Nothing But Net - For Five Days

cool by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 06:49 · Score: 0

I wish I could have free net for five days

Re:cool by slashdot-terminal · 1999-11-22 07:43 · Score: 1

try something like netzero or freei or something similar if you have the right hardware (56k) you can usually connect for free forever.

--
Slashdot social engineering at it's finest

Interesting expirament, but... by rlkoppenhaver · 1999-11-22 06:49 · Score: 2

Really, I don't see what there is to learn from this that we don't already know. That living in isolation is bad for ones mental health? That if you don't shower for a few days, you'll start to smell? That it's easy to wander into a gay chat room?

Re:Interesting expirament, but... by rlkoppenhaver · 1999-11-22 06:52 · Score: 1

Goshdarn browser. I wasn't finished.
Anyway, also, I remember reading an article on someone doing something similar a few years back. He spent a week in a hotel room, with a 'net connected laptop, and use of the phone. Pretty much the same results.
Re:Interesting expirament, but... by escher · 1999-11-23 00:47 · Score: 1

I'd be more impressed if the experiment ran for a month. A week is nothing.

Great quote. by Hanno · 1999-11-22 06:49 · Score: 2

I like the article. While it doesn't exactly report anything unexpected, there are a few gems in there...

"There is some good news. My shampoo and remarkably small stick of $14 deodorant just arrived by courier. By now, I'm not that interested in having a shower and I've grown to like my odour. It's kind of fruity."

By the way, the German weekly SPIEGEL magazine did a similar experiment where one of their authors spent a week trying to use the new German Pay TV network.

------------------

--

------------------
You may like my a cappella music

Re:Great quote. by Tom+Christiansen · 1999-11-22 07:29 · Score: 2

"There is some good news. My shampoo and remarkably small stick of $14 deodorant just arrived by courier. By now, I'm not that interested in having a shower and I've grown to like my odour. It's kind of fruity."
By the way, the German weekly SPIEGEL magazine did a similar experiment where one of their authors spent a week trying to use the new German Pay TV network.

Is this some subtly iconoclastic commentary regarding the unexpectedly similar personal hygiene standards between Europeans and North Americans? :-)
Re:Great quote. by coreybrenner · 1999-11-22 08:51 · Score: 1

> Is this some subtly iconoclastic commentary regarding the unexpectedly similar personal
> hygiene standards between Europeans and North Americans? :-)

No, you've got it wrong. That's Europeans and Canadians. U.S. Citizens generally display better hygiene than either group.

;-)

--Corey

--
Not only will they not deserve liberty or safety, Mr. Franklin, they will be DENIED both!

Forget the work-related stuff... by acarey · 1999-11-22 06:52 · Score: 5

... not that I'm saying that's not important.

But it seems to me that the major long-term problem associated with cutting oneself off from the "real" :) world is to do with socialising.

Sure, there are on-line communities, but currently these are limited as per the contrainsts of the web itself: limited rich content, low bandwidth, audio and visual information only.

Why is it harder to carry out a conversation via email than it is face to face? (Aside from the extra time taken in typing, of course :) Because human beings typically only exchange about 20-30% of the information in a conversation via the spoken word. The rest is the _way_ the words are spoken (pitch, rhythm [sp?]), the body language, nuances, other senses.

Email and other web-based communication techniques that rely on the written word rather than the spoken word can only communicate a minority of the contextual information that a human being typically expects to receive during a conversation. For work or academic related stuff where specifications are clear this may be fine, but for a social conversation email and the like aren't there yet.

Until the web (or its offspring) can transmit non-written conservation like language pitch and context, and body language - "rich conversation" - I don't think it's going to feasible to cut oneself off entirely from the outside world.

--
-- "I believe the human being and the fish can coexist peacefully." - George W. Bush, 29 September 2000

Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by acarey · 1999-11-22 06:54 · Score: 2

... and even then, would you really want to?

--
-- "I believe the human being and the fish can coexist peacefully." - George W. Bush, 29 September 2000
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by slashdot-terminal · 1999-11-22 07:40 · Score: 1

Yes I can think of several instinces where this could be a good idea. Hiding from the police or a stalker, alienation from humanity due to terminal illness, physical deformity, language barrier, etc. Yes you could want to I in fact do not like to socialize due to lack of really intereseting people out there who would actually would accept me. For that matter I feel alienated in the geographical locatality I am in. Generally it is difficult to live in a world where physical appearence and other factors affect life. Perhaps then all the world's rather unsung individuals who aren't social affencianados.

--
Slashdot social engineering at it's finest
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by CFN · 1999-11-22 07:50 · Score: 1

Until the web (or its offspring) can transmit non-written conservation like language pitch and context, and body language - "rich conversation" - I don't think it's going to feasible to cut oneself off entirely from the outside world

Who would want to. Don't you need to see people smile, stare at chicks, see random people walking in the street, and partake of the occasional piece of female flesh?

Now this is not flamebate, but anyone who chooses to eliminate human contact for virtual contact is a complete freak. The net is great and fun, but it is a poor substitute for real life.
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by Petor · 1999-11-22 07:57 · Score: 2

Speaking as a writer, and often onliner, I can say with certainty that text can express everything that needs to be expressed.

If I use phrases like:
"i c yes, it is c00l."
Then problems will crop up.

If I were to write:
"Oh, I see! Your implementation of a perl-script to get your beer is cunning!"
Then my meaning gets across.

The same rules apply in written conversations as do in writing of any kind. Because the physical cues aren't there to pick up on, one must be clear, accurate, and precise with diction.

Style is everything, d00dz.
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by geon · 1999-11-22 07:59 · Score: 1

I dunno. You're right of course, but...

I've found that for me it is easier to communicate most things by email type stuff. I have a much better sense of humor when writing (I can carefully construct each joke and pun to achieve maximum effect). I am far less likely to put my foot far up my mouth - email and other written forms of communication allow plenty of time to think, consider, and assemble any arguments.

There are some things online, written communication is unsuited for. But there is a lot that it works well with. At least for me.
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 08:16 · Score: 1

The problem is you're taking someone who's well socialized and removing that.
I, OTOH, grew up completely sheltered. The only socializing I could do was at school. No sleep-overs. No games. No phone. My family was and is cold and did not interact.
Socially, I'm stumped at trying to read bodily language in a conversation. If I'm just observing, I can do it but trying to do it while trying to articulate words in a conversation is very hard. Socializing isn't natural, it's learned behavior. I can talk about issues, specific topics but forget trying to have small talk. If I'm in a goal-oriented situation, I'm fine but just hanging out doing mindless crap? Forget it.
Consequently, net communication is as real as anything else and much less frustrating for me. I get my social needs met with email, threaded conversations and reading fan-fiction on-line.
Is net-only living ideal? No, but it's not all that bad either.
Read _The_Media_Equation_ about how people treat computer conversations the same as real conversations.
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by sklib · 1999-11-22 08:27 · Score: 1

Given that you can only get audiovisual information, you can still get audiovisual information instead of emails through the telephone -- or if you don't want to pay, dialpad.com. And IRC (or AIM or ICQ) are much faster than email.

--
-S
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by Tom+Christiansen · 1999-11-22 08:43 · Score: 5

Why is it harder to carry out a conversation via email than it is face to face? [...] Email and other web-based communication techniques that rely on the written word rather than the spoken word can only communicate a minority of the contextual information that a human being typically expects to receive during a conversation.
Everything you just said is true.
But I think there's something critical that you failed to mention. You're talking about a conversation that's time delayed. When I send someone mail, even if they read and respond right away, there's still a significant latency between the time that I was composing my note and when I eventually read their response. This time lag can easily stretch into days--sometimes even longer.
Despite the readily observable fact that most electronic communications are written as though they were quick post-it notes, at least in the case of those media which are not interactive in real time, our written words often have a lot more to do than they would in a simple post-it note. They need to make up for the missing context.
Back when folks actually sent each other letters in the post, a very different sort of communication occurred. This is particularly evident in those letters that went overseas, or which were composed before we had our mail delivered by high-speed aircraft. In these circumstances, a great deal more care was put into careful drafting and composition. The greater the latency in delivery, the more context would be provided, the more care taken.
Today when you send mail via the computer, you find that unlike the many famous collected letters of our forefathers, our own written notes no longer use what one would call "written English". In the vast majority of cases, communications via electronic media are treated with a level of informality that was previously found only on post cards and notes stuck on the front of the fridge or computer terminal. In other words, most of us employ "spoken English" in our daily electronic exchanges.
But as you yourself noted, there's a grave problem here. The amount of context provided is nothing like what you would get in a face-to-face, real-time conversation. It doesn't even compare favorably with the environment of a telephone conversation, in which you can at least perceive the intonation and stress patterns of the other party's voice.
The art of writing letters, and, all too often it seems today, the very art of writing itself, have faded into historical obscurity leaving us an impoverished shell of sound bytes and surface banter. As disturbing as the effect itself is the realization that this has happened to us without even our being aware of what we were losing.
Once you recognize that written and spoken English are, in some senses, different languages, you can start to analyse their respective advantages and disadvantages. Clearly spoken English is more spontaneous than written English. But the written form enjoys a far richer potential because of its capacity to hold and convey more nuance and detail from the writer to his reader. And it's not actually as much harder as you might initially fear. That's because no one requires you to type the same words that youd' use in a quick pub chat. In a written medium, you are free to choose your words more carefully, to play games with word order, and to compose sentences of a richer syntactic pattern than most of are comfortable doing in in a spoken medium. And you can clean up your mistakes, too.
There is much to be said for adopting a considered hand in all but the most ephemeral of written exchanges. There is no question that this requires more time, more effort. It's also true that in some contexts, such increased levels of care and attention are largely unwarranted. And it must be recognized that what one would consider writing using "written English" is hardly a skill that comes naturally to everyone, and that we must not discourage those who have a hard time with using written English from contributing their unique voices to the collective discourse.
That being said, if there is one thing I would dearly like to see is for our children to rediscover the enchantment of the written word. They must be challenged to read as much as they can. Of no less importance is their commensurate need to write as much they can, too. Literacy has plummeted in the United States over the last few decades from a place of honor in the world rankings to one of considerable shame. I do not pretend to understand all the causes, but a principal component to the solution is both simple and clear: more reading, more writing.
I do not know that the increased penetration of the Internet has necessarily helped this situation of our society's loss of the written word. I see scant little written English being written today in our on-line mail and news exchanges, nor in any other forum you care to name, this one included. Then again, I don't intend to blame the net for this, either. Our newspapers are written at a fifth-grade level; our weekly news magazines in America are little improved beyond that. It would not surprise me to learn that the majority of Americans would probably find not merely Scientific American but even The Economist too complex in word choice and syntactic structure for their diminished capabilities.
Do our children even recognize the written world they could be participating in on-line? I don't know. Probably they relegate that world of writing to their grammar schools. But the better they can write and the better they can organize their ideas and thoughts and then convey these to others, the better they will do later in life, largely irrespective of which particular career they land in. Communication skills help everywhere.
Why, after all, do you think that liberal arts majors are in such high demand these days? Not a small part of it is from their generalist training and their ability to communicate well, It is an area that the stereotypical geek is often not at his best, but it doesn't have to be.
So next time you jot out a piece of mail, especially if it's something that really matters to you, remember that the person on the other end isn't right there in the same room watching you, nor are they on phone listening to you, either. Consider the context they'll be losing, and try to make up for this loss by the quality of you writing.
And whatever you do, please read over your message twice before actually sending it. Remember: what you write once wil by others be read a million times, especially in this particlar forum. :-) Look for bugs, redundancies, inconsistencies, and awkward constructs in your prose just as you might look for these infelicities in your source code. People will be tacitly thankful you did. Best of all, you'll stand a much better change of getting your point across--which is, after all, why you're bothering to type something in the first place.
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by Wah · 1999-11-22 08:44 · Score: 2

Email and other web-based communication techniques that rely on the written word rather than the spoken word can only communicate a minority of the contextual information that a human being typically expects to receive during a conversation.

that's why we need to be able to post voice-mp3's to /.

There is one thing missing - the office water cooler. Where's the joy in reading a goofy Mel Lastman quote if you can't share it?

Mel who?, I wanna talk about nanites and software.

--
+&x
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by My_Favorite_Anonymou · 1999-11-22 08:52 · Score: 1

Come on, try use text to wirte a City of Lost Children to me.

CY
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by ErikZ · 1999-11-22 08:53 · Score: 1

Sounds familiar. I was amazed when I first ate over at a friends house and people were actually speaking to each other over lunch or dinner. All the meals I've had have been pretty much completely silent. Which is to say, my small talk skills are, well, malnurished. Any goal oriented group I do fine. I also do best socially when the group is going to do something. I couldn't 'Hang out' if my life depended on it.

--
Democrats or Republicans. They are both taking us to the same place and they are not afraid of us anymore.
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by coreybrenner · 1999-11-22 09:04 · Score: 1

> But as you yourself noted, there's a grave problem here. The amount of context provided is
> nothing like what you would get in a face-to-face, real-time conversation.

I have to disagree. See above for details.

To me, the ability to quote, and reply inline, are the real essence of email and other digital communication. That is why I prefer email to normal conversation, on the whole.

Not that I'm an antisocial bastard, which I am, but I can more easily discern the competence of the individual with whom I'm having discourse by their spelling, punctuation, and grammatical skills. I can instantly size up a person's intelligence and communications skills, and can see readily how serious they are about the ongoing communications.

I've turned down leads for jobs because the headhunters that contacted me misspelled simple words and dropped punctuation. If you're not serious enough to "speak" well, then you need not address me.

That sort of thing is a bit more difficult in person, because while diction and spoken grammar might be fairly correct, spelling and seriousness of intent cannot be gauged with as much accuracy.

