Internet and Me

I never seen people excited about browsers like this month. It was Netscape Navigator the first browser I used. I got my first internet connection form Sys-Tec. Eudora was the first email application, ICQ was the first IM application, and 'Corel Web Designer' was the first web page design application. 14.4 modem with third-party DUN application to dial in - took half an hour to configure and 5 minute to download a picture. The first site I surfed in was rick.com. As soon as Susil (from sys-tec) left, I went to sex.com. A whole new world started form that day.

Right now I spend around 12 hours a day on the net. I don't have zillion bookmarks to porn sites any more. Only bookmark left in that category is darlina.com (don't click on it - it is porn.)

I used to spend around 10,000 Rs a month or more on my phone bill + dialup internet bill. Right now I Spend 27,000 Rs ($270) for 64kbps dedicated connection in Sri Lankan and $30 (3000Rs) on 30mbps connection in NY. Cost of Internet has not changed significantly outside Colombo for last 10 years. TRC should stone to death for it.

Internet is a great place to find girls - Pretty girls too. I can not say anything about internet without thinking about certain beautiful people I met online who have changed my life. I have my bitter and sweet experience there. Browsers have nothing to do with that.

Internet is not a luxury to me any more like how it used to be. Matter of fact finding time to stay out of internet is a privilege. But I keep on finding so much valuable things and valuable people online; I can not voluntarily do that - not yet. In that case I start my day with cup of coffee and usual walk through Blogs.

In my internet life time, Netscape is the first best thing happened to Internet. But after IE came out I was eager to see the death of Netscape. There was a time period every web site had an image at the bottom saying 'Best Viewed with Browser x'. It was a nightmare for web developers. Have you ever a seen a country struggling to deal with two official languages at the same time and no matter how hard they struggle it never works perfect? That is how it was for developing a web site to work with both browsers. I hope that will not happen with IE and Firefox.

VOIP is another internet wonder. Remain illegal to general public in Sri Lanka till this day. dialpad.com rock the net with free calls. That is what brings down 250+Rs a min SLT IDD charges to 22 Rs. At last till 2004, you could have make couple of millions a day with an illegal VOIP root in SL. All you needed was proper political connection, TRC protection (could buy it for around 25c a minute depending on your volume), good hardware and E1 line(s). That was the only major business with possibility of recovering the investment in one day and makes million(s) profit next day.

At this age, Flash is the real competitor of browsers. Flash keep on offering new opportunities while IE was sleeping like a giant. youtube.com came out as soon as flash introduced flash video - sold for $1.65 billions in less than 2 years. After flash video, it came up with Flex - competitor for Ajax. None of new browsers could create new invention opportunities like Flash does - they even fail to offer anything new for Ajax, but they make themselves user-friendlier and healthier. We need strong browsers - no doubt about it. But that is about it.

Flex/Ajax will replace exciting web applications and desktop applications very soon. (Google spreadsheet, Office Live Beta is good experiments going on in this area right now). This is the current technology to create new dot com wealth. Look for it. Browsers have nothing to do with that.

By the way, we Sri Lankan have no significant advantage from none of above. In Sri Lanka internet limited to upper and urban middle class only. It is not because Sri Lankan are not interested in Internet or because it is expensive but because TRC have no interested in next generation.