[1990s internet] We all remember this!

[Scream And Fly]

I know many of you were among my internet buddies back in the heyday of the wild west of the Internet. Slow phone line connections, America Online, and the days of the Hydrostream message board!

How many of you used AOL? I remember when I first got it around 1994 - it was a revelation. Back then, you paid for the service by the hour. I distinctly remember keeping a little Casio watch next to my computer with the stopwatch running, because going over your monthly allotment of hours could cost a lot.

I still have the computer that I used to set up and host the very first version of the Scream And Fly website. It was a 1998 Dell XPS400, Pentium II 400MHz, Windows NT 4.0, 64MB (not GB) of RAM, and a [then huge] 40GB hard disk. And, being in college, it was especially difficult for me to buy the Ricoh MP-6200A CD-R drive, which was back then a very high-tech device that cost almost $1000. It had a write speed of 2X, so it took quite a long time to write data on one CD. Imagine that.

I miss those times, actually.

Greg

[oldschoolltv]

Kids will never know what we went through, waiting for a picture to load taking minutes only to find out it was the wrong one.

[rl]

man that brought back some memories for sure, thx. for sharing, dang time sure does fly

[Robby321]

I remember them way back at work early 90's! Went from paper 3x6 cards "Material Requisition" (still have a bunch here as great for notes blank back side) for stuff, then this green print large box that always needed the new then IT guy for reboot as people would simple slam a bunch of keys and freeze it! Seems long ago at 25 some years now.
Retired way early..(plant shutdown, had time and service IAM Union "Rule of 65" and pensioned out at 44) I moved west coast in 94! Got a puter off a neighbor that actually did zip but like my dad who born 1901 was fascinated that then "radio", then the TV thing? He started a repair of radios, and then now the TV's. Paid well to support the family and his gearhead ways habits. Apple didn't fall from that tree.

Remember it all! Dial up net, AOL, and to today where a tiny USB holds for more pix than I couldn't imagine, plus now the damn phones? Ya know what I mean.

Now its phone, PC in the house, shop laptop, Amazon Pad BR, all run wireless or satellite (phone).

And don't think Bill Gates did not "pay back". He's lives on Lake Washington here in Seattle. 100 miles north me. But he bought a run down resort on Hood Canal 30 miles north me. TOTALLY re done, and the neighbor kid behind me Grandmother lived water front next to it. Toss out . buy out? NOPE! Replaced her failing dock, connected her old septic system to there treatment plant, did work on her house, and paved the dirt driveway to concrete. And she was welcome the new resort at anytime, and no charge. Heres a link what it is now.."Alderbrook"

First pic the slide show is "Grandma's house in middle" (and great thread as it was a LOT tougher 2 decades ago!)

https://www.alderbrookresort.com/

[Scream And Fly]

As bad as it was at times, I do miss it. I remember the constant disconnects, and imagine publishing a website over a phone line? That's exactly what I did when Scream And Fly began. I would work on the site on the computer, and then begin to upload the changes before I went to bed. It would really suck when, in the morning I would find out that the upload was disconnected and failed. Getting a cable modem back then was such an incredible experience.

[Euroski]

We should thank Al Gore for inventing the internet(LOL). Started with a 300baud modem and finally was able to purchase the USR Courier which on a good day could download 10meg per hour. First hard-drive was 20meg for $600 Also a ran a 2 line BBS for a few years on Windows 3.1

[Robby321]

Getting a cable modem back then was such an incredible experience.

YEP! I had dial up years, but the neighbor girl got a cable modem. Linkses (sp) wireless. Signal me a antenna. I'd use it for free, just cut her grass, house repairs. What a RELIEF from dial up! People with faster puters post a vid., and a short a chop "buffing". Grow old waiting! Even later wireless!

Greg, I like yer (as all ya idiots here) "perseverance" to do it all in life! Just gotta stay imaginative, something hits ya up side the head? WAIT..."I got a idea for better" "Hold my beer" And now its "Scream and Fly"? WALSTIB! ( the Grateful Dead, What A Long Strange Trip Its Been)...

And Greg? How's mom doing?

[flabum1017]

nothing like having 10 different phone numbers to dial into and having it cycle through all of them 4 times before you got a connection, then it was a reduced 14k because everybody got on at the same time.......

[Robby321]

nothing like having 10 different phone numbers to dial into and having it cycle through all of them 4 times before you got a connection, then it was a reduced 14k because everybody got on at the same time.......

I remember a rotary dial, and also a "party line shared" neighbors..had to listen in the gossip!

[RussF]

I'm still using AOL......................

[SCT]

Greg, do you remember your first couple of SF members? Who is the oldest active member? What date did SF go live?

Cheers-

[Capt.Insane-o]

I've been a parasite here a long time, back when it was a very simple page. Black back ground and bright green text. One of my housemates found it actually and signed me up after I scared the crap out of him in my boat. Hence the iser name Greg won't let me change lol

[Turborr]

I'm still using AOL......................

Me too!


Remeber while using dial up and someone calls you? Disconnected!

[CDave]

Man that does bring back memories. Got my first PC when Win95 came out. I never wanted to have to deal with DOS commands so I waited until I didn't have to. Good ol' Plug and Play.

I remember getting the AOL disc in the mail with X amount of free hours. The then wife and I divided the time between us. Ended up getting AOL and remember learning all the stuff I was doing on AOL was on AOL's server and I wasn't visiting other websites. It was kind of strange when I started venturing "outside" of the AOL world at first.

Oh man all the lost connections and logging off and on to get the fastest connect speed you could, haha. Going into properties to tweak setting for "faster" connect speeds. The good ol days huh.
Getting a cable modem was so great, the speed increase was worth every dime!

I still remember the first computer I built for home after giving my ex wife the Compaq Presario in the divorce. It had an AMD CPU-330 CPU, a Matrox G200 graphics card, a 20MB hd and don't remember how much Ram I installed. I got the best heat sink I could so I could overclock the CPU.
I still have most of the components in my computer parts pile along with a lot of old parts from upgrades through out the years. Even have a, for the times, massive 3dfx VooDoo3 3000 AGP in the pile. Getting that card was like getting your first Lighting ET or Yammy drag prop back then.

I stopped building them when I got the laptop I'm using now as computers got fast enough that building didn't give me much of an advantage anymore. I've been using this laptop since 2008. I use to upgrade or build a new comp almost every year before this thing. Can't believe I haven't replace it yet but I don't game like I use to so...

Try and tell kids these days, back then to view porn was a real challenge waiting sometimes a minute or more for a pic to come on screen!

[Euroski]

Greg, do you remember your first couple of SF members? Who is the oldest active member? What date did SF go live?

Cheers-

Not many older than myself as I'm number "5"! Just put your mouse pointer over your name and then look in the lower left corner of the IE screen. That line shows your member number.