How long have you been online??

[azsnowman]

Just curious, how long have you owned a PC and been online?? Me.....let's see, I bought my first computer some 5 years ago...I "Swore" I would never, ever go online...yeah right Now........I can't live without the dang thing...pretty sad, my *free time* has decreased a TREMENDOUS amount over the past 2 years, no wonder why I don't fish as much as I use to (That's right Dennis, blame it on the internet, not the fact your on the driving range 6 days a week, playing 36 holes per week too! "LOL!)

Dennis

[weatherlover427]

I am online a good 80%+ of my free time. Thanks to my DSL internet; that is where I am almost all day after I get home from work. Sometimes I hang out with friends, sometimes I work on my comp. But usually it's the Net for me.

[ColdFront77]

I have been online daily from home since Monday, March 1st, 1999. I was briefly without a computer during my move from eastern Massachusetts to central Florida in June 2000; getting back a new computer on Friday, June 30th, 2000.

Prior to getting online in March 1999 I used to access the computers at Bridgewater State College from time to time, I only lived two miles from the campus.

I had dial-up until Friday, November 1st and when I have brief uses of dial-up (at my brother's in Melbourne, FL and my sister's in Massachusetts) it is great to be back on the fast speed internet access.

Some of you know some of the above information.

[vbhoutex]

WE have had computers in the house since 1987. We have had internet access since 1996 or 1997. I actually can't remember when. I know I have been very active on Weather boards for the last 5 years. It definitely take a lot of my free time to do what I do for Storm2k and what I do for myself or my family.

[FreakyWxChick]

We got our first computer in 96. We went online immediately with Windows 3.1. Oh man those were the dinosaur days compared to now!

[ColdFront77]

Back in the 1980's, when I was not even a teenager my siblings and I had a Commodore 64. Two of my brother's (one more than the other) used "BBS" some. I never got into that. I played some games on it and typed up some extremely easy programs.

[Stormsfury]

I had a Commodore 64 back in the day ... when I was like 9 or 10, and actually learned the basic porgramming quite easily. I even learned some machine language. I also had a 64+4 (Commodore), but I think I spent most of my time on that playing Phantasie (Role-Playing Dungeons and Dragons type PC Game).

I don't think I actually got this PC until about 11 years ago and still have it with many upgrades. I've been online for 6 years now, and been with cable modem for a little over a year and would never go back to dial-up.

SF

[Miss Mary]

We've had computers in the house for a long time too. My husband's been into them, since the beginning, probably! LOL Some of it's a blur. His first Mac was a tiny thing......someone in the family has it now. The size of a 9 inch portable TV. Somewhere along the way, a computer showed up in our bedroom, on our desk there. The family said hey Mom, you should try this out. I observed how time consuming back then it was (that's really a joke, they spend hours on this thing, now!!!) and I had said - oh no, I'll skip that. Then they showed me a computer game of solitaire and well, the rest is history. They howled when I couldn't line up the cards quickly enough. I just couldn't get that mouse to go the way I wanted it to - now all you youngin's here can howl at that!!! My kids were better at mouse skills than I was. Well, fast forward to 2003 and I've come a long, long way now!!! I'd say I was already online by about 1998. Maybe a little sooner. It wasn't until the kids could browse the Web/Net for homework purposes that we all really got into it. Hubby showed us how to bookmark favorite websites and then at one point, since I had an interest in wx, I decided to visit TWC's website. Then Chat....then their MB's.....you all know how this turns out - then Storm2K!!! My best wx home yet!

Like Dennis, I've found I just can't live w/o being online now. It's something I do at least 5 or 6 times a day. Always checking the computer. LOL Wonder what I used to do? Read books? Read the actual newspaper (now we read online!)? Do much needed yardwork? You watch, someday there will be support groups for being online too much - 12 step programs to de-program ourselves......LOL I need a 3 step program now!!!! LOL Not that bad that a 12 one is necessary.....yet that is.

[azsnowman]

"LOL@ Mary!" Indeed, what DID we use to do before the internet? I'm not on THAT much except during the winter......I mainly use the net for checkin' the weather, I hardly EVER shop online, I know it's very secure these days, but I'm still a little *gun shy* about using my credit card # to order something. Now if I had this thing back when I was growing up "Sheeesh!" I wouldn't have spent so much time outside hiking, hunting, fishing etc.....I for one am glad they didn't have computers back in my days....heck, I remember when the first hand held *calculator* came out, WOW..what an advance in technology I thought "LOL!"

Dennis

[j]

I use my home computer mainly for researching before I buy. For instance..a car. I'll go to a site like CarMax and get all the information befroehand so I can comparison shop. I've learned to never go into a purchase blind and the Internet is a great tool for getting your info up front.

Other than that...my primary use is to keep up on Sports. I'm a devoted Boston fan, relocated, and the Internet has afforded me a way to stay connected. This year I purchased MLB TV which streams almost every Red Sox game (and others-- but who cares) except weekend games that might be on National TV, and its very reasonably priced.
With a decent connection (cable modem at least) the resolution is pretty good...a little fuzzy for distance shots, but overall not bad.

Been on line since 1996. Had a first generation IBM, DOS system, real piece of crap by todays standards. Then bought a $2400 top of the line system a year later which within 6 months was to be considered a piece of crap. But I'm sure you all know how that goes..