Just my $.02,

--Corey

--
Not only will they not deserve liberty or safety, Mr. Franklin, they will be DENIED both!
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by Tom+Christiansen · 1999-11-22 09:09 · Score: 2

And so I see that the old school yet follows that time-tested tradition: By their postings shall ye know them. :-)
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by coreybrenner · 1999-11-22 09:12 · Score: 1

> By their postings shall ye know them.

Indeed. Rightly said, and well met, Mr. Christiansen.

--Corey

--
Not only will they not deserve liberty or safety, Mr. Franklin, they will be DENIED both!
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by thegrommit · 1999-11-22 09:30 · Score: 1

Why is it harder to carry out a conversation via email than it is face to face?

As mentioned in the article - email just isn't intrusive enough (although sometimes I wonder with the amount of spam I receive). Just as messages left on your answering machine go unreturned, email messages have a tendency to be forgotten.

I don't think it's going to feasible to cut oneself off entirely from the outside world.

Thankfully - don't forget that solitary confinement is regarded as a punishment in most jails.
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by Score+Whore · 1999-11-22 09:37 · Score: 1

God I want so much to moderate this as overrated. But I can't convey enough information with that... :)

Anyway, 20-30% is way off. If you truly think that this is the correct number, turn on your TV and turn down the sound. Or get a pair of binoculars and look at a distant conversation. At 50-80% communication coming via non-verbal forms (as per your statistic excluding pitch and rhythm) you should be able to get the general gist of things easily. Yet I'm betting that you can only pick up the general tone. And in some cases you may not be able to do even that depending on the emotional level of the conversation and other interpersonal dynamics going on.

All I got from the article is that the journalist is a weak minded media skunk. Any geek that can do 72 hours straight programming should be able to do a week of online interaction only, no problems.

-sw
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by Score+Whore · 1999-11-22 09:39 · Score: 1

Dontcha know we're all borderling autistic? Oh wait, maybe that's just me (being from Utah and all.)

-sw
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by Score+Whore · 1999-11-22 09:40 · Score: 1

Well shit, that's either "borderline" or "bordering on". Both work, take your pick.

-sw
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by Tom+Christiansen · 1999-11-22 10:56 · Score: 2

Don't you need to see people smile, stare at chicks, see random people walking in the street, and partake of the occasional piece of female flesh?
The number of unsustainable assumptions in this innocent but puerile posting could fill more than a few term papers. I'm embarrassed even to have read it.
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by jagapen · 1999-11-22 10:56 · Score: 2

Bravo! Thank you for a well-written, thoughtful post. I believe that this posting should appear as a Slashdot editorial, and not languish as merely a response to a comment on a story. Why? Simply, communication is important. The Internet, and moreso the World Wide Web, changed our society and economy by opening up fantastic new channels of communication. Its nature allows one person to be heard easily by millions. Among its other effects, the Internet fostered the ascendency of the free/open source software model. Honestly, would Linux have grown to its current power if we still had to pass its source code around via simple BBS or even Fidonet-type systems? I can't imagine so.

Proper communication is still important for the functioning of an open source project, or political movement, or simple exchange of ideas without flames. As somewhat of a linguistic geek myself, I've noted with dismay the declining quality of online writing. I can forgive simple confusion like it's/its or affect/effect, but lately I've seen more and more people pay little heed to proper sentence structure or legibility, instead using a stream-of-conciousness style that's very confusing. When the whole point of writing is to communicate a thought or an idea, I find it hard to understand why people can't take simple steps to facilitate the communication, rather than hindering it.

As all Slashdot readers are Internet users in one way or another, how people use the potential of the 'net is important, and good communication skills are part and parcel of it. Therefore, I think this essay needs a chance at the front page.
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by CFN · 1999-11-22 11:50 · Score: 1

I'm not quite certain what you mean by "unsustainable assumptions"? Assumptions of what -- that human beings require physical contact with others? I doubt I am the first person to propose that hypothesis.

I understand the importance of electronic communication for some people: those who live in isolated locals might have no other contact with people of similar interests, etc. But I firmly believe that electronic comm. should supplement one's existence, not be the whole of it.

I don't understand why you felt my message was juvenile (puerile, for the thesaurus crowd). Perhaps the word "chicks" and the phrase "female flesh" could have been changes to gender/orientation neutral terms, but other than that I am bewildered. I had assumed people of all ages felt desires to have friends and be loved. If I am wrong in my assumption than I am indeed naive, but I doubt it.

I also fail to see why one who was embarrassed to read something would feel no shame in telling the world that he had done so.
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by jacobm · 1999-11-22 12:18 · Score: 1

You make an excellent point. However, to some extent, I worry that your argument is akin to the perennial "back in my day" complaint that always accompanies any cultural shift: certainly it's true that people usually use a writing style that's much closer to commonly spoken English in e-mails (and message-board posts) than it is to the writing style that people once used for written correspondence. Certainly computer-corresponders don't put as much effort as their written-corresponder parents and grandparents did into their writing. But how bad is that, really? (This reminds me of one of the most provocative questions I've ever heard in a class: when talking about computer technology, someone mentioned that they feared if computer technology continued to improve with respect to voice recognition and graphical interfaces, people would become less and less literate. The professor responded, "If you had those things, what would be so great about being able to read?")

When arguing that written communication is getting poorer and poorer, it is customary for people to argue (as you and the poster to which you were responding did) that if you write like you speak but you aren't physically present, your communication is missing a great deal of information. I must say, I have always thought of that as a somewhat overstated problem. I have no trouble decyphering people's "let's meet at noon"'s and their "you okay?"'s via e-mail, and I doubt that's because I'm an enormously talented empath. And let's not forget about that very capable low-bandwidth body-language emulator, the emoticon- last I checked, it worked pretty well. (No, that is not a joke argument. It is no accident that emoticons have been around for as long as electronic communication.)

Aside from that, you also argue that "written English" (which I will call "old written English") can be more expressive than "spoken English" (which I will call "new written English"- it's not, uh, y'know, the same thing as, um, when you're talking). I agree. However, you shouldn't dismiss the benefits of new written English out of hand- as you mention yourself, it is more spontaneous, which can lead interesting places. It's also much quicker- the reason writing is more thoughtful than speaking is that we do it so much more slowly. That's fine when you're not writing a whole lot. It is less fine when you spend hours a day communicating via various written channels, particularly e-mail and message-boards. Furthermore, the more deliberation people put into their writing, the more stilted and awkward they sound, usually. (Of course, the less deliberation they put in, the more stupid and incomprehensible they may sound, so there's certainly a trade-off to be made...)

That is not to say that I disagree with the point you make that people ought to put thought into their written communications. It's just that I think we have different conceptions of who the perfect e-mailers would be: it seems as though you imagine the best e-mailers as those who scour everything they write for errors; I tend to think they would be those who learn how to write lucidly the first time. They would have less art, but could get to the point without overdoing it.

(Speaking of overdoing it, look at the size of this post! I should take my own advice...)

--
-jacob
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by Deosyne · 1999-11-22 17:15 · Score: 1

Until the web (or its offspring) can transmit non-written conservation like language pitch and context, and body language - "rich conversation" - I don't think it's going to feasible to cut oneself off entirely from the outside world.

But that isn't the issue either; there are a rare few of us who dream of being able to live like that, without increasing the level of communication above the written word or the occasional phone call. However, people need money to survive in this capitalist world, and folks who get into the position of employer are definately not in the above group, so they will never be able to understand us and employ us in a fashion to allow us to live like we prefer to. Just as I'm sure that most people who read this can't really understand what I'm talking about and just think I'm some kind of freak who SHOULD get out and interact with people face-to-face; nevermind the fact that this is MY preference and that I decided that this is how I would choose to live if at all possible.

The point I'm trying to make is that those of us who would actually want to live cut off from the outside world will NEVER be accomodated in our desire to do so, because everyone else just thinks that we are wrong and need to change our way of thinking, as my mother-in-law so helpfully reminds me of on a regular basis.

Yeah, I'm a little bitter, because I know that despite all of these silly-assed publicity stunts that these media outlets are staging, those of us who WANT to live that way will NEVER be allowed to, because society in general is of the opinion that we are just wrong, plain and simple. Perhaps I'll just let the folks who will respond to this message make my point for me. Go ahead and tell me how wrong that I am for being antisocial, I'm used to it...

Deosyne
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by ralphclark · 1999-11-22 17:39 · Score: 1

I do think the spoken word accounts for more than 20-30% of face-to-face communication in most cases; more like 80-90%.

The way the words are spoken can only account for one or two data representing the way the speaker feels about the subject, maybe about 10% in total.

So what are you using for the rest of the 70% non-verbal component you claim? Tuned farting? Hula dancing? Armpit squeaks? Or a combination of these?

Consciousness is not what it thinks it is
Thought exists only as an abstraction
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by dennisp · 1999-11-22 18:09 · Score: 2

Well I don't know about that. After getting to know a few people online -- who seemed to have very elegant prose -- they seemed like complete nimwits with nothing intelligent to say in person.

I'm not saying that there's something wrong with having time to compose yourself -- but it allows some people to present themselves as things they are not by just doing a couple of quick web searches. You can't exactly put someone on the spot when e-mailing can you? :)

It's agreed that grammar and diction is important -- but really, I prefer to change my written and spoken flow of words completely depending on the situation and audience. The real importance is in getting your point across, after all. On slashdot, for instance, I like a using a lot of line breaks and normalized language for that "conversational feel".

Anyway, what I was really trying to get to, is that in e-mail (or forums like this), people will tweak their messages to a point where they hide their faults and certain unknowns; whereas in normal conversation, it's more or less, question, answer, thought from me, thought from her/him and I can analyze what they are *really* thinking; not what they want to present.

E-mail is of course, good for many things such as long boring explanations or arguments such as this -- but anything that requires social interaction, coercion, and 'reading of thoughts', I'd prefer leaving to real time audio and visual realms (notice I left room for future technologies.. :)
----------
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by dennisp · 1999-11-22 19:26 · Score: 2

Know your audience. What is a forum for detailed analysis and peer review for one, may be a group to inflict particularly annoying quips on for others.

I engage in various types of written communication in e-mail, and I can tell you the most important lesson I have learned is discretion. I previously wrote long detailed analysis, or provided more or less a snapshot of what was going through my mind at a certain moment, and eventually found out how much of a waste of time it was. It's very important to recognize that there is nothing wrong with short spelling error ridden text. Things like, "hey, how's it going"; "I'm going to blah next weekend, want to come?", are perfectly normal things to say in maintaining a relationship with the least amount of effort. When I want to provide a detailed, well written opinion or thought, I will. This is similar to 2 paragraph, generally off-the-cuff, replies that I post on slashdot. I'm sorry, I don't have the time or inclination to make the effort to write properly thought out flowing works of posting art. On average, I'm probably doing about 13 other things while reading slashdot, so efficient and poetic language usually isn't an option. If I'm trying to write a persuasive or argumentative essay, maybe. On slashdot, no way.
----------
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by dennisp · 1999-11-22 19:37 · Score: 2

No, the fact that one has nothing to do with the other. Being able to understand language and following up on human impulses are not similar at all.
----------
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by dennisp · 1999-11-22 19:47 · Score: 2

That just comes with becoming confortable with instantaneous thought to speech. Don't try to be so sophisticated in speech. After you become comfortable speaking with people in general, you will find that thoughts will come to you impromptu. Just don't be to hard on yourself. Written and spoken language are completely different. You just have to get used to the different nuances in spoken language that allow you to articulate better.

Often, after long working binges, especially after writing a lot of e-mails or documentation, I sometimes temporarily studder or stop in mid sentence to gather my thoughts. This is because in those other forms of communication, I have the ability to gather a large amount of information, think about how I'm going to present it, change my words around many times, and then finally write them down.

Like others have said, It will come to you naturally with practice.
----------
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by Ubertech · 1999-11-22 20:47 · Score: 1

dennisp said:

Well I don't know about that. After getting to know a few people online -- who seemed to have very elegant prose -- they seemed like complete nimwits with nothing intelligent to say in person.

I'm not saying that there's something wrong with having time to compose yourself -- but it allows some people to present themselves as things they are not by just doing a couple of quick web searches. You can't exactly put someone on the spot when e-mailing can you? :)

As to the people appearing to be nimwits in person, that's not so odd. I find that when I take the time to think about something, write my thoughts, and then rewrite them, I am able to express what I am thinking more clearly than when I am in a face to face conversation.

As far as someone looking up stuff on the web, that's OK if they tell you they are quoting something. Also, assuming they are doing good research, they should be commended for actually backing up their statements with some kind of support. (Again, this is assuming that they are doing good research.)

Finally, I think a conversation, or a debate, is better served when both sides are trying to share ideas, not put someone on the spot. For me, email seems to help this.

That's my $0.02. Have fun with it.

--
Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
Re:Forget the work-related stuff... by pspeed · 1999-11-23 06:17 · Score: 1

Ah... you say: "Oh, I see! Your implementation of a perl-script to get your beer is cunning!"

And then, because I'm in a particularly wierd mood I read it as sarcasm and feel really insulted.

It's the subtle nuances that text lacks. Thus the emoticon... you big loser. ;)

--
Edu. sig-line: Choose rhymes with lose. Chose rhymes with goes. Loose rhymes with goose.
Comparing? THEN use THAN.

He's not a nerd by chandoni · 1999-11-22 06:53 · Score: 5

This guy's mistake was trying to lead a normal life online. Corned beef sandwiches and beer? A daily newspaper? But if you're interested in the kind of culture that you can only find online (Q3 tournaments, slashdot, even day trading) then you could easily spend days on the net. Many guys I knew in college spent 5 semesters constantly being online, not just a mere 5 days.

