didn't bandwidth used to be ... hard to get?

(don't drink and blog)

I recollect in the olden daze, back way before the youngan's of today were on the Internet... Wasn't bandwidth hard to get?

Sitting there watching HS/LINK (wasn't that it?) doing it's thing on a USR COURIER HST 16.8 was like being on the cutting edge of bliss. let alone we had to pay; what, $1g for those puppies? To upload at the same time was a perk of HS/LINK. The HST 16.8's were not bi-directional (a sacrifice that seemed to be revived in the 56k half-digital era). These days when I click and fiddle on a website for a few minutes enough bandwidth is wasted to fill up my first hard drives. isn't it a trip?

Now the lil chitlin's get all they want thanks to little flashy lights (aka fiber optics) and lots of multiplexing, copper/fiber conversion, etc. Thanks Mr. Edison, Marconi, and all yawl. I'm simply remembering back to a time past. Modern bandwidth is wonderful. But isn't it cheap now? I mean cheap like a whore in Mexico as It's lost some of the value and glimmer. No longer is it like a big talented star of the magnitude of say Katharine Hepburn. Instead it's like a low grade actor on a soap opera who is available on demand but not very talented. When reflecting I have to remember that it was not so glittery and cool to get 'on line' back in the late 80's/early 90's. It was often a struggle simply to get access to a computer let alone a "real" system or something connected. Enough administrators found this out as I discovered Xenix, System V, SCO, System 75's, etc.

I'll never forget finding my first networked Unix machine when war dialing with toneloc. It was entirely confusing and new to me. Never before had I rooted a box to find it actually CONNECTED to something. There were other login: prompts without needed to ATDT anything!

I didn't know what to do with it so it's likely I "wasted" the "opportunity" at the time.
It was probably another dozen systems before I figured out (in those days before google) how interesting and useful it really was to have other networks connected via TCP.

Considering I was all of 11 years old at that time and had no formal documentation or education; I can't be too harsh on myself for taking so long to learn. To even type a simple Unix command like ls | more was a huge mystery that took some months to discern. My LOD manuals and Phrack issues were imminently helpful in systems penetration but not for use. The man page system once I discovered it was heaven sent. Let alone the O'Reilly books years later when I'd entered the legitimate world of making money through my life long love.

But I started from the opposite side of many. Instead of having a Unix shell to start out on I had to 'force' my way in first. What a luxury & gift from the Gods Linux was when I had it's first 20+ 1.44meg floppy install! No longer would I have to depend on someone Else's machine just so I could type ls and see a directory. Hacking became a vain luxury to some degree at that point for me. Now I could travel legitimate paths without the necessity of what some would call a 'criminal' act.

Back then it was a path of discovery; Like being on some new frontier where anything goes. The systems were out there and I was young enough to be ignorant of the legal & social ramifications. They were wonderful times of learning that ignited in me a life long love and respect for computers and freedom.