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174 Comments
- 4bit, on 01/22/2009, -4/+134And how many of these people understand what they're turning down. My ex didn't see the need for anything other than dial up either.
.
.
.
Until we got it.
Then she couldn't live without it. Understanding that 'always on' moves the internet from being a 'toy' to being a 'utility' completely changes what's done with it.
When you no longer have to set aside time to log on and browse it, but it's just 'there' when you need it, the value because apparent. But explaining that is nigh impossible. - TheLoneWolf071, on 01/23/2009, -1/+84I saw a commercial for NetZero, it stated that Broadband users could save $300 a year just by switching the NetZero Dial-up... and I though to myself... WTF?
- crazlunatic, on 01/22/2009, -7/+80i say forget about those people, it's time we start getting something that is marginally close to the gigabit lines in hong kong
- DouglasQ, on 01/23/2009, -3/+60They probably only know Rick Astley as like, a musician.
- agildehaus, on 01/23/2009, -1/+46I just upgraded a neighbor's dialup to broadband. She was paying $25/month for dial-up plus another $25/month for an extra telephone line so she could use the phone while checking her email. Now she pays just $14/month for DSL.
Point is there are people who have no idea what else is out there, and don't invest energy into finding out. They don't want it because they don't know why they should want it. - sjbdallas, on 01/23/2009, -5/+48How do they get their porn and pictures of cats saying funny things?
- digitalchris, on 01/23/2009, -2/+37I have a feeling there were similar statistics in homes without telephones 100 years ago...
- GoKings, on 01/23/2009, -2/+36I Craigslisted this place to move into in Isla Vista for school. I took a look at the house and it seemed ok. I then asked how much utilities were, and asked how much it cost for internet. They said they didn't have internet and didn't really see a need for it. Needless to say I didn't take the place... Honestly, who the hell doesn't have internet nowadays? It's arguably the greatest invention of the last century.
- Leo21k, on 01/22/2009, -7/+40Their children will want it and be happy it is there when they get older.
- , on 01/23/2009, -0/+28Worst. Comparison. Ever.
- tonmil, on 01/22/2009, -1/+29GRANT MONEY for AT&T, Verizon and Comcast will result in improved bandwidth? Where's the motivation to provide faster better cheaper Internet - than existing services? I don't see the stimulus improving bandwidth for everyone unless there is more competition.
If they take the grant money, then they must be shovel ready for a fast install. Otherwise, the money should be used to fund new entrants into the market. - brinewr, on 01/23/2009, -2/+23Yeah? Right! Their grandparents probably didn't want a telephone either, but... guess what?
- diggcommentguy, on 01/23/2009, -1/+22Wow. You're a ***** retard.
- MillionsLivio, on 01/23/2009, -0/+20We shouldn't base our technological advancements on people that don't use/understand/want it. My father didn't want anything to do with it; he said he was fine with dial-up. He didn't use the internet for much due to its speed and limitations. After he got the upgrade and I showed him the streaming music, movies and such he's on there the second he gets off work.
- zyklon, on 01/23/2009, -2/+21I'm sure they're fine with Kazaa, eDonkey and Limewire too.
- InnerRayg, on 01/23/2009, -3/+21No, you totally should. Trust me.
- souldawg, on 01/22/2009, -6/+24Surprisingly I think a lot of people still only have dial-up modems which like the digital tv transition would require hardware upgrades.
- groo68, on 01/23/2009, -0/+17yeah, so we should do that.
- WafflePirate, on 01/23/2009, -2/+19They only don't want broadband because they don't know what they're missing out on, so they don't care.
- shortsellit, on 01/23/2009, -4/+20Good, I don't want them on my internet.
Stay ignorant. - inactive, on 01/23/2009, -0/+15I don't want cable subsidies unless the telecom industry ACTUALLY USES THE MONEY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE.
- inactive, on 01/23/2009, -1/+15and what about the places with high population density in America? Wouldn't that be feasible?
Oh wait, there's that whole "Capitalist-driven monopoly"-thing. - DreKor, on 01/23/2009, -0/+13a slightly smaller portion of those people type with their face.
- linagee, on 01/23/2009, -0/+13Save hundreds a year by walking to work instead of driving!
- firesights, on 01/23/2009, -1/+14Something tells me that somewhere slightly under 2/3rds of Americans without broadband do not know how to work a computer beyond checking email and "how to google stuff".
- xero69, on 01/23/2009, -0/+13zinc6471: your sarcasm detector is broken, please call a sarcasm technician for repair options
- inactive, on 01/23/2009, -0/+12Not to mention having pages load in in less than a minute is pretty neat too.
- bixel, on 01/23/2009, -1/+12America's telecom companies want to control what we see and hear, and to make money out of every iota possible. Their greed is one of the reasons why we are behind. And if net neutrality fails here we are no better than old soviet countries playing backwards with our lifestyles and freedom. Only we will have a nasty commercial fascist parasite that feeds on its citizens for profit.
Originally companies were created to better run a system of Services and Goods to the people, now however we are slowly training ourselves to become better consumers to serve the Greed of the Company. - STARTSOMETHING, on 01/23/2009, -1/+12***Breaking news*** a third of Americans are old, and don't know how to use a mouse.
- rynsa, on 01/22/2009, -10/+21I can't help thinking that this desire to avoid an 'upgrade' is really just a reflection on how sick consumers are with the telecom and internet industries. If I'm some fixed-income granny in middle America who has had to fight my way through obtuse service contracts, etc., I'd probably be happy just to stick with what I've already got. Too much trouble to stay ahead of those damn con-artists.