JMC

Re:He's not a nerd by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 07:21 · Score: 0

Very similar to my thoughts. I initially said to myself, "Self, why doesn't this guy do some gaming." Day trading is an even better idea, having said that if he didn't already have an account set up somewhere then it is probably more hassle than it is not worth for just five days.

The only reason I ever do any work is that I get bored with the Net. There is only so much you can do in the office. Games and pr0n don't go over so well, however I can justifiably read as many news sites as a like, or surf some of the millions of listings on the company's website.

I think given scope to do anything I want as long as I was nothing but Net for five days I think I might even end up learning something. Work would then of couse be entirely optional.
Re:He's not a nerd by slashdot-terminal · 1999-11-22 07:29 · Score: 1

Is there a major financial or time commitement to day trading? Is there any stored databse of say accurate curve fitting analysis to determine the movements of the market?

--
Slashdot social engineering at it's finest
Re:He's not a nerd by molog · 1999-11-22 08:01 · Score: 2

Corned beef sandwiches and beer?
What ever happend to donuts, pizza and mountain dew? Amateurs...

--
So Linus, what are we going to do tonight?
The same thing we do every night Tux. Try to take over the world!
Re:He's not a nerd by MattXVI · 1999-11-22 08:02 · Score: 2

If market fluctuations fit to curves we would all be millionaires. Some of the most sophisticated supercomputers in America are owned by financial institutions, in part to run their extremely sophisticated computer models of certain areas of the market. Even their methods aren't all that accurate. It's an interesting area to do research in, though - and there's quite a potential payoff.

--
When I'm singing a ballad and a pair of underwear lands on my head, I hate that. It really kills the mood.
-Tom Jones
Re:He's not a nerd by pen · 1999-11-22 08:04 · Score: 1

I think given scope to do anything I want as long as I was nothing but Net for five days I think I might even end up learning something.
Exactly. There's InformIT, BiblioMania, Slashdot, and more very informative and educational sites.
Also, I think that it is a completely different experience if you are a nerd, since you actually know what to look for, and where to look for it.
Finally, he could make phone calls with Dialpad, order groceries for same-day delivery at WebVan, etc.
Conclusion: Before you decide to do something like this, DO A LITTLE RESEARCH!

--
Re:He's not a nerd by Higher+Ground · 1999-11-22 08:35 · Score: 1

Many guys I knew in college spent 5 semesters constantly being online, not just a mere 5 days.
I think it's interesting that you say they only spent five semesters online... Are we to assume the last three weren't completed? I know I'm running that risk at times.
As for the article, I think it was rather weak. He tells us about maybe an hour's worth of his day. I think I could've used less information about his B.O. and more about the little adventures you go on everytime you try and find something new to do or read online.
hg

--
Drop the .nospam if you want to e-mail me (I guess you probably knew that...).
Re:He's not a nerd by jareds · 1999-11-22 08:36 · Score: 1

Finally, he could make phone calls with Dialpad, order groceries for same-day delivery at WebVan, etc.
In case you didn't notice, the article was in the Toronto Star. Toronto is in Canada. WebVan doesn't deliver to Canada. In fact, I'm sure that there are significantly fewer Canadian Internet companies doing deliveries.

Conclusion: Before you decide to do something like this, DO A LITTLE RESEARCH!
Re:He's not a nerd by Wah · 1999-11-22 08:38 · Score: 2

5 days online and he a found a gay chat? this story was silly.

If I (or many of you) were to "concentrate" on what I did over a 5 day period online, it would have to be condensed down from epic book proportions. From massive pitched battles to deep philosophical discussions, huge (relatively) cash movements, and other strange things, and that's without even paying attention or even focusing on the online world, that's just "normal".

What he should have done is just started exploring at random. That always leads to strange things. 5 days of that could drive drive Wonko the Sane crazy.

Not using a phone? Hullo, voice over IP, that counts as "using" the 'Net, right? The author should be locked in a box for 5 days just for this story, then he can write about THAT.

--
+&x
Re:He's not a nerd by Suit · 1999-11-22 08:52 · Score: 1

1) Yup

2) Yup, but it'll cost ya. Too many places/sites to list. Most charge.

--
Life is just a bowl of All Bran - Small Faces
Re:He's not a nerd by Jimbo123 · 1999-11-22 09:10 · Score: 1

heh
in canada the mountain dew has no caffeine in it
its illegal to add caffeine to a product that doesnt already contain it "naturally" so its coffee, jolt, etc. all them clear pops aint nuthin but sugar water.
Re:He's not a nerd by coreybrenner · 1999-11-22 09:17 · Score: 1

My God.

I knew there was a good reason to despise Canada, and now I've found it. Mountain Dew without caffeine is tantamount to sacrelige. That's like pizza without cheese, or light beer!

What a disgusting place.

I shudder in horror, and weep mightily for those of you oppressed by your government in Canada.

--Corey

--
Not only will they not deserve liberty or safety, Mr. Franklin, they will be DENIED both!
Re:He's not a nerd by interiot · 1999-11-22 11:22 · Score: 1

its illegal to add caffeine to a product that doesnt already contain it "naturally"
Weird.... Can anyone post a web reference or otherwise confirm this?
Re:He's not a nerd by Jaeden · 1999-11-22 12:04 · Score: 1

Really??
I never knew that...
Are you quite sure?
Sounds a bit strange to me.
Can anyone confirm/deny this?
Re:He's not a nerd by Jimbo123 · 1999-11-22 12:26 · Score: 1

ive been searching thru the mess known as canada.gc.ca (gov web site) for the food and drug act portions pertaining to the drug caffeine, its a mess.
my friend wanted to market fruit juice with caffeine added, in canada, and found that adding caffeine to anything not already containing it was unlawful, but i have found a bunch of links pertaining to caffeinated bottled water, im not sure if they are canadian or what. will keep looking.

why not use the phone ??? by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 06:53 · Score: 0

Ok, That's cute, but why he was restricted from using the phone?

Re:why not use the phone ??? by chris_se · 1999-11-22 07:18 · Score: 1

Or, even better, why not one of those net to phone things like dialpad.com (which is free)

Chris_SE

You really could actually do just that. by slashdot-terminal · 1999-11-22 06:53 · Score: 1

I hate the fact that most access seems to be beyond the range of my 2400bps modem. What a crap. At any rate I believe that most people who are technically inclined could (in the future of course) be able to become partly cyborgenetic and give up the need to actually not be connected to the net. I remember an episode of "The Outer Limits" where all of humanity had their brains connected up to a computer network. Very cool. I think that this guy is just whiny.

--
Slashdot social engineering at it's finest

Time???? by Keefesis · 1999-11-22 06:53 · Score: 3

Some people have way too much free time :)
A year ago, I would have said it would be a paradise world if we could do exactly this, but now, even without reading the article, I can tell it would suck. I actually enjoy exercise, and I really feel crummy when I don't get my daily 3 mile run in. I don't run to stay in shape, I run because I feel that I need to do something other than sit infront of the computer 24/7. I actually feel guilty if I spend all day on the computer. I usuall spend about 5 hours a day online, but I do other things also, though, it is rarely homework. One thing I have noticed is that the internet is cutting into my homework time. My grades are staying pretty much the same, but I am doing less homework and spending more time reading /. and playing Half-Life and chatting with friends.
Well, that's a glimpse in to my pathetic little world, and I hope noone I know in person reads this :D~

Re:Time???? by slashdot-terminal · 1999-11-22 07:01 · Score: 1

It's the annoying physical factor. I don't think it's pathetic but I do wish I could do more of the interesting things. Such as run a real server or run a place like slashdot. I never have been given responsibility. Mostly I think that civilization prevents the most able people from being able to impliment the best ideas. Excercise? well if you live in a major metropolitan area you tend to get a big lung full of smog when you take a deep breath so maybe if you live in Los Angles, New York City or maybe Boston you could be limiting your lifetime of your lungs. Another problem is that humans are able to do only so much. Training levels for people in the ancient days were more severe than now. I recall that the Spartans were able to run 20 miles per day in their daily treks for their warriors. I have not seen any correlation between that and a high level of health. Besides it is a lot better to die at 60 of a heart attack than to live to 65 go senile or get Alteizmers(sp) disease and cause the brain to go.

--
Slashdot social engineering at it's finest

Wow, wonder how many times he beat off by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 06:54 · Score: 0

five days worth of porn is a lot.

Re:Wow, wonder how many times he beat off by pen · 1999-11-22 08:08 · Score: 2

Landsend.com comes close, probably without even knowing it. If you try shopping for womens' clothing, you'll find that they provide a virtual model, which can be made to look quite delicious. Granted, it wasn't meant to be used as pr0n, and it isn't poseable or anything like that, but I think that we're not far away from something similar, but aimed at the pr0n lovers. :)

--
Re:Wow, wonder how many times he beat off by earache · 1999-11-22 10:05 · Score: 1

We do, it's called Poser by Metacreations.
the sinister mister earache.

LOL - Gotta love the online life =) by Guyle · 1999-11-22 06:55 · Score: 1

I must say that I've always wondered what would possibly happen if someone actually tried to do everything online. Personally, though, I wouldn't try to do it unless I had a buddy I could e-mail who would go run and do my shopping for me. I'd rather pay him $20 for his time than to pay $14 for deodorant, and eat sandwiches with Life cereal.

Although, I bet there are times when we've been so busy that life will become someone like this. I can remember many a day stuck in front of the computer all day, getting up only to use the bathroom and to call Domino's for my dinner. Good thing I had everything else I needed at home! =)

This goes out to all the wonderful Internet addicts out there - you're not alone! There ARE people more addicted than YOU! =)

It *does* replace human contact. by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 06:55 · Score: 5

It *does* replace human contact. I haven't left my room for days and I'm OK. The voices are quieter now, and only talk in perl....

-Dave Turner, AC of convinience

Re:It *does* replace human contact. by Tom+Christiansen · 1999-11-22 07:23 · Score: 2

It *does* replace human contact. I haven't left my room for days and I'm OK. The voices are quieter now, and only talk in perl....
Tell me about it. :-) I've got like a foot and a half of snow piled up outside my door, and the pasta is running out. Fortunately, we should be unthawed in a day or so. It's either communicate online, or talk to my cat. Unfortunately, my cat doesn't speak perl, so you're the lucky guys. :-)
Re:It *does* replace human contact. by slashdot-terminal · 1999-11-22 07:32 · Score: 1

Sled dogs? If it's a location in say Alaska or Canada perhaps that would work?

--
Slashdot social engineering at it's finest
Re:It *does* replace human contact. by korpiq · 1999-11-22 08:15 · Score: 1

if( /It's been (\w+) lately/ && ($1 eq 'quiet') && ! -f '/var/log/festival.pid' ) {
say("Your really should redownload that festival");
say("Remember, when the pipe from irc to the speech synthesizer brought all those voices to your room?");
say("It sure was scary, but you were relieved in the long run, ");
say("weren't you?");
}

--

I think, therefore thoughts exist. Ego is just an impression.
Re:It *does* replace human contact. by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 09:53 · Score: 0

I think that the great programmers of the world should be snowed in more often, so that they post 50 message in 2 days more often on /.!!
Re:It *does* replace human contact. by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 12:55 · Score: 0

You joke... Aside from going to class and taking a trip to the grocer once a week, I haven't left my computer to do anything else in at least a month. And a month before then...

I'm not naturally anti-social. I just find that diving into a good text book is more rewarding than general social contact especially with all the immaturity and bigotry in our society. So I stay in. My friends are my roommates and classmates. I see them every day.

Well now by Tarnar · 1999-11-22 06:55 · Score: 2

That was funny. Honestly too, I giggled my way through. Maybe the concept of Web Development isn't as 'buzzwordy' as everyone makes it out to be. I'd like to know that the Internet is just as useful as a phone, but a shame it isn't.

Re:Interesting experiment, but... by Roundeye · 1999-11-22 06:57 · Score: 2

Exactly. If I'd known this is all one needs to do to get "published" as a journalist I'd've just submitted any diary week from the last year-and-a-half.

He seems to miss the fact that one doesn't suddenly transit to pure-'net from "regular life". One gradually sinks into it. There are no sudden food/deodorant emergencies. That's what housemates/roommates are for. Wire the house up and get cable/DSL so they get addicted to the technology. Wiggle the wires at the router when food starts getting low and when they look to you to fix it, convince them to go to the grocery while you slave over the logs. "Get some sun! It's a wonderful day out. Here, I'll also write up a shopping list/budgeting tool on our intranet web server." Go to freshmeat. etc.

--
"Cause there's 40 different shades of black, so many fortresses and ways to attack, so why you complainin'?"

Utter ******* by QuMa · 1999-11-22 06:57 · Score: 2

Someone hasn't been paying attention. The article says that this is where we're going, according to all the studies. However, I think it's going to be a long time before we start doing daily shopping online.... I am more or less constantly online, but when I need food, I still go to the shop. And I don't see that changing soon.

Re:Utter ******* by ucblockhead · 1999-11-22 07:03 · Score: 1

...we're going, according to all the studies.

Well, where we're going, according to the people who want to sell it to us.

Whether it is actually "where we're going" depends on what people actually want. If people don't actually want it, it will go the way of "pointcast". Technologies in search of users.

I have no doubt that people will do all kinds of amazing stuff online in the future. I also have no doubt that anyone other than an utter recluse will use it for everything.

When I got to work at home, and thus never really had to leave the house during the day, I was in paradise. However, I also found myself running to the store for lunch, for no other reason then to get a little human contact.

