My Twelve Years' Interaction with the Internet

This post is a nostalgic trip to the initial period of the arrival and spread of the Internet in India and especially that in my hometown Kozhikode in Kerala. The internet in India was seriously started in the year 2000. It was also a period of the shift from the conventional DOS to Windows Operating System. The arrival and spread of Windows around the mid-90s brought a sea change in computer usage. This also paved the way for a smooth operation and concentration of the Internet.

As a person always fond of following technology and gadgets, I planned to learn the tricks of Internet in the year 2001. I had no knowledge of Internet usage that time. But there was a hurdle. I was not familiar with the mouse operation. For Windows, usage of the mouse was a must. It was a December in 2000. During that time, I was very familiar with DOS (Disk Operating System) since it was the widely used software then. DOS based PCs were used everywhere. I had knowledge of DBase, Lotus 123, Word Star and Word Perfect. That equipped me some sound knowledge of computer operation. But of what use? To use The internet, one needs to master Windows. Handling mouse seemed to be a task that time since it was a major change from the conventional system to modern style.

I executed some plans. Met some relatives and friends, who had Windows based PCs. I collected some books also. I remember the one written by Alan Simpson, an American Author, was of great use. His easy method and simple language taught me some useful tricks. His book "The internet to Go" was really superb and made my learning so easy. Thus, I learned the Windows or precisely saying the MS Office containing Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint etc.

After learning the tricks of mouse and Windows, I joined for a course exclusively designed for The internet. It was around March 2001. The class was taken by one of my relatives by name Alakassery Surendran. He also gave me some books written by Alan Simpson, which only increased my love to Simpson and Internet. Surendran was an energetic chap and crazy of learning anything new. By the time I joined for the course, very few people had an idea about The internet. Internet Cafe was a rare scene. There also he clicked by venturing first. I left his institute with an added confidence on my mastery over cyber knowledge.

Today Google and Gmail are famous names among the netizens. But it was Yahoo so powerful that time. It was the king. I registered my first email account with Yahoo. MSN was also well known then.

CHATTING HISTORY AND SOME PORNO STORY

For chatting, we had then Yahoo Instant Messenger. It was wonderful with a lot of features. Yahoo had the chat room on almost all topics. Region wise, country wise, the chat rooms had some classification and all were so active and busy therein. I spent most of my time on chat. Chat was a great hobby for many that time and I too engaged in it daily for hours. It was very addictive too. Chatting, I must admit, helped me to polish my language skill since I always got in touch with people from the English speaking countries.

Falling into porn sites was another pass time or rather tragedy. Though enjoyable, it killed our precious time, health and money. The pocket was literally draining due to the constant sitting at Cafes. That time the usage fee was so high too.

The Browser Story

On Browser (the platform to enter into the cyber world), Internet Explorer was the one and only option in India. Netscape Navigator was widely used in USA and some other countries. Now, we have a lot of choice on Browsers like Mozilla, Google Chrome, Mozart, Opera, to name a few. As you know the Google Chrome is the hot choice now.

Email becomes GMAIL

Emails too changed much. Yahoo Mail was the topper that time. Eventually, Gmail beat Yahoo. The storage space increased to many folds with the arrival of Gmail. Others also followed the suit. Everybody chose Gmail as their best choice. For instant contacting, Messenger service was there. Here too, Yahoo was the king with yahoo Instant Messenger. Modern kids are not even aware of Yahoo Messenger. Later G-Talk came and became the leader. We saw that too even fading slowly with the arrival of social media networks like Orkut and Facebook, to name a few.

The invention of Laptops, Palmtops, NetBooks, Note Books, High-End Mobile Phones, all offering excellent features and round the clock net access, came in favor of the spread of Internet. Thanks to the advancement of technology, The internet is now available on all platforms like Mobile phones and other handy gadgets. Thus 24x7 service and access assured.

The Google's dominance on the cyber world is the notable change I mainly find today. Browser, Search Engine, email, Blogging, Social network sites, Images, Map, E-Reader, Translation, each and every avenue on the net world, Google has an unquestionable and unbeatable position or rank.

Facts About Facebook

On the Social Network Sites, Orkut was a favorite choice. But the appearance of Facebook brought a sea change in Social Media sites. Nowadays everyone is so crazy of FB and some are even mad about it. The crazy people spend hours on their FB account. On the Social media networks but Google is behind the Facebook though they are top in other fields The Google Plus is still behind FB. There is a funny statement about FB in the Cyber world that after China, the second-largest population is in Facebook!

The current status of Orkut is weak. It is dead in India. It is no more in use elsewhere in the world since Google stopped this service. Personally it makes me disappointing as I was a great user and lover of Orkut. Orkut officially expired on September 30, 2014. .

Blogging or Online Writings

Nowadays the net is an indispensable thing for me as I am a Blogger and writer with HubPages. I need round the clock access for my online writing ventures. I need to check my status, earnings, traffic, notification, etc. I have a laptop now with internet connection which enables me to connect with the cyber world 24x7.

Future Technology

The internet is now on a royal status. Its usage spread like wildfire. Now almost everyone uses net and are very much aware of its operations. The changes in the last 12 years, that is from 2001 to 2013 are magnificent and unbelievable.We cannot predict to what extent it will go within next 12 years. Only the God knows what developments are there to take place by 2025. Making a prediction on future technology is impossible. It is beyond our imagination. After all, we are poor mortals! And bad in prediction technology!!