DISQUS

Eli James · 2 years ago

I am typing this on a friend's iBook G4, and I must say, what a coincidence! It's beautiful, fast, and yes - your post's made me realize how much more I read these 5 days. I read through your entire post without switching to another tab in FF and checking my email. It's brilliant.

I think I'll miss the old beast when it finally goes.

Nils Geylen · 2 years ago

Thanks, Phill, for the comment (by proxy) and the consequent mention.

And thanks, Eli, for dropping by and taking the time; and that's exactly something I wasn't doing myself anymore.

I wrote something about the decline in commenting, but at the time I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Now I think this speed issue may be the problem.

Aidan L · 2 years ago

Quite interesting Nils. I had never thought about technology in that it might be "speeding us up". You could well be right in what you say though. It all seems to make sense.

Obviously I don't have an iBook so can't really relate exactly to you, but I have an idea. It sounds like it is quite enjoyable to spend a little bit more time browsing the web. Perhaps we all ought to take a leaf out of the iBook's book and take a bit more time and stop rushing about looking at as much as possible in very little time and begin to take the information in properly.

bloglily · 2 years ago

I use an iBook G-4, and honestly had no idea it's pokey. (My only problem is that my music and photos gave taken over, so I have to dump stuff into an external hard drive, which is sometimes an inconvenient location for something you wish you had right away.)

I agree with you that the tools we use are not without consequence. It's the same with cooking-a mortar & pestle gives you a different texture and cooking experience than, say, a blender.

Nils Geylen · 2 years ago

@Aidan Right, it's a thing we should do nonetheless sometimes. I'm taking a closer look at some of my 400+ feeds and, honestly, there's a lot that I've ditched already. Such nonsense! However, I'm getting quite used to the controls now, so my browsing behaviour is already showing a tendency to speed up again.

@Bloglily Like I said to Aidan, I'm getting used to it more now (it had been a while) and I don't have a lot of problems now. I also switched from Safari to Camino 1.5.1 and everything's running really smoothly. Of course, there's no way I could ever run Photoshop or anything on here. And since all my files are still on the old PC, I still have a rather empty HD, but I could see that filling up in no time.

Joe Drinker · 2 years ago

I completely agree. I know personally, in addition to getting used to the having access to the world's information at a whim, the ease and speed of technology has made me unable to remember even the simplest things. I can't recall phone numbers, and directions are a waste unless I have someone walk me through it turn by turn.

Think about sitting in traffic. When we've come to expect the faster way to get to our destination it just frustrates us more. When we're used to having the highway to ourselves we don't take the time to pay attention to all the things we speed by. Slowing down helps us take it all in.

Slightly off-topic - being an old Mac guy, there always used to be a little mystique about using an Apple, but it was based on the limitations: "sorry, I can't open that file, I have a Mac." Web sites didn't work, third-party applications and files were unusable, and databases were untouchable. Now that Apple is becoming more mainstream, I hope that more companies will continue their trend toward less lazy programming, and more cross-platform usability. Nudge nudge, Netflix.

Smaran · 2 years ago

...is technology really forcing us to speed up as we go along?

I think it is. But I feel that when I rush through blog posts, videos, and other stuff I find on the web, I tend to stop and enjoy what really interests me. Sure, some of the "ZOMG LOLZ" posts on sites like Digg do give one cheap thrills, but I'd rather read a good essay on a topic I'm actually and personally interested in instead.

However, "vintage slo-fi" sounds fab.

Nils Geylen · 2 years ago

@Joe I know. I saw my first Mac in 1995 (at my very first job) and was immediately smitten. But I also recall the difficulties involved in sharing files and working with various apps. Mac, back then, really was "something for graphic designers". Those days are long gone, but you wouldn't believe how many people still think that way.

@Smaran Sure, after a while we hopefully all discover that balance. I just got stuck in 5th for a little too long, and I needed something like this crash to realize that. Oh, and as far as browsing is concerned, no worries: the iBook is simply smashing after all :-)

Vintage lo-fi... yeah, kind of liked that too.

Richard · 2 years ago

I know what you mean. I've insisted recently--as you may have seen on Twitter--that the Internet is boring lately. But I realised earlier today that it's not boring at all--all that's happening is I'm skimming over all the good stuff in Google Reader without giving it a proper chance.

I just did two things. First of all, set Reader to view all, not just updated, and went back through the last hundred or so and had a good read. Then went to 9rules and checked out some of the latest member content, and even left some comments. (And then the whole experience reminded me of this entry, which is why I'm here now.)

Something worth reading at every corner! And I even left some (pretty good, if I say so myself) comments.

I think "slow down" is pretty good advice. I need to try and heed it more myself.

Nils Geylen · 2 years ago

Precisely, the mere thought of an 'updated only' option is symptomatic of the urge to move on. Obviously, you don't want to run in circles, but 'pause and reflect' can often be a much needed strategy to keep enjoying the internet.