--
The cake is a pie
Re:Utter ******* by mOdQuArK! · 1999-11-22 07:05 · Score: 2

Actually, I can see setting up a regularly delivery of staples (I assume that a service with plenty of advance notice will be able to fulfil orders completely!) - and reserving the trips to the grocery store/deli when the "I've gotta have something different!" urge strikes...
Re:Utter ******* by treat · 1999-11-22 08:45 · Score: 2

If grocery stores did this, they would need no more than 24 hours notice, and could get by with much less. All they have to do is the same thing I do when I shop for myself - pick the food off the shelves based on a list, put it in bags, and bring it to my home.

The only issue I see is selection of produce - they would have to do a good job, so I don't have to go to the store and do it myself. I would also need a way to indicate what quality is acceptable, and if nothing is available, then don't give me that item. (e.g. I frequently go to the store and find that none of the tomatoes are any good).

Shopping at the supermarket is a tremendous hassle. I have to go out of my way to get to a decent one. (not a great distance, but enough to annoy me). Then I get there, and get a terrible parking spot. I first go to the produce aisle, and then stand still looking around. If I'm lucky, they havn't rearranged things in the past week. If I'm not, I have to wander about looking for everything I want. This, while pushing a cart around, surrounded by people I don't want to be near. I have to walk up and down most every aisle,
navigating my cart around screaming children. I'll usally know right where something is, now that I'm familiar with the store, but I'll still have to search for some things. OK, now I've got a cart full of food, and I go to find the shortest line to wait in. Surrounded by an endless mob of people, I wait, and wait. The cashier takes forever with everything. Her nametag says she's worked there 3 years. How proud she must be. Whoops, the person in front of me was trying to buy paper towels, but nobody knows what they cost. Someone is wandering around looking for the information, while the cashier just stands there. I offer to pay for the paper towels, $5 in cash and the cashier can keep the change. Just please keep things moving. Nope, can't do that, we wait some more. Finally, my turn. This usually goes smoothly, besides taking a while. Someone bags my groceries for me most of the time. I push the cart out, load my car up, and drive home - carefully, so I don't damage anything or spill the bags. With luck it will be one trip up the stairs. Usually it's two. After all that work, I still have to put everything away.

Buying groceries wastes my valuable time. I have to needlessly spend time doing something that is neither enjoyable nor profitable.
Re:Utter ******* by tzanger · 1999-11-22 09:50 · Score: 1

Buying groceries wastes my valuable time. I have to needlessly spend time doing something that is neither enjoyable nor profitable.

insightful?? ermmmm...yeah...

My grocery trips take no longer than 20 minutes at most, with maybe a couple of minutes for parking. Throw on 5 minutes to get the groceries in the house and away. If I'm lazy I'll go up and down most of the aisles but 95% of the time I know exactly what I want and within 50' know where it is.

That's tops a half hour. You're telling me that you can't spend one half our getting food? Christ some of my stare-out-the-window breaks are longer!

Let's see here... fruit, veggies, meat, milk, eggs, bread... Maybe some munchies and a treat? Yeah it's a pretty standard family shopping list... and it's for four people. It sounds like it takes you an hour and a half to do the groceries. Someone has to work on a fairly well-needed optimization problem if you ask me.

That guy is an ignorant slob by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 06:59 · Score: 0

He forgot to bathe? Give me a break.

No people to talk to? I guess irc was just too difficult to figure out.

No time to wait for email? Again, what about irc, or icq, or aim, or jabber, or....

I sincerely hope that the rest of the world doesn't act this way when they start using the net more. Maybe the article should have been entitled "5 Days of Wasting Money and being a Slob Online."

Re:That guy is an ignorant slob by Hanno · 1999-11-22 07:08 · Score: 2

> He forgot to bathe? Give me a break.

He did not forget, he simply did not need to. That's the point. If you spend your day at home, with no other persons to meet, you don't have to do the usual hoopla.

I can quite relate to that, in a sense. I once spent a few weeks translating a CD ROM and rarely got out or had time to do anything because of a tight schedule (it was a doomed project and it was a dumb project, but nevertheless...)

Boy, did my appartment start to get messy. And I myself started being messy too. All day at the computer, still wearing the pyjama.

------------------

--

------------------
You may like my a cappella music
Re:That guy is an ignorant slob by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 07:08 · Score: 0

In case you haven't already figured this out, IRC is a barren wasteland of spammers and idiots. Online chats (which he did try) are even worse.
Re:That guy is an ignorant slob by slashdot-terminal · 1999-11-22 07:11 · Score: 1

I have never seen fit nor had need to connect to irc servers, nntp systems, icq, aim, or jabber. These things require IP addresses to be able to access and generally are not enabled in the browser at all. If you use lab machines/dial-up terminals/ kiosks/ integrated browsers/ or non-net connected computers then this presents a problem. As far as e-mail is concerned the medium has a great deal of flaws. One of them is the continual use of various "security" features on all except the most elite account features. Take hotmail cookies, https? Is this really necessary. Does anyone care about grandman sending recipies to her friends? About billy talking to his friends? Most people never check e-mail accounts because of pure sloth. Nntp is almost useless unless you have a very high end setup. Ever noticed that for being the system of the future that almost no group allows for easy simple text based, non cookie enabled access to nntp? Being forced to subscribe to a particular server, having to posess a client that is usually not installed (try IE 4.0) and such. Yes it is possible but not very fault tolerant. Why this useless protocol was invented I have no idea. SMTP is far superior to anything ever developed. In it's pure form it is a thing of beauty.

--
Slashdot social engineering at it's finest
Re:That guy is an ignorant slob by m3000 · 1999-11-22 07:23 · Score: 2

IRC is a barren wasteland of spammers and idiots

Real life is full of idiots, and tons of ads (aka spam). I don't see how IRC is any different, other than a lot more people want to have sex with you.
Re:That guy is an ignorant slob by emerson · 1999-11-22 07:26 · Score: 1

>He did not forget, he simply did not need to. That's the point. If you spend your day at home,
>with no other persons to meet, you don't have to do the usual hoopla.

I dunno, the article alleged he was so offended by his own stink that he bought $14 deodorant. Seems like a quick shower would have been cheaper and easier. But then he wouldn't have been able to write 1/3 of his "tech" article about body odor. Seems like a badly disguised plot device to me -- play on the stereotype of geek-as-unwashed-social-misfit.

--
Re:That guy is an ignorant slob by pen · 1999-11-22 08:12 · Score: 1

In case you haven't already figured this out, IRC is a barren wasteland of spammers and idiots.
Sure, if you join #teenchat on EFNet. :P

--

Not much of an experiment by DiningPhilosopher · 1999-11-22 07:00 · Score: 4

This guy claims he's performing an experiment to find out what life in the connected future might be like. While it's a mildly entertaining story, the experiment is very flawed.

Come on - he laments the fact that he can't stand around the office water cooler? Is it obvious only to me that if everyone were out of the office they'd gather for meaningless conversation in some other forum?

He also complains about the inconvenience and expense of ordering items like food and hygiene products. Of course the items are hard to find and expensive - nobody shops for these things online yet. Once there's a market the vendors will come to it.

What he's actually writing about is how difficult it is to live with only an internet connection today, when everybody else is working in offices and shopping in grocery stores. Gee, thanks.

--
/* The beatings will continue until morale improves. */

Re:Not much of an experiment by lordhades · 1999-11-22 07:58 · Score: 3

Come on - he laments the fact that he can't stand around the office water cooler? Is it obvious only to me that if everyone were out of the office they'd gather for meaningless conversation in some other forum?

In our office, we've got an in internal IRC server that we use a lot when we're working from home. Of course, it only gets used by the developers, but we do tend to get a lot of communication done through it. The trick is to use the Internet as a supplementary tool. My boss knows to email me before he calls, even though I have a cell phone. (I guess he's seen me pop the battery off the back when someone I didn't want to talk to was calling. ;) If I've got a question for a co-worker, I check in IRC-land before calling him/her. I could WORK for days from my apartment, sitting in front my my monitor with my cat trying to type for me, and sometimes I do. However I have no desire to re-route all of my functions through my computer.
Re:Not much of an experiment by vectro · 1999-11-22 08:45 · Score: 2

Actually, planetrx.com offer personal hygene products. I'm at college without a car, and it's pretty convionant to order these things without having to bum a ride from someone to get into town.

Well-roundedness.. normal? by nerpdawg · 1999-11-22 07:03 · Score: 2

Although most of this article was pretty expected, when the author mentioned the mental division between home life and work life he brought to mind something I've noticed in myself lately. In college I pretty much geeked around non-stop. There were some nice breaks in the day where I'd have non-geek related classes between the usual programming/reading cs stuff activities. Programming till 2 in the morning after a day of non-cs related work didn't seem like so bad an idea. Now that I do 8-10 hours of programming at work every day, I want no mentally taxing contact with computers when I get home. Occasionally a video game or two, but beyond that it's dinner, TV or book, and relaxation. Is this just me, or has this happened to other people, too?

Re:Well-roundedness.. normal? by Hanno · 1999-11-22 07:16 · Score: 2

I'd call that normal, it could probably even be called healthy.

I spend additional time at my home PC only if I have an interesting private, not work- or university-related programming challenge to hack on.

Anyway, I find that most geeks I know do use computers A LOT, but they know and they all say that they need other hobbies to compensate. I myself would go mad if *everything* I did was about computers.

Luckily, I have my a cappella music which helps me stay sane.

BTW, some time ago when I did *only* music for a few weeks (my a cappella group(s) are semi-professional and consume a lot of time), I found out that it's the same even when it's the other way round. In my case, music helps me cope with computers and computers help me cope with music.

------------------

--

------------------
You may like my a cappella music
Re:Well-roundedness.. normal? by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 07:19 · Score: 0

exactly. Which is why I'm much happier as a
sysadmin. I have much more "free" time on my
hands, which I spend reading slashdot. Additionally, I have the time to program what *I*
want.

Whereas if your JOB is programming, you get stuck
programming what someone ELSE wants.
Re:Well-roundedness.. normal? by pen · 1999-11-22 08:17 · Score: 1

I rarely post me-too's, but I just couldn't resist here...
RIGHT ON, BROTHER!
Moderate my comment's parent up!

--

Why do you want to do this? by kcarnold · 1999-11-22 07:12 · Score: 2

You can't expect someone to live only off the Internet. That's not how life was meant to be. People were designed for casual personal contact with one another; that's why we have vocal chords. Spending the day locked in and restricting your talking to typing is just plain stupid. You can't reasonably expect to survive that way. Sure, it's possible that you can fufill your physical needs, but your social needs are far from there. There is nothing like standing near somebody and talking through the air with plain old sound waves. Sure, I surf a lot, but I have real-life friends, too. I think one of the focuses of this article was exactly what I just said -- that it's a stupid idea.

As for restricting yourself from the telephone, there are Internet telephone products that can call regular phones, provided you have a sound card and a decent speed connection. But still, why restrict yourself? If you wanted to simulate conducting your entire life at home, the telephone is an important element. This "study" could have been more useful as an analysis of telecommuting, where the telephone is an important element (I said that before, didn't I?).

Final point: Isn't such a thing horrible for your physical health as well? He didn't say anything about exercising. His muscles must have been practically gone by the end of the week. Get out and run/jog/bike/walk/hike/rock-climb/etc. a little. There is no shortage of options. If you're really bored, go travel somewhere and do something there. But don't just stay in your house!

I wish I could watch video in real-time over my net connection. Forgive those with 38.4's (maximum, that is).

This article isn't lame (not LAME either). It's an important message (although not directly spoken within it) that we have too many people spending too much time on the web.

If I met this guy during his week, I'd tell him to get a life, and a couple extra to spare in case he lost that one.

Tell me if you disagree. (Or is asking you for that stupid? Be mature, folks!)

Ken

Re:Why do you want to do this? by slashdot-terminal · 1999-11-22 07:27 · Score: 1

Social needs? Why do people need social needs? Unless you cannot handle the strain of not having them fulfilled. One could theoretically live for 30 years with things like Schizophrenia, multiple personalities, being a hermit, etc; and still not die. Now if you believe in some sort of "hippie" concept of needing friendship to be alive than perhaps yes. However if I could do something like put muself on a space pod to chart a previously uncharted region of space then I would. People have use the excuse of having a "social life" for thousands of years to prevent progress. Look at many people in SCIFI shows like Star Trek. The only reason the Federation defeated the Dominion was because they has devious, sneaky, hard working people who didn't think that giving their enemies a fair break was a good idea. The whole concept of social dynamics is a complete waste in concerns of progess. Now if you correlate social activity to the carefully crafted dance that is monitary wealth then perhaps it is a good idea. Like I said before in an earlier post excercise is unnecessary in and above of various biochemical enhancements. In the future perhaps we can use these to enhance our ability to spend almost 100% of our time thinking and let technology take care of the rest.

--
Slashdot social engineering at it's finest
Re:Why do you want to do this? by mmontour · 1999-11-22 08:04 · Score: 1

You can't expect someone to live only off the Internet. That's not how life was meant to be.

"meant to be"? That sort of depends whose rulebook you're following. You could take the old-testament viewpoint and say that life was "meant to be" nothing more than standing around naked in a garden for eternity, avoiding a particular tree. Personally, I'd rather explore some other options. I think this was an interesting experiment. It didn't "work", but it did identify a specific set of problems. Some of these (like the lack of audio communication) could be solved by modifications of the technology, while others reveal fundamental problems with the premise of the experiment. Either way, it's knowledge gained (though many of us already knew many aspects of it).

If you think it was just a waste of time, consider that long-duration space missions will probably touch on some of these same issues - you have to find new ways to communicate with people, and wait a long time to get stuff shipped to you (or you have to learn to do without it). Closer to home, as cities get more crowded and polluted, people probably will spend an increasing amount of time at home. It won't necessarily be a bad thing (I know I could do with less commuting-to-work and grocery shopping).

