4 Reasons to be thankful for High Speed Internet this Thanksgiving
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, we’ve been thinking about how thankful we are for how much High Speed Internet has improved over the years.
The Internet has evolved into being such an integral part of our lives that it’s easy to forget what it was like to wait more than a couple of seconds to access Google search results or even load an image. In the early days of the Internet, slow speeds and screeching dial up modems made it challenging to get online and explore.
To put things in perspective, we thought it would be fun to contrast different aspects of our online experience today with what is was like way back in 1999. Why 1999? We felt it was a good benchmark and we’re still getting over the fact that Y2K wasn’t really a thing after all.
We’re sure that you’ll be thankful for everything your High Speed Internet connection can do for you in 2017 once you do the time warp back to 1999 with us.
Online Entertainment Today vs 1999
Today, what better way to slip into the post Thanksgiving food coma than with a never ending collection of online entertainment? Today’s quality of High Speed Internet has minimized streaming delays, which means that you can say goodbye to the dreaded rainbow wheels and buffering screens of the past. Increased speeds and new innovations also opened the door for tons of new and original content to be hosted online, such as 4K movies, shows, games, and music to name a few. With so many options, finding something that everyone can enjoy together is now a whole lot easier, and just might help you avoid the infamous feud over the TV remote. You could even follow “The Last Blockbuster” on Twitter.
Back in 1999, assuming you had the will to get off the couch after the tryptophan kicked in from all that turkey, you could make your way down to Blockbuster and rent a movie. Although Napster and other peer to peer sharing sites were launched in 1999, it would have taken a long time to download a movie, considering the average download speed in 1999 was 1.5 Mbps- not to mention that there was barely any legal movie content available to download online.
APPS and Software Today vs 1999
SaaS (Software as a service) is having a huge impact on our online experience today. Software programs that used to require a desktop download have moved to the cloud, saving users precious storage space on their computers while adding new benefits like simultaneous collaboration between multiple parties. You will be thankful for this feature when racing the clock to add those last-minute touches to a group project.
This article from 1999 by CNN cites experts who predicted that hard drive capacity would double to a whopping 6GB that year. With hard drives this size, you had to make strategic decisions of what to download and what to delete on your desktop computer- you could always compress, then burn those extra APPS on to a CD.
Online Shopping Today vs 1999
It’s estimated that by 2018, Canada will have 20 million active online shoppers. You can buy almost anything online that used to require a visit to a brick and mortar location. Groceries, clothing, appliances, cars, you name it. With the speeds available today, you can scan through a store’s entire catalogue in minutes and save valuable time previously spent searching through the physical aisles (or waiting for those online product images to load). With such fast and easy High Speed Internet access, our only advice: watch out for impulse buys.
Back in 1999, the Household Internet Use Survey (HIUS), which was conducted annually from 1997 to 2003 by Statistics Canada, concluded that 1.8 million households had at least one member who purchased something online. Big Ecommerce players like Amazon were just starting out and mainly sold books. It’s too bad, buying those Furby Babies online would have saved a lot of time on Black Friday.
Social Media today vs 1999
Since the mid 2000’s, social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have completely revolutionized the way we connect and share online. Most recently, platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram have also started to gain more popularity, especially with millennials. And if you can’t make it home for Thanksgiving, there are lots of ways to stay in touch using social media and other online communication and sharing tools.
In 1999, before the first real social media sites like Friendster and MySpace came on to the scene in 2002, people were still connecting online, but in a much different way. The hottest place to hang out online were communities and chat rooms where you could meet like minded people or explore exciting new interests without leaving your home. You could also use instant messenger platforms like MSN or Yahoo chat- or even ICQ. Uh oh!
About Us
The Acanac story is all celebrating the worry-free enjoyment of your High Speed Internet. We offer the widest range of High Speed Internet plans in Ontario and Quebec, for a great price, so that you can enjoy all the new and amazing advancements in online content.
Whether you’re looking for Unlimited Internet usage, or a plan that fits your exact needs, we have the package that you’ll be thankful for all year round. Call us today at 1-866-281-3583 or visit us online to find out why it’s good to be here.
