The Internet just a few short years ago was more of a luxury for the rich and famous then it was a necessity. Today, we all know that the complete opposite is true. Without the 
Internet, most of us would have a really hard time during our most important everyday tasks such as posting on Face Book, paying bills, playing Candy Crush, shopping on Amazon and last but not least, making money with your online business. Most of these things were just a dream 10 years ago.
I can remember when I bought my first computer. It was a Twinhead laptop with a 15-inch screen and a 10 MB hard drive. It was running Windows 97 and I upgraded to Windows 98 when it first released. At first, I did not even have an Internet connection. Not even dial-up! I mainly used the computer for games and getting directions on an old mapping program I had installed. Back then, an Internet connection was not always needed because most of the games and programs had everything you needed on the CD. Many of the programs and games actually required you to keep the CD in the drawer while you were playing your game or accessing your program. I actually still have that computer and it still works. It will still even connect to the Internet even after almost 16 years have gone by.
Finally, I decided I needed to see what all the fuss was about so I had a modem installed in the laptop (back then they were an extra add-on) and the magic of the Internet was finally known! Of course all I had was a dialup through AOL, but it worked. As time went on, I finally upgraded to a new Gateway desktop computer with all the bells and whistles. It was still Windows 98, mind you, but it was fast for it’s era. By now, broadband was just starting to become popular but because of the cost, most folks stayed with their dial-up connection. I finally took the plunge and I got high speed broadband through AOL. It was amazing! I no longer needed two phone lines and I could talk on the phone even when I was on the computer. DSL was officially a must have! After a couple of years, AOL dropped their broadband service and I opted into Bell South DSL. At this point in time, cable Internet was not even heard of yet.
Since then, the Internet has changed dramatically from just being a luxury to being a necessity. Back in the day, things were simple. We did not have cell phone and Internet bills to deal with. Most of us still had an antenna for our TV reception and we went to do things like bowling and play Pac Man instead of doing it in our living room in a virtual environment. Things were simple and fun and a lot less expensive since we did not have to pay that 300.00 Cell phone/Internet bill.
Today, I own no less then 12 computers and every one has a specific purpose. The one thing they all have in common is that every task that they perform depends entirely on a high-speed Internet connection. Most games today are downloaded and played on the Internet with other players. It is rare to buy games on CD anymore, although some are still available.
Today, very few folks still use dial up since folks who live in extremely rural areas now have access to satellite providers such as Rogers. If you live in a more metro area, you probably have access to either DSL, cable or fiber optic Internet connection options. If you want the higher speeds presently offered, you would have to pay the extra price tag as well. Many will start you off for a great starter price but the price can jump considerably when the promotion expirers so shop carefully.
From Dial up to Fiber optic in just 15 years is a huge speed increase from about 56K to 30 MB/ Second or faster. Who knows what the future might hold. We just might be able to jump into a Time Machine app for Android and beam ourselves to any date or time we desire. It could be called the Back To The Future app. Wait, I should do a search, and it might already be there in the app store!
by Joe Z
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