Final point: Isn't such a thing horrible for your physical health as well?

Yes, it is an unfortunate consequence of evolution that our bodies don't have a decent 'standby' mode and need to expend so much effort in pointless busy-work just to be ready for that one time that we're running to catch a bus. However, even though we're many years away from being able to fix the root cause of the problem, there are workarounds (e.g. to wire your computer to a treadmill or exercise bike). Sure there are times when you want to go out for a walk or bike ride, but there are also times (such as winter in coastal British Columbia) when the weather's just so foul, damp, and depressing that indoors is the best place to be.
Re:Why do you want to do this? by chromatic · 1999-11-22 08:32 · Score: 2

You can't expect someone to live only off the Internet. That's not how life was meant to be.
That's also not how the Internet was meant to be. You might as well ask someone to live only off of the telephone or the radio or the newspaper. Perhaps next month, the author will lock himself in a library and write about how it is hard to live there for a week.
It's not technology failing, it's people who fail to understand that technology is merely a tool who are failing.

--
QDMerge 0.4!

--
how to invest, a novice's guide
Re:Why do you want to do this? by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 09:00 · Score: 0

Dude, you need to get laid. Progress isn't the end-all be-all... Interaction is. Why don't you read Brave New World.. That was a great example of progress.
Re:Why do you want to do this? by _blueboy · 1999-11-22 10:14 · Score: 1

That's also not how the Internet was meant to be. You might as well ask someone to live only off of the telephone or the radio or the newspaper. Perhaps next month, the author will lock himself in a library and write about how it is hard to live there for a week.

"Newspaper" or "Library" are hardly synonymous with "Internet". Maybe 8 or 10 years ago. Can you pay your bills at the library? Can you listen participate in a meeting across the world from the library? You can use all those analogies, however you are forgetting one thing -- the future (and in some cases the present) of the internet means the convergence of hundreds of other technologies down one pipe. This means trying to work only on the internet is like trying to work only with a telephone, AND the radio, AND the newspaper, AND the library...

ETC.

hmmm?

--
pdubroy AT yahoo DOT com

Missing an important fact... by .pentai. · 1999-11-22 07:13 · Score: 3

...that people that spend a lot of time on the net DON'T cut off everything else. Even in the future, we will still use phones, or atleast voice chat over the net. People who spend the majority of their time on the net don't stop their lives. I still pick up a phone, and go to the store, because those things aren't easier online (as of yet). News and such are, so why buy what I can get free?

An interesting idea, but hire someone right for the job to do the test.

What a wuss. by raygundan · 1999-11-22 07:14 · Score: 1

Apparently this guy is just not creative or technically-minded enough to pull this off. I use the net to make about 3/4 of my phone calls (net to normal phone via a gateway provider is mucho cheaper than normal long distance). A camera could have provided him with video. If he had thought to order his groceries via the net a few days before he started, they would have been fair game. The minor troubles he experienced were only "getting started" delays. Once he has some food in stock, I'll bet he could go for quite a while.

He gets some points for finding a deli that takes internet orders, though...

For a little more money he could have... by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 07:16 · Score: 0

hired hookers.
A great deal better than the alternative.

Re:For a little more money he could have... by limbostar · 1999-11-22 07:27 · Score: 1

For a little more money, he could have ... a real fake doll.

--
this is a sig.

You can't force a non net guy into using it by idealego · 1999-11-22 07:16 · Score: 1

This guy obviously isn't used to using the net. where is the constant bombardment of icq messages? What about the emails piling up? How about that big todo list of computer/internet related tasks? It's quite common for me to leave my house once every 2 weeks and I wouldn't have it any other way. Of course with 2 computer and a DSL line would you? ;P

The need to talk by Tom+Christiansen · 1999-11-22 07:19 · Score: 4

In the original article, the captive writer said:

I need more intrusive technology. I need to interrupt someone's day with some questions. Now.

That sounds pretty funny, until it happens to you. My friends and I have always used talk(1) for this kind of infrequent emergency, oh since something like back in 1984 or so. I at least haven't been tempted to use ytalk(1) for ages, but it's there if I really want it.

These days such calls are a lot less frequent an occurrence. I bet it doesn't happen more than once or thrice a month. This works out well, because we never know where each other really is geographically, so a phone call wouldn't work anyway. It's all nice and real-time. It probably helps that we all type at about 80 words per minute, or better. (And no, I don't know what that is in metric. :-)

A Fair Chance? by vivekb · 1999-11-22 07:20 · Score: 1

A reporter suddenly decides to spend five days on the net, and has a rough go of it.

When I moved to a new city, the first five days were absolute hell. I had no apartment, no food, few friends, and no idea where anything was. When this man moved online, he had pretty much the same thing. If he had stayed on long enough to settle in, things probably would've gotten better (not that I'm saying anyone could live a healthy life online right now). Apparently, he hadn't even discovered the net's greatest asset: cheap and abundant pornography.

Re:A Fair Chance? by Hello+Kitty · 1999-11-22 13:34 · Score: 1

Well spoken. Here's another thought: This reporter is sitting indoors with his Net connection and would rather be out and about in familiar surroundings. In theory, he COULD be out and about in familiar surroundings, if he didn't have to do this story. The constraint of nothing-but-Net is doubly artificial in this case -- not only is it a false representation of how most folks interact with the Net, it's false to how this guy would naturally do things (and hence uncomfortable to him as you pointed out).

You can bet this would have been a much different story if this guy had been, say, in a strange part of the country, or (like me) shut in with a nasty case of the flu for the past week. I'm feeling pretty damn euphoric about HomeGrocer and ICQ and drugstore.com and whatnot right now, I assure you.

stupid annoying ignorant by plik · 1999-11-22 07:20 · Score: 1

this sounds about what would happen if you slapped some ignorant joe-average AOLish user on the internet for 5 days. this article really annoyed me. there is a merging point, and we aren't there yet but we're getting there slowly. some people check their email all the time. those people participate in culture online. then there are people who only check their email once in a while. those people don't participate in culture online. people who are online have things they like to do online, and have found good or perhaps better ways of doing things online then in real life. a lot of people haven't found those things. you have to look for them. most people don't check their email once or twice a day, like the average slashdotter. its just ignorance. is that what he expected to find? that everyone on the net is just as wired as him? of course not. i don't like how he completely degraded the internet. its bad press. the average person is slowly discovering more and more about the internet, and as that happens, and computer literacy increases, a transgression will take place. all these things this guy was trying to do will become possible. also, i think its stupid that he couldn't/didn't use the phone. voice communications are not going out of style anytime soon. and its such a similiar technology too. yet again ignorance. [; it sounded more like a personal social expirment then a real test of the internet. i wonder though what would have happened if he had discovered http://www.dialpad.com which offers free phone calls to anywhere over the internet. --tom

the flip side to the paperless society by Travoltus · 1999-11-22 07:23 · Score: 5

Actually I find the lessons behind Mr. Cribb's experience - that you cannot live solely by doing things over the internet - to be a little disheartening considering the incredibly positive environmental impact that the internet promises to have on society. Not too disheartening, but a little.

For one, if we achieve its true potential, we will have a mostly paperless society. This will shrink the market for trees (although houses will still be made from wood).

Air pollution would be drastically cut by the large scale adoption of telecommuting. (So why not take those extra few hours saved from the daily commute, and go out and volunteer or something like that?)

As for the Mr. Cribb's problem of trying to contact people via email, well stereotypically in a largely online age he might want to contact them via something like MSN Messenger, AIM or ICQ. That is, if they are online with it. The internet phone is right around the corner, and will flourish with the advent of widely deployed Cable Modems / DSL / wireless internet (Ricochet) service. He can just dial up someone on the internet, free of charge, and chat that way. But the infrastructure for reliable internet phone usage, is still a while away...

The main overlapping theme in his story is the expensive nature of the "grocery" services. This can't be solved. The 'online grocer' business probably won't survive for long, anyways. The cost of delivering goods is too high to justify delivering one or two items, for one. If all he ordered was a stick of deodorant in one shipment, no wonder it cost $14 (Canadian)! That is one unconquerable hurdle. The need to have your goods delivered ASAP, is another one the online grocer cannot handle. Need I go on with this??? heh.

Anyways..we also know alllll about the online chat versus the meeting people in person thing. Or.. wait a minute.. do we? Perhaps Mr. Cribb's social life is based on a large number of people and activities that are offline. If this is the case then leaving him stuck online is like putting him on a desert island away from his home town. But..... but....... suppose you're a 19 year old guy whose passions are comic books, japanese animation, Linux, and weird alternative music? Do you want to go hang out with people who basically go by the "comic books suck! you better do what I do for fun or I'll call you names and make you feel bad" school of (non)thought? Heck no! Once the online option is presented to someone like that, they're known to lock out the outside world except for work and grocery shopping. In short the online chat phenomenon is a godsend for non conformists seeking fellowship. (Much to the dismay of the researchers and military minds who first created the net...lol... talk about your classic indians and settlers conflict!) The drawback is that it is apparent, in Mr. Cribb's own experience, that showers become optional, and I'm willing to bet that also goes for brushing one's teeth. Can we say 'health hazard'? It is certainly proof of the well known fact that the net has certain socially and medically corrosive effects if it becomes an addiction. (To say nothing about a lack of an incentive to exercise.)

Okay back to my point. Robert Cribb's experience brought him full circle right back to square one: while the paperless office/society, and the promise of telecommuting, makes the net a valuable and eco-friendly resource, there are still some things in real life that it cannot replace.

--
--- Grow a pair, liberals... stop letting the Republicans bully you!

DEAR GOD!! by nebular · 1999-11-22 07:24 · Score: 0

upon much internal refection I discover that I have that odour, yes it is fruity and I wish that I could go back to not noticing it. T'was bliss

How doth this vex me let me count the ways. by Rares+Marian · 1999-11-22 07:26 · Score: 1

1. The net is just a connection end of story. It has no magic of its own. It's the people that count.

2. If the novelty doesn't wear of businesses will never grow into healthy long lasting companies always just another fad coming through.

3. Real net users don't go on vacation on the net. They milk it for all it can offer. Like tutorials on every programming language that exists or cookbooks.

Can't we move past the hype already?
"Computers should be ... tools... (siglim 120 chars)" Like cars... to the office no more no less.

--
The message on the other side of this sig is false.

This is ignorant by roamer · 1999-11-22 07:27 · Score: 5

I am a student at Georgia Tech, and, like most tech schools, we are a good step ahead of "generic home user" as far as the technology available to us. What I have found is that the more wired I am to the web, the better I learn how to use it, and the more productive I can become in a shorter amount of time. There is no more spending a day at the library to research a topic- I can find more valuable information in an hour on the web. What I do find though, is that I have more time available to socialize with real people, because it takes me less time to do the things I have to do.
Also, I am much more able to work productively for longer periods of time when I really have to, because I use "personal" forms of communication (aka ICQ), so that I can talk to my friends while I work, with far less inconvenience and at far higher percentage of my productivity than if they were sitting there. It is true that it does lower how much work I can get done per minute, but it is amazing how much easier it is to stay motivated. Frankly, I think this guy was ignorant in how to actually use the internet, and trying to perform tasks that the internet is (currently) not made to do. My opinion, though, is that if the web was enhanced to do your grocery shopping for you so that you could spend 15 minutes to simply whip up your shopping list and paste it into grocery_pricewatch.com instead of a 4 hour trip to Kroger, you would be able to have that much more time to do other things (like socializing with your friends). Of course this would require a different delivery system than is currently used, so that competitive market would make it more convenient, but things like this would save a hell of a lot of time. Besides, imagine how much cheaper it would be if your groceries were not having to be shipped to a retail location, and you weren't having to pay for all the nice facilities and friendly service? Frankly, I am finding it quite a bit more convenient and savings from doing my hardware shopping online. I know that I for one will never shut myself off from the rest of the world- I am a total geek, but I have a life.

--
I don't respect your opinions, but I respect your right to hold them

Re:This is ignorant by Wah · 1999-11-22 10:14 · Score: 2

yup, just use the 'Net to save time. Buying plane tickets, lotso' shopping, etc, all at your convenience. It's not a matter of how much you can cram into 5 days, but how much time you can save in a year. Or how you can turn an obscure geek site into $12mil in a coupla' years...

silly article, seems to have been written about 2 years ago. When the Internat HADN'T changed the world. It certainly hasn't changed the author's.

--
+&x
Re:This is ignorant by mithian · 1999-11-22 11:59 · Score: 1

I really have to agree (for the most part). I didn't feel like the writer of this article really knew what it was like to be "connected" to the internet. You can't establish your own online presence in a week, or be "happy and social" without much of a presence. For the most part, people that -use- the internet got slowly addicted to it and sucked in. We didn't just up and decide to start spending the vast majority of our waking hours (and hours that should be spent sleeping) online. As we created our online persona and got friends on the internet, we were drawn in -- gradually spending more and more time online. If this person actually knew some places on the internet where he could talk to people (irc, icq, muds, etc..) the time would have been more easily spent and I think it could have even been far more productive. If I had to live locked up in my dorm room with no personal communication, I think I'd handle it better then this guy. Cabin fever (from lack of physical activity) would probably be my only complaint. In the end though, its good to have a real life.

Who needs pitch, rythm and context? by N1KO · 1999-11-22 07:31 · Score: 1

People on the net only need cute symbols made with two characters to express their feelings ;)

Re:Who needs pitch, rythm and context? by mlc · 1999-11-22 08:56 · Score: 1

But there's no way you could possibly express the entire range of human emotions with just a few smileys. Even given the long lists of silly smileys that make their way around the net (and does anyone really know what something like [8=)] means anyway?), you just can't express the entire range of verbal communication in email or IRC or whatever.