[coriolis]

I can proudly say that we have never bought a new computer. They've all been hand-me-downs. (cheap, cheap) As a result, we were always about 3 years behind the times. We got an 8088 with NO memory, monochrome monitor, and only DOS, when the 486's were coming out. We got a 386 when the Pentiums were coming out, and against all advice, we got windows 95 to run on it. we got a 486-66 with Windows 95 when the Pentium 2's were coming out. That's when we went on line (dialup), and believe you me, we could go get a cup of coffee while a single page was loading. We upgraded that machine with an overdrive processor (P-90) and upgraded the Ram to 64 megs. At that point it actually worked pretty decent.
That machine was not fast enough for a cable modem, so we waited. Then in late 2001 we got this machine, 500mhz, upgraded to 256M RAM, and with the cable modem, it is fairly fast on the internet. We'll probably get a new used machine when the going rate is about 5 gigahertz!

Yes, house work, yard work, and reading have suffered. But at least we get reading done on-line.
We shop ebay, but don't use credit cards.

[JCT777]

I have been on-line since 1992 - with a 386 computer, a 2400 baud modem and Prodigy. I now have a Pentium computer and a cable modem. I signed up with AOL in late 1994 and have been with them for almost 9 years now. Discovered TWC message boards in late fall of 2001 and have been a wx board junkie ever since!

[weathergymnast]

*laughs nervously* I've been online since 1992.. I was umm.. eight years old. ^^" Though I have had cable modem connection for 4 or 5 years now. ^^

[blizzard]

Bought my first real PC in 1990 and was on Prodigy (when you had to buy the program) and been online ever since

[Guest]

First got taste of what online was at one of my jobs - LOL - found the Lowe's weather site in 1994 and I have been hooked ever since.

Got my first home computer after I got married in 1999. Two months later it was consider an antique - but guess what - I still have it and it gets the job done for me.

Perhaps I'll upgrade - I would like CDRW - but i'll wait. I still use the old Windows 98 system. What a blessing its been with the blaster worm.

As for free time - during Hurricane Season - all my free time is in front of the computer screen - even more so since we bought Storm2k online. My husband is a hurricane widow. LOL.

Patricia

[Stephanie]

I've had a PC since 1997, but being online and participating on websites like this one - not until 2001. I would surf the internet, but not as much as I do now. It is truly amazing how far we've come in such a short period of time!

[Guest]

My mom was very anti-computer (just because she was unfamiliar with it) while I was growing up, so I didn't have one at home. I used computers in school constantly since elementary school. (Do any of you remember Oregan Trail?) Anyways, I bought my own computer when I turned 18 (3 years ago) and have been addicted since day one. Chad definitely helped in getting me hooked. We went to Roadrunner and now to DSL and will NEVER go back to dial-up either.

Skeptical on making online purchases? If you're buying something online, make sure it's with a reputable company that isn't going to disappear tomorrow (like Sears, Best Buy, Amazon, etc). Most hackers that steal your credit card info do so by hacking into the company's website and stealing your credit card number from them. The bigger companies are more likely to have sophisticated security features in place to keep the hackers out. I've made well over a hundred purchases online and have not a problem (knock on wood). Let's all pray that Chad doesn't notice how many purchases I've made, LOL.

[j]

I agree in principal Mrschad...but I've been burned myself, not from a site being hacked, but the company hitting my charge card for something I never ordered.

Complicated..but in a nutshell, I had purchased on line from this company in the past. Then...a very expensive musical instrument was shipped to my house that I never ordered. I contacted them repeatedly and always got answering machines and never had my call returned. I therefore hung on to the Instrument thinking if they haven't got the courtesy to call me back, I'm not going to return a package they don't even know they shipped me! Well...down the line they figured out through tracking this "lost" package that it had been shipped to me. So what did they do? They hit my credit card that they had on file from a previous purchase for 995 dollars without any notification.

In the end I got my money back only after they could verify by a UPS tracking number, that I had shipped the item back to them.

I know..your probably saying I deserved it for hanging onto an item that I never ordered and they didn't have a clue they had sent me. But remember...I tried to contact them and do the right thing.

Anyway....just to show you what can go wrong once somebody has your credit card number.

btw - the Company is called Brook Mays Music, based out of Texas but with Wharehouses all over the Country. They are one of the Biggest suppliers of musical instruments to schools across the country. I did my research and thought they were a reputable company. They had been in business since the 1950's.

[ColdFront77]

Yes, Jen... I remember Oregon Trail in junior high school. Neat, educational game.

[Pburgh]

I've been on line since June of 2001. This was one of the darkest and saddest times in my life. I First started with the Green Thumbies at TWC, stopped by a Chatroom reunion thread that Miss Mary started and got hooked on the wonderful, kind and gentle people. I told very few people during that time what had gone on in my life, it was as though my new friends knew already. Anyway, for those of you who are here now and were there then, Thank You.

Anyway, after 9/ll my online time increased. When Dennis opened the Pot Belly Stove in the fall of 2001, we all gathered around during that dark and cold winter and shared our fear, hopes and love.

Now Storm2K has come into my life. This place is terrific!!!!

Thanks
Karan