Obama should put some of that $6 Billion towards policing business marketing practices. Infrastructure is good, but empowering the citizenry through clear language is more important for the long-run. - Murdats, on 01/23/2009, -4/+15they don't all have children
- Konrad9, on 01/23/2009, -0/+10I seem to recall them getting a ***** ton of money, taking vacations, and then saying it wasn't enough.
- thecheatah, on 01/23/2009, -2/+12I havnt seen a motherboard without an ethernet built in, for probably more then 6-7 years. I guess people are using REALLy old computers.
- SheilaNoya, on 01/23/2009, -3/+13America has already fallen behind the rest of the world and we can't afford to put this off.
We still have areas in America where dial-up isn't even feasable because it requires a local toll call to connect. That's insane in this day and age.
In the past, most of rural America didn't have telephones or electricity until government subsidized utilities were brought to them. I'm sure there were some who didn't want to be "modernized", but they quickly faded into oblivion, just like anyone who doesn't have a broadband connection will.
It's almost a requirement to get anything done now. In the near future, it will be even MORE of a necessity. - JinnRikki, on 01/23/2009, -0/+9You're right, http://harpers.org/archive/2009/02/0082369
- rlbigfish, on 01/23/2009, -0/+9::Shudders::
- dmazzoni, on 01/23/2009, -0/+9My grandma resisted broadband, saying she didn't mind waiting for the computer to connect, and didn't think it needed to be fast. Until I caught her several times complaining how frustrating it was to wait for her email to download --- now that she has broadband, she loves it!
Same experience with a lot of people I know - they don't realize just how useful it is until they have it, then they can't live without it.
Also: it has to be affordable. In some places you can get quite nice speeds for $20/month, in others you have to pay over $50/month for surprisingly slow and congested broadband - so no wonder those people don't think it's worth it. - DreKor, on 01/23/2009, -1/+10This is a good point, though I see it in a long term context. Even if these people who don't have broadband available to them right now don't want it, future generations will. It's better to start laying the groundwork now and getting the trenches and networks set up, than waiting 20 years and realizing it's too late. Internet access is going to be considered a utility, just as gas, water, and electricity are today. If you don't want your population to disappear, you need to modernize your infrastructure.
I'm not saying that anyone should be forced to buy or use a service they don't want. But, I am saying, that it should be available if they want it. - Thr3atr1x, on 01/23/2009, -0/+8I dont think you want to know..........
- mattwalton56, on 01/23/2009, -0/+8You're breaking the first rule.
- inactive, on 01/23/2009, -0/+8If they are lucky the part of the picture with the caption loads (and then freezes). Then they try to imagine what the funny picture is like.
- Cheezeburgar, on 01/23/2009, -4/+11WAOH!!!!!!!! So you're telling me that people don't have something because they don't want it?
- NYGiants400, on 01/23/2009, -0/+72/3 of americans without broadband, not 2/3 of all americans
- NecroSexy, on 01/23/2009, -0/+7Have just but a taste of broadband! The sight of dial-up henceforth would foment nausea.
- xero69, on 01/23/2009, -2/+8Know what? That's just fine with me. They can miss out on the greatest invention in our lifetime. If they are happy sitting it out then does it really impact you or I? Besides we don't need any more noobs on the 'net, they'll just fall for a nigerian scam or get phished anyway.
- Aethirig, on 01/23/2009, -0/+6They also know how to catch viruses and malware.
- kuzotz, on 01/23/2009, -0/+6don't know why crash is getting dugg down. The internet is a HUGE deal. My god just thing 400 years ago to send a letter from England to India would've taken months, and before that communication was often impossible.
Now we can do ***** instantly over the internet, and you say it isn't the greatest invention? - SheilaNoya, on 01/23/2009, -0/+6We tried "more competition" and it failed - mostly because of the way we handled it.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 broke up the Baby Bells to try and bring about more competition. In an effort to spur more competition, it required the existing telcos to lease network access and outside plant facilities to their competitors at a 30% discount.
That was a complete disaster. There was no incentive for the large telcos to build new facilities if they were just going to have to lease them to competitors at 30% less than their own cost. The data network buildouts slowed to a crawl.
Startups don't have enough money to build their own infrastructure, so they were basically just reselling access that they leased from the telcos with their 30% discount. They added on enough to make a profit, but they didn't actually build anything or increase the size of the network. Most were just acting as a middleman and the business model failed.
Under Bush, most of the Baby Bells were allowed to merge back together again and also sucked up GTE in the process. This had it's upsides AND downsides but it still didn't do anything to fix the problem with being forced to lease their networks at a discount to competitors.
In this financial crisis we're in now, there isn't anyone with enough money or resources to build new infrastructure on their own, especially if we're talking about a national program. Keep in mind that everything has to be connected to the existing network infrastructure and be compatible. The only ones with the national resources to handle this now (including planning, engineering, construction, etc.) would be the existing telcos and existing cable companies.
It's not the ideal situation, but it's the only viable option we have right now. - saucy05, on 01/23/2009, -1/+7May the spaghetti monster bless your soul. You just saved the lady a bunch of money on her phone bills. And shame on the dial-up providers for charging her $25 a month with a straight face.
While we are on the subject, watch this funny ass prank caller on "internet provider". (fone jacker) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk8BQAi-tM8 - inactive, on 01/23/2009, -0/+6Right, because the Internet is the greatest human achievement of all time.
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