Word processing, image / video editing, DVD/CD playing/burning, tons of software, games... what?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I do believe the qualifier "almost" makes it quite right. Take a look at computers and their main functions now and tell me how many you can really do and/or enjoy without internet too? Take word processing or image editing - so you've edited your image...wanna post it online...whoops, can't! Wanna e-mail it to your boss? Can't. Wanna Facebook it? Can't. All you have are the base functions, and none of them more modern and more relevant ones.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I disagree with the qualifier. I don't think a computer is "almost" useless either. It's all circumstantial. Would it be impaired by not having the ability to connect to the internet for more modern tasks? Yes. Does that make it almost useless? Not necessarily. If you want to browse the web a lot and do internet-related tasks, then yes. If you use it for other things, then no. I might be writing a lot and save my work on my computer. It doesn't mean I publish or email what I write. There are also flash drives and other peripherals I could use to transfer media which needs to be sent over the internet. If I play games or use other various types of software, I don't necessarily need the internet either. The abilities of a computer without internet access would be more limited, but I don't think it necessitates an "almost useless" label. It depends what you're using it for.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

You see though, by saying it's "almost" useless, it's pretty hard to deny outright. I say he's hit the nail on the head, and the same thing goes for smartphones without an internet connection or 3G or whatever. The internet used to be just a thing to enjoy sometimes, but now it's sewn so tightly into the fabric of our lives that we've practically inseparable. So...frankly, for the way in which most people now depend on computers, they are indeed pretty damned useless without internet on them, basically like your iphone - just a really expensive phone with nice graphics.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

For every five hours I use my computer, about one of them is spent online. None of the other things in amiwhite's list could be taken as pointless without internet.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Nice statistic, did you pull it out of your arse yourself? It's nice that, for some reason, you don't depend on the internet as much as others, but what you said just there doesn't apply to me or anyone else I know out here. Even my grandmother is online for most of her computer time, and I don't know what she'd do without t'interweb.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

No, I have a source which shows me a nice pie graph of how much time I spend on the computer. What the fuck did you expect...

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I suppose I expected you to invent some statistic to prove your point and then perform some mental gymnastics to make out that it meant anything at all. What I got was probably that, but also the distinct possibility that you're in some kind of computer addiction program where your levels of activity are monitored daily and shown to you as part of your 12-step program to stop web surfing. Either way...it's so depressing to think about it. I almost hope you ARE making it up.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

It's not an actual statistic, it's an honest estimate... The majority of that time is spent programming, which is much more productive than browsing the internet, so I fail to see what's depressing about how I spend my time on the computer.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I get to brush up on my solitaire skills.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I lived without internet for 11 years, and I can agree wholeheartedly because of the almost. That was before the internet had completely taken over, so I imagine it'd be worse now. You must buy everything from the store, so only retail programs are available to you, and have little clue as to when they are release or to their features without a friend's help. As a kid my computer by itself was pretty useless and my parents probably spent more on games than they would have on an internet subscription.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

It can be a funny hat, a paperweight, a shield, a building block, a weapon, a frisbee, a light, as long as you have //imagination//

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Minesweeper marathon!

by Anonymous 11 years ago