Computer Advances - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

19 Jul 1997

...
  When I first got onto the net, the first thing I found
out was that it is 
...
  most useful for e-mail.   
That's about all I use it for, except looking for people who sell oddball
parts. 

I tried IRC, I tried Usenet, 

Usenet I use, for classified ads.

I tried a couple 
...
  other things, and eventually I found myself paying
$19.95 a month for 
 e-mail.   
btw, My ISP will sell time (so many hours) which will carry over from month
to month. $30 will buy 30 hours, which lasts a *long* time with an offline
e-mail reader. Some charge, say $7/month for e-mail only. Ask.

...
  But all in all I find the Internet to be EXTREMELY
valuable.  Where else 
 can I go to find 200 zealots who collect classic computers to get 
 information about a particularly obscure piece of hardware and get an 
 answer to my questions usually within 24 hours?
  I can e-mail a diatribe to the President of the United States of America.

...and get put on the FBI's secret list.

...
  Basically, it is truly information at your fingertips
(almost) instantly.
 Constantly updated, constantly growing, alive. 
Sure. For me, too. But how many newbies want -- or need -- all that info,
or want to acquire the necessary skills? 

I think, after visiting the Lego page, nakedgirls.com and looking at
trucks, many users cast the internet aside with the rest of their toys (and
 that was my point). Businesses, however -- such as mine -- find a real use
for the communications / information. 