5 things kids born in the 2000’s will never know to be true

Kids these days seem to know more about new technology than the rest of us. It seems we often go to our kids when we have a computer issue or iPhone issue, but what about the struggles they never experienced to make them appreciate the technological advances of today? With the ability to go online almost any time and from anywhere, it’s impossible for kids to imagine that things weren’t always this way. Here are a few things that kids in the 2000’s will never know to be true…

1. Internet connection speeds were measured at kbps, not mbps.

Think the constant buffering when you’re watching a YouTube video is annoying? What about the days when we had to wait for a single image to loud, line by line, slowly displaying what we’ve been waiting for and the worse part, the file size was small, not a JPEG or a TIFF, but a BMP file. Internet connections were super slow then compared to today’s broadband speeds.

Dial-up connections usually topped at 56kbps, yes you read that correctly, kbps as in kilobits per second. These days’ 2mbps is usually barely enough for a household of 4 or 5 that simultaneously connects to the web on their laptops, smartphones and tablets.

2. Calling and connecting to the Internet simultaneously was impossible.

Remember the days when you would be chatting on ICQ to your crush and just when you were about to tell them how much you like them, the internet goes dead… you’re currently offline. Your grandma has called the landline for her hour long conversation to everyone in the family cutting out your internet connection. Bummer. Those days you couldn’t surf the web and use the phone at the same time, I know what you’re thinking… how did we survive?

3. People paid to call or to send text messages.

It’s absurd isn’t it… paying for text messages? Messaging and calling can be done practically for free today, thanks to the Internet and you have more ways to reach your family and friends than ever before.

There’s the old mainstay Skype, for example, but you can also call now using Google Hangouts, Viber, WhatsApp, and a host of other similar apps. All you need is an Internet connection to call or message. Just another generation ago, the more you needed to say, the more you paid. Want to know why we all used ‘phone text abbreviation’? The less characters we used, the less we paid!

4. Email was often the only way to access files remotely.

Alright, people could technically access their files everywhere via a web server before the 2000s, but it was something reserved for the more tech-savvy. The likes of Box and Dropbox changed all that, but before that, if you wanted to continue working on your office files at home, you had to email it to yourself and download them in your home computer. It was that complicated. Unlike today’s cloud computing, which already allows you to sync your files across all your devices. You kids sure are lucky to have this kind of access to this – they can never lie about leaving their homework at school with most schools now having online platforms for assignments.

So, how different will technology be when these kids born in the 2000’s grow up and have kids? It is astounding to think how much more immersive and accessible technology will soon become. Along with all these advancements, comes the other side of child geniuses who create new virus’ all the time. If you are perplexed by all this new IT technology, leave it to our friendly team at activIT systems to ensure your IT is protected from threats and supports your business growth.