story. Between those and my daily go-to news sites, I can easily kill a few hours a day if so inclined. There's some pretty good satire out there, too, if you're into that sort of thing.

And as previously mentioned, wiki. Search for a topic that interests you, then start following the links you find in that page. For instance, start with WW2, then click on the page for the Third Reich, then you'll find pages for commanders, units, vehicles, operations, etc.

If you're bored on the internet, you're not trying hard enough. :sharebeer
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