Experiencing the internet with a modem

[Fritzo]

I like to brag that I was one of the first 10 people in NW Ohio to get DSL 768/128K for only $50/month! I rigged up some DLink 810 access points, put up an antenna, and shared my connection with the neighborhood for $15/month. Made $120/month doing that.

Anyway, the evolution of modems was exciting. I started at 300 Baud on a C-64 with Compuserve, then 2400bps on an IBM PC. Went to 9600, then 14.4K on Prodigy (smokin!). 28.8...33.6...56K...112K "Shotgun" modem bonding...then 128K ISDN. The ISDN line got me in for the DSL beta test.

Yada yada yada I'm at 60Mb now and seem to increase every year.

 

[Paratus]

This was my first dialup experience

Monochrome terminal and 300baud acoustically coupled modem.

Rogue would just fly on that puppy!

 

[Zorba]

How old are your kids? If age appropriate, show them a a 60 second porn clip in 320x280 and tell them that took 4 hours to download and it was your prize position. If they aren't old enough, then pick whatever age appropriate thing would they would be shocked to see that little of.

 

[Zorba]

This was my first dialup experience

Monochrome terminal and 300baud acoustically coupled modem.

Rogue would just fly on that puppy!

And I am sure that modem cost more than a decent laptop today.

 

[takeru]

limit the bandwidth on your router, then have them surf internet like this
http://royal.pingdom.com/2012/06/25/using-web-browser-lynx-visit-top-websites/

 

[Paratus]

And I am sure that modem cost more than a decent laptop today.

Probably. I don't know. It was my Moms.

She was teleworking in 81

 

[bononos]

I wish there was a demo or youtube video I could watch that would show my kids what living with a modem and dial up internet was like. They have never experienced not being connected 24x7 and being able to just go to the laptop/desktop and log in and be online is all they have ever known. I'd like to show them what it was like to have to turn on the pc, make sure no one was using the phone in the house, then click on the dial up icon, try to connect to the modem bank, watch it negotiate the handshake, and then see what being online with a 28.8 to 56k modem was actually like with page load times, image load times, etc.

I think their minds would be blown.

No video showing connecting using atdt and speed of browsing but something similar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0mg9DxvfZE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB-PMdsKf9U

 

[slag]

BTW you don't have to do anything extreme. Just download Netlimiter and limit the bandwidth to whatever you want and enjoy!

That would cover the speed issue, but not the whole turn on the pc, check the house to see if anyone is using the phone, dialing out to your isp, etc.

 

[Craig234]

I wish there was a demo or youtube video I could watch that would show my kids what living with a modem and dial up internet was like. They have never experienced not being connected 24x7 and being able to just go to the laptop/desktop and log in and be online is all they have ever known. I'd like to show them what it was like to have to turn on the pc, make sure no one was using the phone in the house, then click on the dial up icon, try to connect to the modem bank, watch it negotiate the handshake, and then see what being online with a 28.8 to 56k modem was actually like with page load times, image load times, etc.

I think their minds would be blown.

56k? Try 300 baud. Used to be an hour to download a CGA pic of a naked girl you could almost tell what it was supposed to be rather than a dog or car.

 

[HumblePie]

I don't understand this.

The time of the modem was somewhere between 1995 and 2000. Only 5 years. Before that, nobody had Internet access. (Except at work, and a few, just a few people might have had dialin access at home. I think commercial ISPs started in 1989 to sell connectivity to corporations. And in 1993 or so, the first ISPs started to sell connectivity to individuals). After 2000 everyone switched to cable and DSL. So we're really talking about a 5 year period here.

The real thing that should blow kids away is when they realize how hard it was to get information *before* the Internet. Before 1995. Or before 1993 if you were an early-adapter.

You wanted to know something about something you learned in class ? Go to the library. It was the only place where you could find such information. Oh, and the library was only open between 9:00 and 17:00. And if you lived in a small village, there might not have been a library.

You saw something on TV ? Wanna look at it again ? You heard about a movie or series, and wanna watch it ? No way. Wait until it get re-broadcasted. Most stuff never gets a rerun. What you saw on TV was then and there. And when it was over, it was gone. Forever. (Later you could rent a video. But most videorentals would have a limited number of films, only the most popular ones).

Heard a song you like ? Go to the record-store to buy a record. Maybe it was an older record, or something out of the top-100 ? Tough luck, the record might have been sold out, and not reprinted. CDs were not much different.