Nothing but Ice - For Five Days by severed · 1999-11-22 07:32 · Score: 5

With another ice age on the horizon (20,000 or 30,000 years from now), I figured it would be a good idea to go to Antartica for five days and write an article about life in the frozen wastes. After all, this is what life in the future is coming to.

Monday 8:15 am. While walking out side to pick up my daily newspaper that I had air-dropped by the Air Force Search and Rescue team (1,013 dollars US), I found that a polar bear had beat me to it. Disgruntled, I knew that it was going to be a bad day but I decided to stick with it.

Tuesday 11:15 am. After deciding that I was starting to smell, I took a shower. Unfortunately, the water was realy realy cold, and I developed hypthermia. I wish that bear was back, he sure did look warm.

Wednesday 10:03 am. Accidentially got tounge stuck to water cooler that I brought with me, so that I could pretend to have conversations with co-workers.

Wednesday 4:15 pm. Sent letters via carrier pigeons to people that weren't good enough to talk to until now.

Wednesday 4:20 pm. Polar bear walks by window of my igloo with carrier pigeon blood on it's paws. Sending messages by carrier pigeon sucks, I miss my telephone.

Thursday 2:12 pm. Downloaded Fight Club from the Internet. Watched fight club. Looking around igloo for gasoline. Rethinking my strategies on how to deal with loneliness.

Friday 4:05 pm. The first rule is Igloo Club is You Do Not Talk About Igloo Club. The second rule about Igloo Club is you do not talk about Igloo Club. Take this writer. During the day, couldn't tell you the difference between true north and magnetic north. But when he's in the ring with that polar bear, beating the tar out of that artic fur covered mammal, he's a God!

Friday 8:00 pm. Wating to be airlifted back to the mainland. Have a suitcase full of soap ready.

(non geeks shouldn't lock themselves up in their apartments with a pc and think that they are going to be able to live like a geek. Strange how he not once considered the idea of reading a book, or watching a few movies (like the stand, followed by the postman, followed by all episodes of Babylon 5. Heck, he'd never even miss the outside world)

--

HaXXXor.com - Naked Chicks Teach You How To Ha

Re:Nothing but Ice - For Five Days by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 08:13 · Score: 0

No offense but as I am currently in Antarctica and reading slashdot I would like to offer my experiences as a contrast. most days I get in about a half hour of surfing the web between work orders, computer maintenance and basic user babysitting. Showers in the US Antarctic Program are limited to three 2 minute showers a week. At South Pole station one is limited to two showers a week.
Re:Nothing but Ice - For Five Days by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 08:29 · Score: 0

With another ice age on the horizon (20,000 or 30,000 years from now), I figured it would be a good idea to go to Antartica for five days and
[...]
Monday 8:15 am. While walking out side to pick up my daily newspaper that I had air-dropped by the Air Force Search and Rescue team (1,013 dollars US), I found that a polar bear had beat me to it.
There are no polar bears in Antarctica. :)
Re:Nothing but Ice - For Five Days by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 08:56 · Score: 0

Yeah, what kind of Linux user are you, anyway?

Antarctica has penguins! Remember those?
Re:Nothing but Ice - For Five Days by AndyL · 1999-11-22 08:59 · Score: 1

With an impending nova of the Sun on the horizon (20 or 30 billion years from now), I figured it would be a good idea to go live inside my furnance for 5 days and write about my experi-

Nevermind. It was a stupid premise.

The scarey thing is . . . by nicksand · 1999-11-22 07:40 · Score: 2

For many years, becoming a techno-hermit has been a dream for me. Just being able to shut out all those annoying humans and to focus entirely upon the computers that I love. Imagine what one could accomplish if one could dedicate all their time to coding, without having to worry about people complaining about their computer not being able to print or some such problem.

On the flip side of the coin, I do occassionally yearn for human contact. Drinking alone results in missing half the fun.

Hmmm. Maybe I can find ten or twenty other techno-hermits and we could all band together to form a little isolated society. But then we wouldn't really be hermits anymore. Besides, we would probably be strangling one another within a couple of weeks.

This problem requires further thought. A part-time techno-hermit perhaps. . . . :)

Re:The scarey thing is . . . by jcs · 1999-11-22 08:22 · Score: 1

If you drink enough, you can make up people to talk to.
--
Joshua C. Stein
Superblock Information Systems
Re:The scarey thing is . . . by Anonymous Coward · 1999-12-06 08:01 · Score: 0

haha that is so fucking hilarious

Interesting Status Report by kevin805 · 1999-11-22 07:40 · Score: 2

Okay, as an experiment as to "what life will be like in the digital future", it's bunk. As a status report to how far along we are toward a totally wired life, it's interesting. It also gives us a good idea of where we can automate, and where we will still be going outside (evil light, bright orb, hurts my eyes, aah!). Obviously, shopping for sandwiches on the web doesn't make sense. You aren't looking for the best sandwich on the planet, you're looking for a decent sandwich that you can be eating within a half hour. In general, I'd say that anything that everyone buys, and are highly replaceable (as in, I don't care exactly what I get, any one of a number of things that fulfills these requirements) don't make sense to buy or sell online. Look at where the web boomed first -- books, music and videos. Why? Because they are special interest items. Not books in general, of course, but any given book isn't of interest to 99% of the population. On the other hand, I don't really care whether I use Suave, Tresemmé, or whatever other shampoo. This is something I should continue buying at the local store. Human contact is an area where we don't really know yet. On the one hand, there are obvious advantages to being in the same physical room as someone, but there's also the issue that I may have a lot more to talk about with someone half way around the world than with my neighbor.

Re:Interesting Status Report by sklib · 1999-11-22 08:57 · Score: 1

One very important advance that is still missing is a uniform automated package delivery system, that can send anything from an envelope that weighs 2 ounces that has your electricity bill to your 90-lb SuperG from Kryotech. Given that, getting some stuff from the local grocery will be quite easy, although pizza delivery boys will not have much to do anymore.
That and broadband for everybody.

--
-S

Hmmmm... by Guzz · 1999-11-22 07:44 · Score: 1

Except for the working at home part, this sounds a lot like my daily life... Is that bad???

(offtopic) who is this guy? by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 07:45 · Score: 0

You post an awful lot (quite frequently in the low number range), the logic and structure you present seem good, but something isn't quite right. Could you be a bot, or at least part bot?

Citing your bio, you may or may not be alluding to this when you say:
An intellient entity that has access to an ip address, the intellient ability to transmit http packets to a registered top level domain called slashdot.org (sebastian.slashdot.org)

Of course, you might be clever like that ;) ...

Who is slashdot-terminal?

Give me the real world... by crivens · 1999-11-22 07:50 · Score: 1

.. and a room full of my good friends any day over the social delight that is the net. Oh an give me my girlfriend in bed any day over anyone on IRC. The net is a tool, and nothing more to me.

My typical day off by Accipiter · 1999-11-22 07:50 · Score: 2

Unfortunately, I work an hour away from where I live, so my work days don't go as well as this guy's.

My days off however, are quite similar. I usually never leave my Computer room except maybe for some food. I usually do take showers on my day off, but there have been days where I skipped it. Breakfast on the day off is usually better than workdays. It should be the other way around, but it's not. I enjoy my days off, and breakfast is my favorite meal, so 2 eggs hit the frying pan, toast gets toasted, and I read my daily comics with some juice.

The rest of the day is internet-based. Slashdot, E-Mail, and TFC (Team Fortress Classic) steal my day, with occasional breaks for lunch, dinner, and a midday snack.

What a wonderful life. :)

-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon?

--

-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon?
(If you can't figure out how to E-Mail me, Don't. :P)

bzzzzzzzzzzzz by jdube · 1999-11-22 07:51 · Score: 1

I havn't had outside contact since '94, he's such a rookie. I'd say I smell more like rotten cheese, not fruit... mmm... cheese... What do you think, should we have some cheese? NO! NO CHEESE! But... NO! No cheese until you kill those people... But I LIKE my parents! They're just out ot get you! I'm your only friend! But you make me do bad things... No, I protect you! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MY HEAD MY HEAD MY HEAD IT CAN SEE ME!!!
OHGODOHGODOHGOD...
grr..gr.rrrrr.rr...
Uh, yes... as I was saying I havn't been outside since '94, and I'm fine! This writer must not be OH GOOOOOODDDDDDD DON'T MAKE ME PULL OUT MY HAIR AHHHHHH!!!!!!

If you think you know what the hell is really going on you're probably full of shit.

--
If you think you know what the hell is really going on you're probably full of shit.
jdube is who I am.

HTML probs by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 07:51 · Score: 0

Check his user info page again -- I think Slash messed the HTML, not me, or maybe it was just when I wrote
slashdot-terminal... I dunno.

Failing all else, click the User Info link on the parent comment -- duh!

Re:HTML probs by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 07:57 · Score: 0

Yep, that's definitely it -- I double checked my original code, and it ripped out the in that link. I present the code... :

... just when I wrote
slashdot-terminal... I dunno.

Consider me the first person to use Extrans, too!

I could easily do this! by antdude · 1999-11-22 07:56 · Score: 1

Of course, I got other things to do (e.g. eat, watch TV, shower, errands, etc). :)

--
Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).

forget it. by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 07:59 · Score: 0

I assure you that the code is correct, and Slash mussed it up. Try linking to:
http://slashdot.org/users.pl?op=userinfo&nick=sl ashdot-terminal

yourself, placing "slashdot-terminal" between the start and end of the A tag.

Is Saving Time Always Optimizing? by cburley · 1999-11-22 08:04 · Score: 4

Several responses have indicated a strong desire among some to "save time" by not having to go shopping.

Well, yes, there are times I'd find that mighty convenient (especially in bad weather), as would my wife.

But give up the whole shopping experience? Ditto for other activities that can, at least theoretically, be carried out on a future Internet?

No Way.

I've run into to many friends and acquaintances in the supermarket (despite my relatively low lifetime frequency of shopping), and, hey, I met my wife in church, so "on-line worship" doesn't strike me as a wonderful alternative to being There, either.

The great thing about the Internet is that it opens up a world of possibilities for nearly everybody, vis-a-vis their often-limited assumptions about What Can Happen.

The dangerous thing about the Internet is that too many people will close their mind to the world of possibilities inherent in the everyday mundane activities of real life.

There's simply no substitute for the kind of playful shoulder-punching in the church foyer my wife and I engaged in while discussing some church business, a simple-but-effective precursor to the mating ritual society calls "dating". Even a Star Trek holodeck could not possibly recreate the casual trust and tenderness expressed by that sort of interaction -- forget about today's or tomorrow's real-world Virtual Reality.

Never underestimate the sublime joy of finding an attractive member of the desired gender in a supermarket, assuming a confused look (which is far more easily practiced off line than on), and plaintively asking, "Excuse me, but where's the toast?"

Nor should one underestimate the value of a warm smile to someone else, or to yourself -- or of a "have a nice day" -- when it's obviously not simply part of someone's .sig.

--
Practice random senselessness and act kind of beautiful.

Re:Is Saving Time Always Optimizing? by treat · 1999-11-22 10:06 · Score: 1

But give up the whole shopping experience? Ditto for other activities that can, at least theoretically, be carried out on a future Internet?
I don't consider grocery shopping much of an experience, I imagine that most of us who'd rather not go to the store feel the same way.
If my goal is to see friends, I'll purposely seek them out. If my goal is to meet women, I'll go somewhere more suitable than the supermarket. Or, I could go to the supermarket and concentrate on that while pretending to shop. If I want something random and interesting to happen, I'll take the time I saved by not going to the store and go somewhere more fun.
Re:Is Saving Time Always Optimizing? by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 12:14 · Score: 0

I would have to agree. Finding an attractive member of the desired gender in a supermarket would be nice (though I don't know from experience). However, I might suggest the question: "Excuse me, but where's the bread?" because they don't usually sell "toast" at the supermarket. Otherwise you're going to have to have a very confused expression.
Re: Is Saving Time Always Optimizing? by Bob+Uhl · 1999-11-22 13:21 · Score: 1

I don't consider grocery shopping much of an experience, I imagine that most of us who'd rather not go to the store feel the same way. As a Starving College Student(tm), grocery shopping is one of my few entertainments. It's fun to go through and look at what produce is being offered this week, what's been discontinued, what interesting things have been imported from Europe, what the latest cheeses are &c.
I enjoy it a lot. But then I also like dropping in any sort of store and looking around. I don't buy much, but I like to look. I can think of few things more fun than to stroll around town, dropping in tobacconists, luggage-merchants, glaziers, furniture stores, antique shops &c. You cannot evaluate a tobacco online (I know; I just bought a sampler pack from Cornell and Diehl; you need to smell it. You cannot be sure of a tie unless you see it in person and feel the quality of the silk, see how the light reflects off of it and make sure it works with your style of shirt.
I love the web and the net (remember when people realised they are different?), but for information, not for shopping.
Re:Is Saving Time Always Optimizing? by Q*bert · 1999-11-22 19:49 · Score: 2

It's a lifestlyle issue. If you live in an urban sprawl, there's no real benefit to going out and shopping for food, because you'll just end up at a chain store in a strip mall. On the other hand, if you live someplace where you actually enjoy being outside, someplace amenable to walking, there are few greater pleasures than strolling down the street on a sunny day and picking up a still-hot baguette at your favorite bakery, or maybe even hitting the local farmers' market. If you live in a small town (like my home town of around 70,000 people) you meet friends all the time. We used to joke that you couldn't walk two blocks downtown without running into someone you knew, and it was largely true. And this was in a town of 70,000 people (with large turnover from college students), not some backwater!
As I say, it's an issue of lifestyle. Do you need to go out and deliberately seek out fun, or is there fun in everyday life? The community in which you live plays a big part in answering this question.

