Tag Archives: themodemworld

This is the Modem World: We’re all a bunch of cranky old men

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Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology.

DNP This is the Modem World We're All a Bunch of Cranky Old Men

I've been studying online communities since 1994, believe it or not. My master's thesis was called "Escape to Cyberia: Subcultures as Agents of Change." Go ahead, make fun of me for the title. It's cool.

But back then, no one -- or at least, very few people -- studied online communities as fodder for social science. I set out to prove that people could actually form social bonds and even social structures -- in this case subcultures -- online. I then went on to show that what happens online can affect what happens in the "real world." Several professors at the University of Chicago thought I was insane -- "Real world vs. online? What is this, 'Tron?!'" -- but I aligned myself with a forward-thinker named David Laitin who, too, was ready to accept our future robot overlords.

At the time, Usenet wasn't the dark, gritty back alley of the internet that it is now. Newsgroups were full of discussion, moderation and netiquette. They were, if you will, "where it was at." I was a daily contributor and reader of alt.mountain-bike, where at least 100 new messages about trails, bike maintenance and burritos kept my attention. It was, you might say, just like Reddit. Sorta.

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This is the Modem World: Give me the keys, I’ll drive!

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Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology.

DNP This is the Modem World Give Me the Keys, I'll Drive!

"Give me that" I huffed, teeth clenched.

Snatching the iPhone from my friend's hands, I swiftly pulled up directions to The Grove despite the inadequacies of Apple's new Google Maps replacement. While I'd rather have the old Google Maps back, I was able to work around the quirks and get what I needed.

On Saturday, my fiancée and I sat down to watch a movie on Netflix. She simply handed the remote to me as she knew I'd have things set up in no time: I knew which activity to select on the Harmony One, to switch on the PS3 and how to search on the console's version of the Netflix app (each one is bizarrely different for some reason).

Yes, she could have gotten us there, but I'm a better driver. She would have used the Netflix app on our connected TV. It works, but it uses the TV's speakers and I need to watch things with glorious 5.1. Does she care? Not so much.

But she knows that I drive our tech better than she does and she's happy to leave it to me.

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This is the Modem World: Give me the keys, I'll drive! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is the Modem World: Why are printers stuck in the 20th century?

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Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology.

DNP This is the Modem World Why are printers stuck I'm the 20th century

There was a time -- early in my computing career -- that your average printer could output better results than any screen could. In the days before WYSIWYG word processors, we would guess what the printed product might look like and then let an Okidata monstrosity scream out ugly 5 x 7 dot matrix results.

When it worked, it worked well, and we were thrilled that our 16KB machines could make something real. A continuous ream of paper was fed into the printer and we'd happily tear the perforated pages apart like birthday gifts from the digital deities.

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This is the Modem World: Why are printers stuck in the 20th century? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Oct 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is the Modem World: Why we fight

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Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology.

This is the Modem World Why We Fight

I think I figured out why we love to argue about technology. It came to me via the wisdom of my mom, not surprisingly.

It started last Sunday, when I was at her house to mooch some lunch while helping her get photos off of her digital camera and onto a sharing site so she could, ahem, share them. She was complaining that younger generations won't have photo albums, those lovely, physical relics of days gone by that mother and son can pore over and share memories.

"But, we'll have Facebook Timelines," I replied, sheepishly.

She glared.

I glared back.

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This is the Modem World: Why we fight originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Sep 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is the Modem World: Can I pick my own set-top box, please?

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Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology.

This is the Modem World: Can I pick my own set-top Box, Please

When I was a kid, my parents actually rented our home phones from the phone company. They were hard-wired to the wall -- no detachable RJ cables. The phones were heavy, and when you needed a new one, you would call the phone company and get in line. They would then come out in four to six weeks and install the new phone for you at your expense. If you wanted to move the phone to another room, the process was like calling an electrician: holes were drilled, ladders were scaled and money was spent.

The phone equipment itself was drab, heavy and came in your choice of two colors: boring and depressing. Answering machines were rare -- instead, you had to use expensive answering services staffed by cranky women from New Jersey.

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This is the Modem World: Can I pick my own set-top box, please? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is the Modem World: I’m giving up absolutely nothing

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Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology.

DNP This is the Modem World I'm giving up absolutely nothing

She looked at me, then at my phone and back at me. She was not pleased. Her eyes darted around the restaurant. They surveyed the other husbands, boyfriends and fiancés: Were they too ignoring their dates, checking sports scores, texting their buddies? Is my husband a jerk or is this a social pandemic?

"What would happen if your phone didn't exist and you had to talk to me?"

"But I am talking to you."

"No, you're looking at your phone."

"Right now, I am saying words to you. How is it that I am not talking to you at this very moment?"

I wasn't going to win this with semantics. No, I lost the moment I decided it was an appropriate time to grab my phone. And, to be fair, I was being a jerk. We were at a nice dinner and I should be into her, not my email, sports scores or Reddit.

So I put the phone away. I promised to not take it out for the rest of the night, a promise I kept. And we had a lovely evening.

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This is the Modem World: I'm giving up absolutely nothing originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is the Modem World: An ode to the trapper keeper

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Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology.

DNP This is the Modem World An ode to the trapper keeper

It's back to school season, and if you're one of the younger Engadget readers, surely you did a little supply shopping. Perhaps you bought some pens, pencils, paper and notepads. Maybe you even landed a new laptop, tablet or printer. You probably tried to convince your parents that Xbox Live has a live after-school study group that can help you excel in calculus. (Parents: I'm not going to say if it does or not. It's up to you, as involved parents, to look this up on your own. If you don't look it up, then, yes, there is an amazing study group on Xbox Live. Buy your kid that 360.)

But when you went back-to-school shopping, I'm going to guess you didn't buy a Trapper Keeper.

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This is the Modem World: An ode to the trapper keeper originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is the Modem World: So where are all the ghosts and aliens?

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Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology.

This is the Modem World So where are all the ghosts and aliens

I love movies and books about ghosts and aliens, especially the older ones from an era when technology didn't allow too many special effects. For me, it's what you don't see that freaks me out.

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This is the Modem World: So where are all the ghosts and aliens? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is the Modem World: Curiosity Killed the Fanboy

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Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology.

DNP This is the Modem World

Usain Bolt is fast. Really fast. So fast, in fact, that we all revel in his quirky personality and dig the fact that he comes from Jamaica. We're all Bolt fanboys.

The Olympics, born as a celebration of the human body and spirit, bring the world together every two years in a peaceful competition and allow us to transform nationalism into a spirited, peaceful chant for our own countries. Usain Bolt displayed the Olympic spirit during a post-race interview when he stopped the affair to wait for the American national anthem to finish as another athlete received her gold medal. Respect.

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This is the Modem World: Curiosity Killed the Fanboy originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Is the Modem World: Do You Smell That?

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Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology.

DNP This Is the Modem World Do You Smell That

There are two gadget scents: one triggers happiness and anticipation, the other conjures up sadness and fear.

The first arrives like an emotional bullet as we open the box. That plasticky odor wafts in with promised adventures, teases an initial power-up and floods us with curiosity and excitement.

The second shows its ugly head when electronics give up the ghost. That smell -- you know that smell -- of melting circuits and digital death sends us into a spiral of data-loss panic, guilt and fear for our safety.

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This Is the Modem World: Do You Smell That? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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