Want to take money out of your bank-account ? You gotta go to the bank. No ATMs. No online banking. Oh, and in my country, banks would be open only between 10:00 and 16:00. I remember when I got my first real job, I couldn't get my money, because I had to work until 17:30 every day.

Wanna talk to someone in another country ? Phone-calls were just too expensive, most parents wouldn't allow it (multiple dollars per minute for calls across an ocean). The only practical option: send a letter. And letters would take a week or more to arrive.

And these are just the obvious examples. There are so many things that have completely changed since the arrival of the Internet. Most people (young or old) aren't even aware of it anymore.

Who cares about slow 56k access ?
The real shocker is the different between Internet and no Internet.

You are a little off. First commercial online customers started in 1989 for ISPs, not 1993. Still, not many used commercial ISPs. The "internet" back then was dialing directly to the server/computer you wanted to go to. If you didn't have a number you didn't go anywhere. An ISP is basically an entry point that remains constant and is a transit service to push your requests to the right computer you want to go to without you having to specifically know the connection point to that computer. All you need is a URL string or IP address and you'll get there most of the time.

Back in the day, you had to know the exact connection to go to before ISPs were common.

However, for most people on dial-up, the prime time was from 1995 to 2000 as you pointed out. Still, even after 2000 with more broadband coverage, it took years for many people, especially in rural places, to get off dial-up. I think it wasn't until about 2009 when the broadband user count exceeded dialup accounts in the US if memory serves me right. so for many that was more or less a 14 year period and not a 5 year period of time. That is a significant chunk of time.

Still, you have it spot on for finding out info pre-internet and post-internet. It was a world changer.

 

[HumblePie]

I still remember when I was in highschool and college and writing papers that I had to include footnotes to. I would grab info from off the internet form news sites or other places and teachers wouldn't let me use anything that wasn't written in another book as a source. Man that was annoying as hell.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Limit up/dl speeds via router, have them poke at some geocities pages (or some of those 'our pages have been up since 1990 and unchanged!' pages), then have them download a 5-10MB file. Tell them they can't look away from the screen until it's finished. Remind them that's about how big MP3s were back in the heyday.

 

[ImpulsE69]

You are a little off. First commercial online customers started in 1989 for ISPs, not 1993. Still, not many used commercial ISPs. The "internet" back then was dialing directly to the server/computer you wanted to go to. If you didn't have a number you didn't go anywhere. An ISP is basically an entry point that remains constant and is a transit service to push your requests to the right computer you want to go to without you having to specifically know the connection point to that computer. All you need is a URL string or IP address and you'll get there most of the time.

Back in the day, you had to know the exact connection to go to before ISPs were common.

However, for most people on dial-up, the prime time was from 1995 to 2000 as you pointed out. Still, even after 2000 with more broadband coverage, it took years for many people, especially in rural places, to get off dial-up. I think it wasn't until about 2009 when the broadband user count exceeded dialup accounts in the US if memory serves me right. so for many that was more or less a 14 year period and not a 5 year period of time. That is a significant chunk of time.

Still, you have it spot on for finding out info pre-internet and post-internet. It was a world changer.

Yea, I had used the old method a few times prior, but actual ISP's came into town in '95. At that point it was 28.8k.

 

[Red Squirrel]

This was my first dialup experience

Monochrome terminal and 300baud acoustically coupled modem.

Rogue would just fly on that puppy!

Those are still great if you want to dial up from a pay phone. True hacker style! Just need a whisle from a box of Captain Crunch and you're all set.

 

[Iron Woode]

I don't understand this.

The time of the modem was somewhere between 1995 and 2000. Only 5 years. Before that, nobody had Internet access. (Except at work, and a few, just a few people might have had dialin access at home. I think commercial ISPs started in 1989 to sell connectivity to corporations. And in 1993 or so, the first ISPs started to sell connectivity to individuals). After 2000 everyone switched to cable and DSL. So we're really talking about a 5 year period here.

The real thing that should blow kids away is when they realize how hard it was to get information *before* the Internet. Before 1995. Or before 1993 if you were an early-adapter.

You wanted to know something about something you learned in class ? Go to the library. It was the only place where you could find such information. Oh, and the library was only open between 9:00 and 17:00. And if you lived in a small village, there might not have been a library.