Vovida, OS VoIP
Beer recipe: free! #Source
Cold pints: $2 #Product
Re:Is Saving Time Always Optimizing? by cburley · 1999-11-22 20:28 · Score: 1
If my goal is..., I'll....

That's exactly the thinking I was trying to suggest represents a limited, Internet-centric mindset, just as "If I want food, I'll go out and get some" is a limited, non-Internet-centric mindset.
I mean, yes, it's very nice that the Internet (among many other enabling technologies) allow us to conduct ourselves in such a goal-driven way:
- "When I want to find bugs, I'll run tests."
- "When I want to write docs, I'll work on that."
- "When I want to waste some time, I'll read /.".
Great. The question is, are you limiting your life experience to whatever comes purely as a result of goal-driven activity? If so, why?
20 years ago I fantasized about having the ability to conduct myself (especially in terms of my interests) in the goal-driven way you describe, and now I have that ability.
Yes, it's nice. But, frankly, it's more rewarding to run into a friend in an unexpected place (especially if the friend has just been walked out on by a spouse, something that actually happened once), to take care of some friends' children for awhile so the parents can "play", and to do all sorts of other things in situations that can never be adequately emulated by technology.
Though, I do see why having a high-priority project that takes precedence over these sorts of things can make one very grateful for the ability to insulate oneself from unplanned outside influences. That's probably why I avoid taking on such projects these days -- "been there, done that" -- but I do still appreciate having the freedom to do so, and might exercise it in the future.
But I don't think the time I spent in blinders-on-full-speed-ahead hack mode prepared me to enjoy (and especially give back) life's simpler pleasures. Like many on-line venues, /. just hints at (and can provide a helpful training-ground for) some of those pleasures. All the technologies in the world can never replace all of them, so it's best to keep practicing the real thing, too.
And just as Dune's Paul was taught that fighting is a skill one must be able to deploy when not in the mood, so is real life. So it's wise to practice it at times you think you'd rather be hacking.
--
Practice random senselessness and act kind of beautiful.

Shower, dammit! by Pope · 1999-11-22 08:04 · Score: 1

Well, I work at home, and I shower everyday.
I don't like being stinky, although some certain online columnists seem to enjoy comparing body odour(s).
If I started to slip and go around with unkempt hair and unclean person, the kind people at Starbucks on the corner would probably not let me in anymore.

Pope

--
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.

Re:I like turning cute teenage girls to stone!! by 198348726583297634 · 1999-11-22 08:10 · Score: 0

I've poured hot grits down my pants! Hi Eric Raymond!

I'll have to eat my cereal dry by nowindowz · 1999-11-22 08:18 · Score: 1

I read this as I am eating dry Fruit Loops (I think ?) out of a cup and instead of getting a spoon I just poor them in my mouth. -- Fruit Loops is a Trademark of who ever the hell owns it so dont sue me I was just hungry

--
Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?

Re:I like turning cute teenage girls to stone!! by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 08:19 · Score: 0

You know what I really like to do, Turn cute teenage chicks to stone while pouring hot clam chowder down my pants. Petrified women can't say no, and if they don't say no that means they want it

0 + 0 != 1 by quonsar · 1999-11-22 08:24 · Score: 1

Sorry guys, but this was just pointless.

It begins with a phony premise:
Studies show us getting wired to the Internet, working from home, shopping through computer lines, communicating through e-mail, going out less and living far more of our lives through a computer screen.

It ends in a bogus conclusion:
I conclude that much of this technology is trying to solve a problem that doesn't really exist.

Clunk. No sale.

====== "Rex unto my cleeb, and thou shalt have everlasting blort." - Zorp 3:16

--

Sacred cows make the best burgers.

Re:.. by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 08:29 · Score: 0

Yeah but canadian chix0rs are h0tt. Pale white skin is k-rad

I must be a dimwit... by MAXOMENOS · 1999-11-22 08:31 · Score: 2

...my voices talk to me in Visual Basic. sigh...

The Kulturwehrmacht

--
Finding God in a Dog

No problem by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 08:40 · Score: 0

I have done this many time. I do all my shopping on-line. Home Grocer is great! I order all my clothes and computer products online also. With my DSL I can get a lot done. Its so much more convenient getting things done online. Now I have to walk 10 blocks to go to work to do what I could easily do at home. I can't wait until I can telecommute full time.

market fluctuations ? by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 08:41 · Score: 0

A good idea for the next distributed.net project?

Re:market fluctuations ? by Macphisto · 1999-11-22 08:59 · Score: 1

Fine, but you need a program before you can throw CPU at it. distributed.net is best suited for problems that used fixed algorithms to analyze large quantities of data that require little human interpretation or manipulation, but simply need a LOT of CPU thrown at them.

Fine piece of journalism. by BootHead · 1999-11-22 08:46 · Score: 1

I have to admit, I had doubt going into reading this story. It's been done before, but much worse. The concept of living "the future" has facinated us all at some point. I've spent ( and my wife can attest to this ) days just communicating from one point in my house without moving from my desk. Work overload which is mixed with pleasure (read: porn and mp3 hunting ) can lead to even more work. I've spent many a night telling myself ... "if I play a game of quake while I'm waiting for this kernel to download ... ".

I think this article went out of it's way to show the casual reader that the hype is not what it seems. "Wired" life is far from reality ... just kinda a nice vacation.

--
"When I look down I miss all the good stuff, When I look up I trip over things..."-Ani DiFranco

based on what? by Wah · 1999-11-22 08:49 · Score: 2

Is there any stored databse of say accurate curve fitting analysis to determine the movements of the market?

Honesty? Reliability? Rationality? All the qualities of the things that drive the market, people. Trying to model worldwide (real-time) human behaviour is pointless. Although, in true Douglas Adams fashion, I hear a potted plant is able to do it.

--
+&x

It's a tool, not a life by Shaheen · 1999-11-22 08:51 · Score: 2

I'm a geek. You're a geek. Computers are our life. We make it our life. However, computers are more or less tools. Very flexible tools - they can be used for almost anything - but tools they remain.

For the average person, the coming "technology revolution" doesn't mean we're all gonna be hermits. I'll bet that when people first came in contact with the mass use of telephones, people griped that we were all gonna become people who couldn't talk to each other in person any more. WRONG.

It'll be the same thing with the Internet and Computers. Sure, you'll be able to order your groceries on line. Sure, you'll be able to chat with people. Yes, you may be able to video conference with your next door neighbor with a terminal, but that doesn't mean it HAS to be that way. And there are many people out there who will make sure it won't be that way.

--
You should never take life too seriously - You'll never get out of it alive.

I LIKE TURNING CANADIAN GIRLS TO STONE by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 08:56 · Score: 0

IT IS SO MUCH FUN TO TAKE SOME OF THOSE CANADIAN TEENAGERS AND TRANSFORM THEM INTO STATUES.

ARE YOU STEVE@FOJAR.COM??? by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 08:57 · Score: 0

IF YOU ARE STEVE@FOJAR.COM, HELLO

IF YOU ARE SOME OTHER STEVE, NOT @FOJAR.COM, HELLO ALSO

I LIKE TO TURN CANADIAN GIRLS TO STONE by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 08:59 · Score: 0

I SAY PETRIFY THEM ALL

Re:Nothing but Ice - For Five Days (almost forgot) by severed · 1999-11-22 08:59 · Score: 1

Tuesday, 3:14 pm. While dealing with my loneliness, I decide to do some meditation. I go to my cave, and see my power animal. It is a penguin. It looks to me and says: "slide."

--

HaXXXor.com - Naked Chicks Teach You How To Ha

Reporter's a dork. Furthermore, he's a *reporter* by cananian · 1999-11-22 09:01 · Score: 1

OK, so there's this basic premise fundamentally flawed in every one of these silly 'survive on nothing but net' stories I've read: they always put a reporter on the job. Now, I read the news to find out what's going on OUT IN THE WORLD, not in some guy's bedroom. News you can find out about from the comfort of your terminal I can find out myself. So of course these reporters start going batty and turn to interesting stories about deodorant and sex chat rooms. Reporters are not meant to be closed up in rooms.

Hackers, on the other hand, often can make great use of extended concentration time. So can writers, for that matter. Or a slew of other professions. Just not reporters. Problem is, writers and hackers (and I'm both, so I know whereof I speak) don't see anything special in turning the world off for a while. And what does it really matter if the groceries take a day for delivery? Plan ahead, dumbass.

A related question is why these stories always begin with the refrigerator empty. We know things take time to deliver. Again, plan ahead.

So, if *I* had five days in which I couldn't leave my room but could live on-line? I'd use the uninterrupted time to write some on a play I've been working on. Or hack some on any one of a number of open-source projects I've been wanting to get around to. Or read the Joyce and Mann I've been trying to find time for. I'd catch up on email to far-flung friends, enjoying the speed *and convenience* of the internet. I don't know about you, but I *like* the fact that email doesn't force an immediate response like a phone call does. It means I can write an email while my friends in New Zealand are sleeping. And that the response I receive will be more thoughtful and considered than something spoken on the spur of the moment.

With proper planning, there's absolutely no need to run short on groceries or personal hygenic supplies. And social interaction isn't a *daily* necessity for all of us. Yes, I'd go batty if I had to live that way for, say, a year; but I've certainly gone 5 days without seeing personal friends and haven't gone ape-shit like these poor reporters seem to do.

OK, I'm ranting by now. But I wish these poor news-folk would get through their thick skulls that there *is* such a thing as a 'life of the mind', and lots of ways to be productive that don't involve face-to-face contact. A life lived entirely secluded turns in on itself, sure -- but as a writer I have stores of Real World experience that I still haven't found the alone, uninterrupted time to write down and digest properly. Perhaps if these damn reporters would stop ringing my phone...

--
[ /. is too noisy already -- who needs a .sig? ]

Stereotype nerd by sunnyd85 · 1999-11-22 09:11 · Score: 2

I think this guy is trying to be like a stereotype nerd. I might be a nerd but I still use the phone, care about personal hygiene, and go out and do things. You can't just sit in the house for 4 days and call yourself a nerd. It takes years of expierence to become a nerd :)

Re:Interesting experiment, but... by benbean · 1999-11-22 09:24 · Score: 1

The point he misses is the net is a tool. Use it when it makes sense to use it. When it would make your life somehow easier - not just for the sake of using it. Doh.

--
It's a Unix system - I know this.

If you know what you're doing... by rkoloeg · 1999-11-22 09:29 · Score: 1

This guy just didn't know how to do it right. It's way easier than he makes it sound. I'm on my compuer a good part of the day when I'm not in class...I can shop with Webvan, get news from /. and NY Times, talk to people with ICQ/IM, contact people with e-mail, and some of my class lectures are even stored as RealPlayer movies on the class webpage. Etc, etc. Sure, not all these services are available to everyone, but they will/can be...that's the future of the Internet, at least potentially.

Five days bah! I have been online for half a year! by redsmoke · 1999-11-22 09:45 · Score: 1

I have been online for the past 6 months non stop with no sleep! I pumped myself full of cafinee every 5 minutes and refresh /. every 5 seconds! If only I could get those damn pixies to stop laughing at me!

I am working from home. by okie · 1999-11-22 10:10 · Score: 1

I am currently working from home and have been for the last 2 months. I go 2-3 days with just barely getting out to get my mail. I do however use the telephone alot to communicate with people. I even set up a web cam so people can see me while they talk to me. I am also single and live by myself. It does get lonely sometimes and I do yearn for humman interaction. Probably the worst thing now is my hours, I find my self staying up later and later and getting up later and later. Right now I go to bed about 4:30 and get up after noon.

Most people do need the interaction.... But I know of quite a few programmers who would be perfectly happy working from home and not having to with all the idiots out there.

As far is the $14$ Deoderant, try www.drugstore.com, they are considerably cheaper.

This guy carried his test a little to far. He needs to step back and still use the telephone. People have learned to thrive on gossip and still need it.

Jim

The Three Stages Of Internet Usage by MattyT · 1999-11-22 10:22 · Score: 2

I like to think that there are three stages of internet usage.

Firstly, it's all new, and you go looking everywhere, spend hours on it, etc. This lasts a few weeks.

Then, you've basically seen it all. There's nothing to do anymore. The Net might be better now than when I learnt about it, but it's still got a long way to be perfect.

In the third stage you gradually learn about sites you can regularly read like Slashdot. Eventually you may even get to the stage you have to ignore sites because you don't have the time for them all. You know you're in this stage if you have over 500 bookmarks.

This guy is probably still in the second stage. He doesn't know what would interest him online. Most people are probably unable to get out of this stage, because it's too hard to find what interests them, but eventually the internet will mature to a stage where they will easily do so.

Of course, there's still the matter of shopping online, which anyone would have a problem with. If I had to do it that way, I'd certainly make sure I stocked up beforehand. =)

The Future? by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 10:34 · Score: 0

I don't think so.

Why can't he go to the local store and get something to eat? Does he think that all the stores are going to go away in the future? Only mega food complexes with rows of UPS trucks parked out front?

Why does he stay inside all the time? Does he think in the future that the outside will be eliminated?

Why does he smell? Does he think that in the future that all the water will be rationed for drinking only?

Why does he not go to his friends house or invite his friends over? In the future we don't have human contact? How does he think the human race will be propagated? Mail Order?

Why can't he mail his CD's in the US Mail? He just has to stop the postman on his daily rounds and ask him to take your package. You can even just print your postage on-line now.

If everyone in the future is living like he thinks, then who will deliver the groceries?

What was the point of the article? To prove that living like Howard Huges is a big mistake? We already know that.

Everyone knows that the computing of the future will be with wearable computers. I imagine myself living on the beach of some tropical island, working only a few hours a day with a wireless keypad and a small screen in front of my right eye.

