The Internet-Growing Problems or Dieing Problems?

[bjr]

Disclaimer: Some may view this as a rant or being really cynical. The conclustion I've come to is the whole "Internet of Everything" is similar to the CB radio era. A big flash in the pan. Some antidotal experiences are: the local autoparts vendors "We don't do email anymore" and that's true with most brick and morter places here in town and Web sites are being taken down as a "Too Big of a Pain to maintain and too expensive". I've seen most Craigslist ads say "No Emails" they only want phone call replys. A lot of parts searches I do I find that online inventory maintenance is dismal at best, I get "Oh were out of that and or We discontinue that last year". More and More all the information Web sites provide are a phone number and operating hours. The Scammers and The make money off of every digital bit of information moved groups has drowned any positive and beneficial communications initially intended. This commentary is brought to you by the very thing that disgusts me! Okay, let me have it, How do you guys see it. bjr

 

[Industrial Toys]

The Internet is certainly here to stay. But, I believe it is creating a real trap for humans. On 911, the net was useless! That was before so many corporations, governments, IP phones, security and a host of others were on it. Today (I believe) if there was a disaster, NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING would work!

Last night I was watching Netflicks at 1AM. Suddenly the Internet ground to a crawl. Funny, I thought for that time of night. There is not a person alive that I can talk to to find out why that happened. Wonderfull system!

 

[kcflhrc]

Well, it certainly isn't a flash in the pan. Most Craigslist ads that don't want e-mails is because the seller is too **** stupid to use e-mail. Most local mom and pop businesses around heer have ads in the window to like them on face book. Personally, I don't use face book, never have and probably never will. I see farmers with cell phones as much as I do see them with a can of skoal in their pocket. I don't know what I would do at work all day without the internet. I install broadband for a living so I hope it lasts another 10 years at least.

 

[k0ua]

Broadband internet will be here when we are all long gone. Only it will be much faster, and everything in the household will access it.

 

[aczlan]

IMO, a lot of the no email ads are from people who don't want to deal with spammers/tirekickers or who are posting something for a friend.
Its getting easier and easier to use the internet and computers to work together.

Aaron Z

 

[tjkubota93]

Another opinion- the ones that abandoned their websites or don't maintain their inventory (I have seen a lot of these too) are too lazy or ignorant to make good use of a Web page.
So they pay a nerd a lot of money to make them something they don't understand or have time to fool with. Then they get sick of it because it was supposed to magically make them money and it doesn't work.

 

[Industrial Toys]

It's like, heaven forbid, don't call us, visit us on our web page (what a stupid concept). We don't have anyone to answer your call anyway. So then you can waste YOUR time trying to negotiate our web site that is different from every other you have seen. And if you are me, never find what you are looking for anyway.

I want to buy one widget from a company. I don't want to have an on-going relationship with them. If I need them, I will find them again.

 

[jrclark]

Another opinion- the ones that abandoned their websites or don't maintain their inventory (I have seen a lot of these too) are too lazy or ignorant to make good use of a Web page. So they pay a nerd a lot of money to make them something they don't understand or have time to fool with. Then they get sick of it because it was supposed to magically make them money and it doesn't work.

This is more fact than opinion!

 

[jrclark]

Last night I was watching Netflicks at 1AM. Suddenly the Internet ground to a crawl. Funny, I thought for that time of night. There is not a person alive that I can talk to to find out why that happened. Wonderfull system!

The issue you experienced very well may have been part of a planned outage. There's no such thing as 100% uptime in the networking world - it's a fallacy. This type of maintenance along with unplanned outages would be covered in the client-facing SLA, or fine print, and are absolutely necessary to deliver any type of service.

 

[Harry Palmer]

Many younger people (and a lot of older one's too) use the internet to keep in touch. I use it for email, Facebook, and searching for parts for my various vehicles and my tractor. My neighbor collects vintage tractors so he uses it to find parts. I agree, at times it is a PITA to use, but it is the current way of doing things and will be for some time to come. I know I get upset trying to find parts for my Case IH 24DXe, but the local Case dealer's staff is not friendly to none farmers or someone who only buys a few things. His costs are high, so I keep searching the Internet trying to find equivalent parts at a more reasonable price. :2cents:

 

[Midniteoyl]

Still better than keeping 15 phone books, calling every parts dealer in them trying to explain what you need, then having to drive to at least 5 of them to find the actual part you were looking for.

And you also wouldnt have sites like this one to find help, reviews, advice or complain about the internet on... while using the internet no less

 

[kcflhrc]

I would much rather send an e-mail and get a response the next day than spend 15 minutes on hold. I did my whole tractor transaction over the web. I think we talked once on the phone and the day they delivered it. People are busy and the internet takes some of the load off. Plus broadband is what puts food on my table, so I love it.

