I found this via a link at Mostly Words and found it fascinating. Anything BBS-related brings me back to the Wild West, pre-AOHell days of the internet…
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One Reply to “I Am An Old Geek”
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Interesting about how those older systems worked. When I first got on the Internet in 1995, it was with a WebTV terminal. An 87hz processor and a 33.3 modem, with a wireless keyboard. I had seen the infomercials where a guy sat across the room in his NYC apartment, in a comfortable recliner, watching the display on his larger-screen TV across the room. I thought that was neat and upscale! So I got one. I discovered the BBS system on cars information. A new world for me. I discovered that this BBS had been around for a long time.
I became active on many of the boards, which was "cheap entertainment". I also learned that the black content any pictures /graphics determined how quickly it would download. Plus the amount of "moving things" in the graphics!
The ONE thing which WebTV did flawlessly was email. In those earlier days of the Internet, some who moved would get a WebTV terminal just for email communications with friends and family, it was noted. Seems like user box could do six email addresses?
When I finally upgraded to a normal desktop PC, along about 1999, the WebTV's capabilities were numbered. As PC chips were now in the 450mhz (Intel Pentium III) range, they could download graphics which would leave the WebTV terminal's download light flashing for hours. Yet the 33.3 modem was bulletproof as to staying hooked, whereas phone line noise would kick the 56.6 PC modem off. Also, there were bunches of access numbers in the DFW area. But until the phone company got me on a quiet pair of wires, this was a problem on the PC.
I got the WebTV terminal set-up with the recliner about 10' from a 31" Sony. It was good. No telling how many pairs of batteries I put in the wireless keyboard. But it was comfortable and fun.
"Those were the days!"