subtract the ads
I've had it with the Internet.
More specifically, I've had it with Internet advertising, and flashy websites that slow my computer down to a crawl as cute little icons and animated ads load on the side, top, bottom and anywhere else they can fit on my screen. Its to the point where I avoid sites, that I used to frequent daily, because I end up tearing my hair out trying to navigate from page to page...or have to wait 2 minutes for the home page to load.
I remember the days when the Internet was mostly just text and message boards and it was all about having access to information and being able to jump from one page to the next with a smiple 'click' of the mouse. There were pictures and lots of cool stuff to look at...but I got to choose to look, or not look. Now, I'm running adscans and virus scans every other day because my computer, which is old (but never had problems until the past 12-24 months), just can't take the deluge of 'downloads' each page forces upon it like some sort of force-feeding machine. Just now, I had to unplug my computer instead of waiting for the online dating website ad on Hotmail to load all those pictures of fake people who I have no desire of ever contacting, let alone date. Or how about the time that I had to wait what seemed like forever so that cute little AMEX airplane gif could load and fly across the 4 inches of screen they bought?
I cut cable TV about 4 years ago, and while I do miss getting to watch a ballgame on a summer night, or mindlessly sitting in front of the TV for a couple of hours to unwind while flicking through channels...there's a lot more that a I don't miss, and why I have no desire to ever become an avid TV watcher again. Ads are at the top of the list (with TV news) of things I don't miss. And now...between crappy Internet service, the $50 a month bill, and all these freaking ad-clogged websites, I'm seriously contemplating going totally wireless...as in, no internet at all!
And while that may be at the extreme end of my game of 'how far will I go' to have my sanity...I have already found replacement sites for a couple of the ones that were really bad...and if Hotmail, IGN.com and yahoo don't improve, I'll be taking my business elsewhere from now on! So be warned...style over substance will lose out every time with me.
It truly is a disgusting reminder of how shameless and greedy our capitalist society has become when a service, once thought of as revolutionary and world changing as the Internet was once considered (and, honestly, still is...), can slowly devolve into just another outlet for companies to sell us stuff we don't need, interupt what we want to be doing to show us commercials, and sell us on how cool and hip they are by the slickness of their online banner advertising.
More specifically, I've had it with Internet advertising, and flashy websites that slow my computer down to a crawl as cute little icons and animated ads load on the side, top, bottom and anywhere else they can fit on my screen. Its to the point where I avoid sites, that I used to frequent daily, because I end up tearing my hair out trying to navigate from page to page...or have to wait 2 minutes for the home page to load.
I remember the days when the Internet was mostly just text and message boards and it was all about having access to information and being able to jump from one page to the next with a smiple 'click' of the mouse. There were pictures and lots of cool stuff to look at...but I got to choose to look, or not look. Now, I'm running adscans and virus scans every other day because my computer, which is old (but never had problems until the past 12-24 months), just can't take the deluge of 'downloads' each page forces upon it like some sort of force-feeding machine. Just now, I had to unplug my computer instead of waiting for the online dating website ad on Hotmail to load all those pictures of fake people who I have no desire of ever contacting, let alone date. Or how about the time that I had to wait what seemed like forever so that cute little AMEX airplane gif could load and fly across the 4 inches of screen they bought?
I cut cable TV about 4 years ago, and while I do miss getting to watch a ballgame on a summer night, or mindlessly sitting in front of the TV for a couple of hours to unwind while flicking through channels...there's a lot more that a I don't miss, and why I have no desire to ever become an avid TV watcher again. Ads are at the top of the list (with TV news) of things I don't miss. And now...between crappy Internet service, the $50 a month bill, and all these freaking ad-clogged websites, I'm seriously contemplating going totally wireless...as in, no internet at all!
And while that may be at the extreme end of my game of 'how far will I go' to have my sanity...I have already found replacement sites for a couple of the ones that were really bad...and if Hotmail, IGN.com and yahoo don't improve, I'll be taking my business elsewhere from now on! So be warned...style over substance will lose out every time with me.
It truly is a disgusting reminder of how shameless and greedy our capitalist society has become when a service, once thought of as revolutionary and world changing as the Internet was once considered (and, honestly, still is...), can slowly devolve into just another outlet for companies to sell us stuff we don't need, interupt what we want to be doing to show us commercials, and sell us on how cool and hip they are by the slickness of their online banner advertising.
posted by neil at 12:10 AM
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