My life after the advent of the internet(AmitL)

Quip for above pic: A shape of things to come?(Or, have they already reached this stage?)

Hi,all!It's been great,seeing some of the BUFers around,regularly,specially Keshi,Vishesh,Sam(who was going to post in 15 days:)),..... and, now Ishi's back,too- a big Welcome Back, Ishi.

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Life after the internet.To go into the depth of this topic,let's look at life before the internet. I think it began in around 1996. And, at that time, it was a total enigma. Before the net, the PC had just started making inroads, with 'mega memories like 256 MB RAM being looked at as 'high', while a hard disc of 500 MB was a luxury.

Those who had a net connection,were considered affluent. I remember looking at my cousin's PC, in Delhi, wistfully, when I would see him chatting on msn messenger,wondering whether I'd ever get net-savvy enough to chat.LOL.

Only after two-three years,did places like Baroda,really get onto the bandwagon,with ISPs like Satyamonline being on the forefront.I remember,that was the most popular one.So,anyway, I got my first net connection somewhere around y2k, I believe-with a year's subscription costing Rs. 3600/-, for a dialup, little knowing the princely phone bill it would jot up parallelly. But, as I saw later, it was all worth it.

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Yahoo and msn were probably the two most popular websites,and anybody who was anybody, had an email id there. So, naturally, I followed suit, and opened my first id on hotmail, which was ayeayeal(Any guesses,those who don't know, what the ayeayeal stands for?My cousins get confused and type in three-four ayes,sometimes and get 'id does not exist), and a slightly modified one on yahoo(alayeaye). I still have a soft corner for these two ids, just like we have a soft corner for the stuff we buy with our first salary.hehe!

A year or so later, there was no looking back. Even though the net was pretty slow in those days,compared to today's standards, it was a delight to log on, check emails,read Bollywood sites, look for encyclopaedic answers,enter competitions on contests2win and hungama, and so on. I think those were my four must-open sites,at that time,on a daily basis. (Won quite a few prizes as well, via c2w and hungama.I think both sites are still going strong. Will check them out tomorrow ).

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One very big advantage of the net, besides the messengers, was that we could keep in touch-with friends, relatives,make new friends...all at the touch of a button,via email/messengers. No more buying stationery(nice letter pads,pens,et al) , writing letters,going to post them, et al.

And, for someone who was/is a regular LTTE(Let me clarify,that's Letters To The Editor,people,before Keshi's eyes go wide!) guy, writing 30-40 letters a month, it was a boon, to have mags and papers giving their email ids. Till then, I used to have a Godrej typewriter, on which, it was a real task to adjust the postcard,and utilize it to the maximum. Today, I'm sure, if their email ids had not been there, I would not have been able to keep up with even the 30-40% of my writing hobby that I manage to do, since I came here).

Then, there's the wealth of info available on the net,on sites like wikipedia,or, English-based sites like fun-with-words , the newspaper websites of TOI, Hindustan Times, IE. And, then came the like youtube,which, today is fast becoming my favourite site, for locating my favourite songs/comedy serial extracts,etc. Unlimited possibilities, honestly.

And, of course,how can I not mention my main hobby these days,which is so 'alive' (and,in turn,keeps me alive and motivated)only due to the internet,namely,blogging. I'd been missing my writing hobby, back in 2004, when I chanced upon rediffblogs,and thought of giving it a try. And,the rest,as they say, is history- writing, uneditedly(If that's a word), moving over to blogspot in frustration when rediff began conking off, discovering BUF,discovering so many par excellence bloggers with a wealth of talent......all have been 'voyages of discovery', and, each day on blogs, remains such an exciting voyage into uncharted waters,even today. I never know when I'll log on to a blog and find the writer in a pensive/good/sad/happy mood, and what they'll write. And,that's what differentiates blogs from magazines,where you can still predict what you'll find in a particular magazine.:)

So , all said and done, life after the internet has been one memorable event, continues to remain so, and, I hope,will continue being so in the coming years.Things can only get better,as they say.

Living e-Life On The Edge (Keshi)

First of all, sincere apologies for the late post. I had tonns of work to do last few weeks, hence I didn't have a clear mind and enough time to write a post here. Finally here it is.

Only a Mouse-click away...
The Internet and Blogging has made me a better person in many many ways. It has enhanced my personality, made me more understanding and patient in ways I can't finish expressing here. The variety of people, thoughts, experiences, stories, lessons and wisdom that I come across through a great many blogs on a daily basis, has basically made me a live knowledgebase of Life :). I have grown in ways that it's magnitude is impossible to put down in words. Why? Cos some things simply can't be written but can only be felt in your heart. I can only explain it this way...if I take myself 4yrs ago (before I started Blogging) and compare it with who I am today, it'll be a flat-ground and a mountain that I'm comparing. Yes, my spirit is soaring new heights and touching the skies now, which it couldn't do before. Wisdom brings you ultimate freedom.

A Treasure Island...
All I can say is I count my blessings every single day, no matter how hard life may be. I thank life for giving me the Internet, for giving me sight, for giving me the ability to read and write, for giving me so many friends from across the world, for giving me a rich heart by all the wisdom I come across through blogs...and for giving it all FREE of charge. There are still so many people in this world that have never experienced the Internet, have no access to wisdom and knowledge like we do, have never been this connected with people, have never had the privilege to read or write, have no eye-sight, have no money or the freedom to blog, have no one to listen to what they have to say etc etc. Therefore we need to be thankful for what we have...we have a huge treasure island here, with treasures of love, understanding and light. Living the e-life has added color and beauty to my being that is priceless, and can never be traded with anything else in the world. I hope it has been the same for you. Live life for today, and appreciate what you already have.

September Topics Suggestions(AmitL)

Hi,all....it's 'Come September', a month we look forward to in Dubai,courtesy, it signals the end of the summer heat n humidity, towards the third week. Let's hope there's no postponement of good weather. How about the following topics, if everyone concurs:(Ishi, I wish you'd return soon..besides your posts(of course), the top bar needs to be changed(still shows May topics)

1) Continued from last month: An update on my life

2) My life after the advent of the internet(Thanks, Keshi)

3) Topics(Thanks,again, Keshi)

(I know you said the third one was just a joke, Keshi,but,seriously, think over it. 'Topics' as a topic in itself has so many possibilities. I can think of a nice post or two on it, definitely. And,I'm sure other BUFers will,as well!!

Let's make a slight change,this month. The honour of writing the first post, goes to the one who first suggested these topics....so, over to you, Keshi, for topics 2 and 3.:)(Topic 1 is a carryover from last time.heh heh). And, the rest of us,duly inspired,will follow!!:)hehe!!