Google Mapped
Consumer computing is dead.
Alright, I'm being dramatic.
It's definitely changing though.
The quirks of the market, the particular shifts in power dynamics, and the increase in non-expert/enthusiast participants are certainly reasons for this. Certain fairly monopolistic tech companies contributed as well (Thanks, Bill and Steve).
It was once incredible to think that you could have a computer in your home. They certainly weren't cheap, but you could have a "family" computer. You needed to set up things for them to work correctly. I remember needing to install software from CDs that came with mice or wireless adapters so that they would work right. These days, those things are much easier.
I remember dial-up, with its amusing little tone that some today may not have ever heard. The slow page loading, and leaving multiple different pages open to load all at once while desperately hoping nobody would call the house. Floppy disks with their silly name and even sillier capacities (Half a Word document? Really?). I also remember being able to pay for software and... use it? Paying once and having access to it. As-is. Buy a new computer? Pop the CD in. You're still the same person who purchased it. Sure, you don't get updates, but you get the software you wanted working exactly as it has always worked, as long as you don't change your PC too drastically.
I remember the internet, full of forums and people talking about whatever and saying and doing whatever they wanted. Facebook and its mediocre games. Miniclip, Kongregate, Armor Games, Newgrounds, AdventureQuest, RuneScape. Wikipedia. Email. YouTube. GameFAQs, GameSpot, IGN. LimeWire. PSPISO. Stack Overflow. (Wait, some of these are still around.)
Google was the navigator, but the user was in the driver's seat.
I don't know if any of you remember or even felt the feeling of discovery. The one you get when you Googled something new and ended up in a new corner or new region. A trove of new information, you found like buried treasure, like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
All free, all people expressing themselves. We were anonymous but we acted like humans (mostly). Yes, children probably read and maybe saw some things better left unseen. It was going to happen eventually. So where better than the safety of your own home?
At some point, it changed. Do you remember when? I can't really.
Forums full of people annoyed at the same questions being asked again.
Facebook became more ads than friends (and how many of them were actually my friends anyway?).
YouTube videos became more polished and less personal (more full of ads and marketing too).
Our devices got smarter and yet using them got worse.
WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat.
At some point, it started to feel more like an assault on my senses.
An imposition with its notifications and alerts.
Look at me. Address me. Pay attention to me.
Respond now.
Resolve now.
Download now.
Upload now.
We must always be available, always be present, anyone can reach us at any time. Especially whichever Nigerian prince, spam bot, or marketing bot wants to get in touch with us.
It has changed again recently and it's even worse now. Corporations paying people to act like they're your buddy on social media. You can't even tell if the things you're reading were written by a person.
Things get installed on our devices even if we don't want them.
Did you install McAfee? No? No worries, the software you actually wanted to use installed it for you.
A forced update breaks all the software you're paying monthly for the privilege to use.
Surely you can just use the old version? Uh... nope.
The spyware they have on your PC prevents you from launching it without updating first.
Google shows me a summary of the websites I might have gone to if it had just shown them to me.
There is no more exploration. No more learning.
The gold in the pot at the end of the rainbow is made of bits.
I can't even tell if the things I'm seeing are real.
The cake is a lie.
More people have access to the internet now than ever. And we can carry it around on those little computers in our pockets. But the internet we carry now, it's not the internet that we had back then.