What your email address says about you.

When American Online started in the late 80s it was Apple only (the company having worked with Apple on other projects previously). It wasn't until the early 90s that it began allowing PCs as well, using DOS (pre Windows).

Before American Online, I used to frequent BBS's (Bulletin Board Systems) and actually had one myself in 1982, called Electronic News Service, where I rewrote the local newspaper stories into shorter versions for online consumption (the newspapers weren't online then). With a BBS, you had to dial a phone number to be connected to a computer where you read text and messages, then hung up so someone else could dial in. Busy signals were common. Here's a list of many of the Denver BBS's around then.

My first computer was an Apple II+ in 1981. I had a 150/300 baud modem and two floppy drives. By the time I started my BBS,I had a 1200 baud modem -- smokin' fast, I thought.

My how things have changed.

Wow you were an early pioneer Wayne. I didn't realize it was Apple only in the early years, not surprised though. I think the early newsgroups were Usenet, Netscape browser used to read them I think. They had job postings on there too. hobby groups, file sharing, Then there was FTP remember that? Netzero and Juno!

But remember, Al Gore invented the internet in the 90's didnt he? LOL

JoeTheSepticTankPumper wrote: Ahh Memories! Anyone start out on Prodigy? I remember when Prodigy and AOL were the internet. And newsgroups were like todays forums. I actually did online stock trading and airline reservations on Prodigy, I think in the early 90s. I had a 386 laptop with Windoze 3.1 I think it cost $2400, I still have it in the closet too!

I had prodigy for 2 weeks and there was 300 websites.

JoeTheSepticTankPumper wrote: Wow you were an early pioneer Wayne. I didn't realize it was Apple only in the early years, not surprised though. I think the early newsgroups were Usenet, Netscape browser used to read them I think. They had job postings on there too. hobby groups, file sharing, Then there was FTP remember that? Netzero and Juno!

But remember, Al Gore invented the internet in the 90's didnt he? LOL

FTP is still used, way too much, the same with Telnet. It is a nightmare for us admins that have to allow it on our networks.

Usenet is still around too, you can get to it via news servers or for free with google. Some sites worry about language?, rofl, some of worst online fights I have ever seen were in Usenet groups.

Wayne, I had a BBS site too, a Wildcat site IIRC. It was for sharing program code. It went away about time time AOL came onto the scene.

I can't remember what it was called, but my first browser was bundled with OS/2 2.1 or maybe 3.0 (Warp???). It was shortly after that I found pinecam.

I think I had a different email address for each time period.

JF1 - yes I forgot about Compuserve - that was for the true geeks and scientists. AOL was A-holes on line, and Prodigy was for the kiddys and putzers. The lowest speed I remember was 1200. I don't remember Telnet. Remember using FTP to upload HTML pages. And I think I had a Geocities web page once- the early facebook! My first yahoo email from 2000, still going today and loaded with spam.

My first personal computer was in 1980, a CP/M machine, Kaypro II, with, if I remember right, 64K of RAM and 2 floppy drives and a full 'suite' of applications. Started out with a borrowed 110 baud acoustical modem, 'graduated' to a 300, and finally 1200 baud modem. Relatively speaking, that was smoking fast! :rofl

I thought I was in 7th heaven when I upgraded to a DOS based Heath/Zenith Z-161 with 256k RAM and a 20M hard drive! lol

CompuServe on my TI-99/4A with a 300 baud coupler modem, in all its 32x24 character resolution wonder, displayed on the living room TV set.
LOL, those were the days. I still have that computer and all the programs and accessories.
I wonder what it would look like on a 42" widescreen LCD?

LOL

I have tried different ones... they all give me problems.. I have had AOL.. (horrors) :VeryScared: for years and the main reason is .. they give me the least problems! Not that I don't have problems... just fewer.

I am not a geek as many of you know....I suppose I fall in the "semi-idiot" zone... but I've learned to live with it.. scary!
:yeahright:

AC44 wrote: I have tried different ones... they all give me problems.. I have had AOL.. (horrors) :VeryScared: for years and the main reason is .. they give me the least problems! Not that I don't have problems... just fewer.

I am not a geek as many of you know....I suppose I fall in the "semi-idiot" zone... but I've learned to live with it.. scary!
:yeahright:

Don't change it, for some reason I actually have it memorized!