Ten years of Net

I am celebrating ten years of using Internet! Just realized that while talking to my sister about Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Phew! That's a long time!

It was all a new, big, confusing thing (and really slow thing) those days. I remember preparing a weekend course on Internet for Aptech students, since it was not part of the course then. We used to explore things like Gopher, PINE, Finger and Archie. And yeah, no e-mail server with 5GB space, so big files were uploaded through FTP protocol. I remember I searched Yahoo! a lot then along with Lycos and Altavista (no Google :)). E-mail meant a client called PINE, and later hotmail and Yahoo mail. No "social networking sites", no photograph sharing (not with that speed!), no online shopping, no tabbed browsing, no blogging...

One question: Does anyone know how to retrieve the date when one opened their hotmail account? I would love to know that - that was my first email account, and its still active :-)

8 comments:

~ ॐ ~ said...

interesting post...

mujhe bhi batana...

RB said...

Phew! This was like reading that book with 70% of the words in a language that I do not understand. :D
I've also been using the net for 8 or 9 years, I think. But of course, initially it was only for kicks. Only yesterday I was remembering with this friend that we had gone to an internet cafe together to make an email account and stuff. Also, to check out what chatting was all about. A guy asked us for a pic and we didn't even know what that meant. :P :D Creepy!

~ Deeps ~ said...

11 yrs of using net for me too :)
hotmail was my first account also and i still remember, i used to go to my mamaji's office to access net........

R said...

Du, mubarak ho! :D

Uh, by the way, even now you've REALLY slow connection :P Umar ke saath saath.. :D

I remember I started using the internet in 8th standard. Essentially, I started using it because a few friends were going abroad. And here I am, today, like most of us, can't survive without the damn thing. My first account was with yahoo I think, or was it mail.com I fail to recollect but it was just fun to send/receive birthday e-cards! And yeah, loads of random jokes, chatting and ok, porn too. With an instant realisation that even that won't come for free over the internet. Things changed the way we grew up, though. (HA.)

Abey, Kolkata ka pictures kya hua? Get your moustache-less face out on the roads, and show us the city.

Kanika said...

I was in 10th when discovered internet...9 years...

hotmail was my first email account as well....lost it a few months back...


Those were the days...

Subhadip said...

@Om
:) I was hoping you would provide the answer :)

@RB
That reminds me of "ASL" - the famous net lingo!

@Deeps
:) Internet in India has come a long way since then for sure.

@RT
My connection is called broad-bandh!

@Kanu
Hotmail was hot then!

Reeta Skeeter said...

So it seems (if i hv read properly) I am the only one who is answering ur question...hotmail inbox pe jao...at the bottom right side of the screen click on account....then click account summary...it will show u the date when u registered :)]
Cheers!

Subhadip said...

@Reeta
Ting! And... that's the right answer! Thanks a lot!