You saw something on TV ? Wanna look at it again ? You heard about a movie or series, and wanna watch it ? No way. Wait until it get re-broadcasted. Most stuff never gets a rerun. What you saw on TV was then and there. And when it was over, it was gone. Forever. (Later you could rent a video. But most videorentals would have a limited number of films, only the most popular ones).

Heard a song you like ? Go to the record-store to buy a record. Maybe it was an older record, or something out of the top-100 ? Tough luck, the record might have been sold out, and not reprinted. CDs were not much different.

Want to take money out of your bank-account ? You gotta go to the bank. No ATMs. No online banking. Oh, and in my country, banks would be open only between 10:00 and 16:00. I remember when I got my first real job, I couldn't get my money, because I had to work until 17:30 every day.

Wanna talk to someone in another country ? Phone-calls were just too expensive, most parents wouldn't allow it (multiple dollars per minute for calls across an ocean). The only practical option: send a letter. And letters would take a week or more to arrive.

And these are just the obvious examples. There are so many things that have completely changed since the arrival of the Internet. Most people (young or old) aren't even aware of it anymore.

Who cares about slow 56k access ?
The real shocker is the different between Internet and no Internet.

I was dialing-up back in the early 1980's to BBS's. Downloading games, utilities and music as well.

We had ATM's in the mid-80's here: Johnny Cash Machines - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEPfxI0BO98

we also had VCR machines to record shows for later playback.

 

[Darwin333]

Damn, I so remember upgrading my 14.4K modem to a 28.8 and thinking "Holy shit this is fast!". Same when I got a 56.6K which I think was my next PC.

If you really want to throw them for a loop make them run DOS for a week.

 

[slag]

Damn, I so remember upgrading my 14.4K modem to a 28.8 and thinking "Holy shit this is fast!". Same when I got a 56.6K which I think was my next PC.

If you really want to throw them for a loop make them run DOS for a week.

I'm not even sure what I would do in dos except type "dir" a bunch.

 

[Printer Bandit]

how did people in offices communicate before there was email?

 

[dank69]

Just photoshop out half of a nudie pic and tell them to fap to it. That's the entire internet experience of the 90s.

 

[HumblePie]

To simulate the real experience though for dial-up is to sit there for an hour or two redialing your ISP trying to get a better connection because all the better connection ports they had available are already taken.

 

[slag]

To simulate the real experience though for dial-up is to sit there for an hour or two redialing your ISP trying to get a better connection because all the better connection ports they had available are already taken.

And get kicked off every couple hours to open up a modem for someone else. I had to time my mudding session to not be in combat around 2 hours in or i would get disconnected and either wimpy out of the room or get killed.

 

[HumblePie]

how did people in offices communicate before there was email?

Vanilla folders. They still have those

I know it's "manila," but I like using Vanilla just to screw with people.

 

[Red Squirrel]

And get kicked off every couple hours to open up a modem for someone else. I had to time my mudding session to not be in combat around 2 hours in or i would get disconnected and either wimpy out of the room or get killed.

I remember the subtle "click" I'd hear from inside the computer (modem relay) when I would get randomly DCed for no apparent reason. It was like "FFS!" and redial. lol. I remember a setting in the properties that would make it not DC as much. There was a keep alive, but also some other setting, I think it was something to do with flow control. Ahh fun times.

 

[HumblePie]

I remember the subtle "click" I'd hear from inside the computer (modem relay) when I would get randomly DCed for no apparent reason. It was like "FFS!" and redial. lol. I remember a setting in the properties that would make it not DC as much. There was a keep alive, but also some other setting, I think it was something to do with flow control. Ahh fun times.

You weren't using a good modem then like a good Broadcom if you had to screw around with those settings.

Speaking of which a good modem would cost big bucks back then.

 

[HumblePie]

I also still remember the fun of when I got my parents setup on broadband for the first time.

I turned on their computer after it was setup and said, "There you go!"

"So how do I get on the internet?"

"You're on it"

"But where's the AOL button?"

"You don't need it. Just click on the internet browser."

"What does that do?"

"It lets you browse the internet."

"But how do I do that through AOL?"

"You don't use AOL anymore for that. Your internet is always on. Just open a browser and use that like you would when you used AOL's web crawler page."

"Ok..." they said while still looking dazed, confused and scratching their heads.

Even after I show them a few times how it works, I would come back every few weeks to check on them and find AOL reinstalled and them surfing through AOL constantly instead of IE or Netscape I had installed on their PC back then. Was frustrating to get them to understand broadband connection and it took a few months.