--
I slept and in my sleep I dreamed that I was a computer dreaming that I was I man. When I awoke I did not know if I was a man or a computer dreaming that I was a man.

ahem. email address? by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 10:38 · Score: 0

Hrmpf.. from checking his stats on ispeed.com, it seems his email is dolganeq@mail.com. Just an interesting tidbit, not that I'm suggesting you do anything with it, like submit it to as many spam lists as you can find or anything.. not suggesting that at all.

Another real life story... by JohnDoe · 1999-11-22 10:39 · Score: 1

Here is another "experiment". There is a guy, a girl, and a computer... it is being run by CTV (in Toronto). The premise is that they are put in a loft in Toronto, with themselves (in robes), a computer with an internet feed, and a $20,000 VISA. Now they have to 'live'. There is also a live feed... so check it out here.

Re:Another real life story... by cebe · 1999-11-22 17:23 · Score: 1

moderate that above comment up!
I've been watching the comments on CTV... this is truly the most interesting experiment ever done. these 2 people didnt even know each other. all they have is a computer and 20 grand on a credit card... no food, nothing.
can you say pizza73.com
check it out.. it's going to be an interesting week.. one day and they've already spent almost 4 grand.. wow. the web cam was a nice touch.. way to go CTV :)

--
You have paid for a total of 0 pages and so far 0 have been used up (0 today).

perl -e "Hello, world!" by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 10:42 · Score: 0

All this guy (the journalist) needed to do was send out a few email blasts and fax blasts and he'd have all the company he'd ever want.

Heck, why didn't he have some real fun and crack the net?

That guy is sooooo pathetic!

Practice by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 11:02 · Score: 0

Eh, practice is the key. If you can manage to socialize a bit every day or so, you'll get better at it. It's like exercising your muscles -- it's not comfortable at first, but it gets easier.

Most effective way to start is to call up some more-social friend, classmate, or, co-worker, and socialize with their crowd. Or, you could try a local coffeehouse (no age limit, opportunities to socialize, but no pressure to do so). Don't worry if you feel awkward (though if the crowd is inherently scary you should try another...).

If you really are fine without human company, I guess there's no real need to learn. But if you get lonely or depressed, exercising your social skills will probably help.

My, my, yes, I don't need this terrible computer.. by teleny · 1999-11-22 11:10 · Score: 1

Considering that I've often spent five days doing little more than computing, his story seems more than a little ingenuous (and he's a CANADIAN?? I would have thought that someone from the land of Glenn Gould would have been more resourceful...). Eating Domino's pizza, chatting with my friends on Lambdamoo, writing letters like this one, I could easily spend five days, and hardly miss "the watercooler" or whatever he's bitching about.

What all these news stories all seem to miss is that "human contact" is not the kind of thing you can get easily outside either: they all seem to have the idea that you can just walk outside, buttonhole a random stranger, and have a deeply meaningful interchange of souls far better than you can have over the evil box. Maybe you can if you're 25, attractive, and socially adept. But what if you're fat and 40, or 15 and awkward, or 70 and really, really, interested in technotribal music? It's far more likely that you'll be able to talk about your favorite doll online than sitting around at the local Starbuck's, if you don't know anyone who already is interested. You can find someone who's interested in your lifelong passion for Josie and the Pussycats or your interest in 17th century erotic poems, or whatever, online more often than you can at your local pub....

--
teleny, friend of cats.

The paperless society by Roy+Ward · 1999-11-22 11:12 · Score: 1

This so called 'paperless society' and 'paperless office' is what we occasianally talk about at work - while standing around waiting at the printer.

Roy Ward.

Dialpad.com by FraggleMI · 1999-11-22 11:13 · Score: 1

WHy didn't he just use dialpad?

--
huh?

In the hypothetical future world of no RL contact by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 11:32 · Score: 0

How are we going to procreate? www.cloneme.com? www.spermbank.org? Although we might be able to psyhcologicly live ok without direct human contact, there is one little thing fairly important we usualy want direct contact for... Yeah, that. In the little world they dreamed up for this experiment, however, it is assumed that the way of the future will be without personal contact... hmm I smell a little problem.
On the other hand this would be a great way to keep overpopulation in check.

Is he missing the point? by Brian29 · 1999-11-22 11:33 · Score: 1

I don't think the net will take us over to the point he is going to. Sure the net will make a lot of things more convenient over time but it is not meant nor should it be a replacement for human interaction. I feel that he has missed the point. I think the nets purpose is as a tool for us to be more efficient. Hopefully so that we will have more time for human interaction.

*ROFL* by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 12:07 · Score: 0

I can't believe this got an 'informative'. The author makes a good point that I agree with, but I'd rate it insightful. It might have been informative if he were quoting the National Council on Gaining Nerd Status on their official list of how to become a nerd based on their strict standards, but this is not that.

Caffeine in Canada by Jaeden · 1999-11-22 13:01 · Score: 1

Ok, here's what I was able to dig up. Yes, Mountain Dew has no added caffeine in Canada. The reason? I found this:
(from http://www.vex.net/~smarry/zzz/before.html)

I got curious about why Mountain Dew has no caffeine in Canada. (If you don't believe me, get a can and check it for yourself.) and called the 1-800 number on the can. The telephone operator on the other end said that Dew is the wrong colour to be caffeinated in Canada. Apparently a drink has to be brown so that people know what to expect. Now, as far as I know, coffee and tea (which also has caffeine in it) are both brown only by coincidence, since it's the tannin in tea which makes it brown, and (also as far as I know) there's not much tannin in coffee. If Coca-Cola didn't have caramel in it to make it brown, who knows what the rules might be..

5 days.... bah by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 13:22 · Score: 0

I haven't left my house since sometime mid august, and before then when i did leave it was just for like a couple hours every other week...... sure i dont order my food online or anything, my mother brings it home for me =)...... i havnt eaten out since november 1998 ..... bah FUCK FUCK MODERATE ME DOWN.... grr this post was getting to big so FUCK IT ILL POST A/C...... FUCK FUCK SCORE -2, Fuckedup

Caffeine in Canada II by Jaeden · 1999-11-22 13:30 · Score: 1

So after looking through various Canada Food and Drug whatever documents I found a stipulation that caffeine can be used as a food-additive in "cola-type beverages". Whatever that really means. I guess that implies that caffeine may not be added to non-cola-type beverages. Not sure on that, but I feel satisfied with that answer =)

There Is One Now! by Coldraven · 1999-11-22 14:13 · Score: 1

Upon hearing of severed's excursion down South, a polar bear (U.S. $23,845.31) was airdropped in advance to where the 5-day social experiment was to be conducted (shipping costs and insurance bring the total to U.S. $124,322.86). As an additional joke, the total balance was charged to severed's credit account, but due to the timing of the transaction, the figures won't appear until next month's collection statement.

Re:Missing an important fact...Yeah..HAVING A LIFE by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 14:55 · Score: 0

The point is ADDICTION of any kind is extreme and that people DO get addicted to the net.

I like to go to the Casino once every few months but you know what?
People are addicted to gambling.

I drink wine 1-2 a week but people get addicted to drinking.

Of course, you'd have to define addiction,

But think about this: you have 9-5 job get home, have supper.... lets say its 7pm.

You have about 3 1/2 hours before you go to sleep: how long do you surf?

Dont forget life in there as well....you know..kids, friends, activites, chores, etc....

We can agree that 2 hours a night might not be an addiction but it sure as hell makes for a poor social life.

Of course, if you dont play sports or train, go out to friends or family, spent time with spouse/girfriend (maybe even have sex!) or with the kids, or play an instrument or draw or paint or watch TV, go see a movie, go to a show/concert, clean the house, go to the mechanic or do teh groceries, wash, cook, have sex (again? what twice a week is too much?), go shopping, cut the grass, shovel the snow, etc, etc, etc...

yeah, I guess 2 hours is fine :)

As far as hiring 'someone right for the job'...

????
The point was the 'ordinary joe' who represents
99% of the people online not the techies who live in a world all of their own anyways ;)

arent you all forgetting something? by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 16:30 · Score: 0

what ever happened to open source paranoia?

"well im not going to run this on my computer unless john carmack personally rolls the source up and shoves it up my tight little ass."

the game tracks the number of usages!!!! OH NO!! chain yourselves to the id gates!!!! set fire to yourselves in the id reception area!!!! this is an invasion of our civil liberties!!!!!!!

Litterate programming by Nicolas+MONNET · 1999-11-22 17:22 · Score: 2

Back when folks actually sent each other letters in the post, a very different sort of communication occurred. This is particularly evident in those letters that went overseas, or which were composed before we had our mail delivered by high-speed aircraft. In these circumstances, a great deal more care was put into careful drafting and composition. The greater the latency in delivery, the more context would be provided, the more care taken.

Those were the good ole' days of litterate programming. Now people just throw a few lines of perl, w/o comments.

--

new url today.... by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 18:55 · Score: 0

http://www.thestar.com/thestar/back_issues/ED19991 122/news/991122NEW01d_CI-WIRED22.html

The real problem I see... by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 18:58 · Score: 0

Is that this guy still clings to the idea that the internet has to be seperate from a person's regular computing experience. I myself log ago discarded the idea of "getting on the 'net". I have a DSL line so I am (quite literally, since I never shut my computer down) ALWAYS on the internet. Even at work our whole office is on an eithernet with a high speed, permenant connection to the internet.
For me, the internet is simply an extension of my computer. I don't have to wait and dial up to check my e-mail, it is polled automatically, and 'm notified when I have a message. I don't have to decide that I want to "surf" for awhile and set aside what I'm doing, I just open up a browser, find what I want and go about my business.
I think a great many college students and technical professionals work with the internet in the same way I do. We just view it as another tool that is a part of our computer, rather than a special highway that you must get on and off of.

FYI: BAD LINK by JEDi_ERiAN · 1999-11-22 19:13 · Score: 1

the link from the story is bad, i was going to read the article, but i'll wait until the link is fixed, thanks.

--

-
This Post has been brought to you by the letter "E".

Unrealistic by JTMatrix · 1999-11-22 19:56 · Score: 1

I'm sorry but 5 days is no problem. I've spent 3 months living a total net life with no one on one interaction in person. I'm sure any other Slashdot person could handle a measly 5 days.

Discriminating shopping by Q*bert · 1999-11-22 20:01 · Score: 2

It's a decent idea in principle, but it doesn't work in reality uness you don't care much about the quality of what you're buying. When I go shopping, I like to squeeze the cheeses, smell the spices (I buy them in bulk), look for the freshest vegetables and the ripest fruits. Sometimes I will tailor my menu to the food that's on hand, so I can take advantage of really fresh local produce.

The Internet is good for times when location doesn't matter. Information is just as fresh and tasty when it comes from halfway around the world (and often more so). But food is not the same way. Location matters.

Conclusion: Using the Internet for food shopping is banging a square peg into a round hole.

Vovida, OS VoIP
Beer recipe: free! #Source
Cold pints: $2 #Product

5 days? by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 20:35 · Score: 0

Five days, I have passed that many times, but bathing has never been Optional... Am I the only one that this this article was more or less one big sharing violation?

mud by mezzo · 1999-11-22 20:47 · Score: 1

Obviously, the guy does not MUD nor MUSH. Those are *major* time drainers, whether you are just playing or coding for it.

5 days is nothing.

You are quite confused by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 20:51 · Score: 0

You apparently don't know anything about TCP/IP, protocols and networking.

Just FYI: TCP/IP!=HTTP, NNTP!=HTTP, SMTP!=NNTP and so on ...

Next time you try to speak about networking, don't do it where knowledgable people can read it !

what about RSI by Anonymous Coward · 1999-11-22 22:47 · Score: 0

Being a cable-user and student, I know what it's like top spend days online. (Mmmmmm. Online.)
But the biggest problem to overcome next to the isolation (which is only so relative if you have online ICQ friends) is the RSI.
In my worst periods I really wreck my hands and wrists, and I already have an ergonomic posture / keyboard / mouse. It's just that the human body is NOT made for continuous online living with today's input devices. Even the spoken word as input device gets irritating, since you have to speak a lot, and tend to get a sore voice after a couple of hours of computer usage. (I speak from experience)
Anyway, THE way to go is with detecting brainwaves, and controlling your PC based on that. Might be a problem if you're simultaneously trying to chat and surf to a xxx site ( not that i do ;-) ), but overall it's the best way to interact, since your brain is the only instrument you can use all the time, without wearing it out.

done before @ the village voice by atomJack · 1999-11-23 00:23 · Score: 1

FYI this has been done before at the village voice by austin bunn

http://villagevoice.com/features/9846/bunn.shtml

Re: Actually IRC *IS* a bunch of CRAP by TookyCat · 1999-11-23 05:14 · Score: 1

Actually, even #Quake is a "barren wasteland of spammers and idiots". Sure, there are a handful of people who know what they are doing, and are normal Homo Sapiens, but everyone else will only discuss issues such as goat sex and llamas and all other nonsense that makes you think twice about ever bothering to think that a channel "#quake" would actually talk about Quake, or even games at all.

I agree totally with the original poster's entire statement. Try to find one channel that doesn't have power-tripping 13 year olds as ops being total bastards. I should think it could be renamed IRB - Internet Relay Banter, since it is nothing but - banter.

Re:I like turning cute teenage girls to stone!! by p.oshea · 1999-11-30 01:32 · Score: 1

Hot grits down the pants is the thing to do, arond here. Anyone who says otherwise, well they just don't know anything. You might even called these people "the denizens of diamond.org", or you might not. Just eat some cheese, and all is well.

buh.

Slashdot Mirror

Nothing But Net - For Five Days

193 comments