 

[dickfoster]

Well, it certainly isn't a flash in the pan. Most Craigslist ads that don't want e-mails is because the seller is too **** stupid to use e-mail. Most local mom and pop businesses around heer have ads in the window to like them on face book. Personally, I don't use face book, never have and probably never will. I see farmers with cell phones as much as I do see them with a can of skoal in their pocket. I don't know what I would do at work all day without the internet. I install broadband for a living so I hope it lasts another 10 years at least.

LOL I was gonna say get your nose outta that screen, you're not there to be entertained, and try working to fill your day till I saw what your work was.

 

[dickfoster]

What bugs the crap out of me about it is the Government forcing everything over to the Internet. A while back I had to pay a crap load of capital gains tax and the State came back pissin and moaning about me paying them with a paper check and next time I'll be fined if I don't pay electronically. REALLY!! I guess they'd gripe about being hung with a new rope. It'll be a cold day in Hades before I pay a fine like that. I'll pay the bastards in pennies and make them take it. US Currency is good for ALL DEBTS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE by federal law so it's illegal to refuse cash payment.

 

[tjkubota93]

What bugs the crap out of me about it is the Government forcing everything over to the Internet. A while back I had to pay a crap load of capital gains tax and the State came back pissin and moaning about me paying them with a paper check and next time I'll be fined if I don't pay electronically. REALLY!! I guess they'd gripe about being hung with a new rope. It'll be a cold day in Hades before I pay a fine like that. I'll pay the bastards in pennies and make them take it. US Currency is good for ALL DEBTS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE by federal law so it's illegal to refuse cash payment.

Maybe they know cash going to be worthless soon! Lol! Just kidding.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

What bugs the crap out of me about it is the Government forcing everything over to the Internet. A while back I had to pay a crap load of capital gains tax and the State came back pissin and moaning about me paying them with a paper check and next time I'll be fined if I don't pay electronically. REALLY!! I guess they'd gripe about being hung with a new rope. It'll be a cold day in Hades before I pay a fine like that. I'll pay the bastards in pennies and make them take it. US Currency is good for ALL DEBTS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE by federal law so it's illegal to refuse cash payment.

Try using your check for fast food or a lot of the other places where your check was as good as cash. And at the places that do take checks a lot of them use your check as a debit withdrawal.

It is all about efficiency and convenience and saving money. Your use of a check means they need more employees and equipment to process the payment. That means our (citizen) cost goes up for government.

 

[dickfoster]

Maybe they know cash going to be worthless soon! Lol! Just kidding.

Yeah when the politicians want to buy some more votes they crank up the printing press. Pretty soon it'll take as much paper currency to buy toilet paper so you may as well save the shopping and hassle and just use the money.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I'll be 68 Sunday. Most of my buds are close or older. Probably half of them are still using flip phones and are totally intimidated by smart phones. One of them was at a welding supply the other day looking for a manual for using oxy/acetylene, been 20 + years since he had silver soldered. They had no manuals of course. If he had a smart phone he could have found out anything he needed to know from google.

The best example of the new world is a meme I saw somewhere. First image was a teacher saying, "you will not always have a calculator". Second image was a hand with a smart phone and someone saying, "lying b-word!"

There's too much information out there for us to memorize. So the best thing is for us to learn is how and whom to ask for an answer.

 

[dickfoster]

Try using your check for fast food or a lot of the other places where your check was as good as cash. And at the places that do take checks a lot of them use your check as a debit withdrawal.

It is all about efficiency and convenience and saving money. Your use of a check means they need more employees and equipment to process the payment. That means our (citizen) cost goes up for government.

Funny thing, I know a lot of places that will take a check but they won't accept plastic because the banks get a cut of all plastic transactions.

Ever hear the expression, don't look a gift horse in the mouth? Between the feds and the state I had to shell out over a half a million bucks so I was feeling pretty raw already. SAVE THEM MONEY??? Just who in the h e l l are they supposed to be working for anyway? I'm getting sick and tired of bustin my butt and paying taxes so they can continue sitting on their dead a s s e s.

 

[Industrial Toys]

If you showed a person from the seventies a modern day picture of a busy self serv gas station, they might well ask, "how did you get all those Lemmings to fill their own cars?" Well, we lied to them. Told them that it would save them money and it was more convenient. They believed it (as usual).

That's the way I see Internet commerce. The customer service claims are just a lie. Who wouldn't like to run a business where you can be totally absent and the customers have absolutely no place to complain.

And as far as contacting compaines through E-Mail. Rarely do you get a response, and if you do, it's never in a timely manner.

Often it's a form E-Mail or the subject matter bears no relation to your concerns.

It's said that we get the government we deserve. Maybe it's simply the same for our goods and services. If we don't demand better, it will only get worse.