MemeMachineGo!

When I went to work for an ISP in late 1998, a perk of the job was free DSL. When I left them, I couldn’t go back. I’ve been paying for my own ever since.

My new employer offered to spring for my DSL. But I needed to change carriers. You know how cellphone companies are falling all over themselves to make it attractive to switch service to them? Well, DSL companies missed that memo. The new carrier demanded I cancel my old service before they would accept the order. Despite the fact that their work to switch on a line that’s already been provisioned for DSL is trivial, they tell me to expect service within ten business days.

In the meantime, I’m on a dial-up.

I’m pretty sure I have a 56K PCI modem somewhere, but I couldn’t find it. So I’m using the 56K PCMIA modem in my vintage 1998 laptop. Running Windows ‘98. In glorious 800 × 600 resolution.

People may complain about Windows 2000 and XP, and with plenty of good reasons, but they really do represent as big a jump over Windows 98 as DSL is over dial-up. I can’t even switch the keyboard back and forth between QWERTY and Dvorak without the Windows CD and plenty of rigamarole. In deference to Pocahontas, I’ve left it on QWERTY.

To give myself even a fighting chance at using the web, I spent some 15 minutes downloading Firefox so I could get Adblock and Flashblock. I installed a hosts file to block access to a lot of ad sites altogether.

I’ll note that I haven’t attempted to block ads in general in the past. I consider it generally a good thing that the sites I look at get ad revenue. I just don’t want flickering things interfering with my ability to read something. So I use FlashBlock; I turn off GIF animation; I use Firefox’s built-in pop-up blocking. And that’s enough for my use of the Web to generally not suck.

At 56K, things are different. Requesting animated GIFs from multiple sites puts a pretty big dent in loading a page. It’s now hard to believe the Web Boom happened when home Internet access was this lame. It’s not just the speed. It’s having to wait to make the connection. I’m used to compulsively checking my email every time I get near my computer. Most nights lately, I haven’t bothered at all.

And so, too, with updating my weblog, though I’ve got a big backlog of things to say. For instance, I hear there’s some kind of election going on…