Newsweek Article Bashing the Internet From 1995

[1ofTheseKnights]

http://www.newsweek.com/clifford-stoll-why-web-wont-be-nirvana-185306

Kinda funny; my favorite:

"Then there's cyberbusiness. We're promised instant catalog shopping—just point and click for great deals. We'll order airline tickets over the network, make restaurant reservations and negotiate sales contracts. Stores will become obselete. So how come my local mall does more business in an afternoon than the entire Internet handles in a month? Even if there were a trustworthy way to send money over the Internet—which there isn't—the network is missing a most essential ingredient of capitalism: salespeople."

 

[jetsaholic]

LOL!

 

[UCFWayne]

Nice find! That was an awesome read.

 

[brahmanknight]

That piece seems to be dug out by random websites every year.

Isn't there a video clip of Katie Curic and one of them Gumbels talking about not understanding the Internet?

 

[crambone]

Nice

 

[OmniKnight]

Jury is still out on long term viability of the www for consumer business

Sure, you can do all of those things listed above today. But at what cost and risk?

Internet transactions are good for (1) finding otherwise inacceissible items, and (2) convenience. I still prefer conducting transactions through brick and mortar businesses for the majority of goods... I want to see and feel what I'm buying rather than guess, and a salesperson goes a long way in the purchasing process (when knowledgable). I still find the value of consumer reviews to be quite low... And it's dropping as time goes on and more lazy life type buffoons gain ability to post poorly-constructed opinions

Then there's the matter of security. Payment card data and PII is terrifyingly unsecure traveling across the web and through merchant sites. It's easy to see a day in the future where there's a breach on the scale of inciting debilitating fear on a massive scale... to the point where internet transactions come to a screeching halt. Target barely scratched the surface of what could happen. If that trust is broken, everything changes

There's still something very valid to say about going off the grid

 

[brahmanknight]

There is nothing I prefer to buy in person v online.

I will buy at a brick and mortar if I need something fast that I'm not sure is avail on Amazon same day, or if I just happen to be out and see something.

Security wise, didn't SSA get hacked last year this time? You don't need to be actively purchasing online to get your ID stolen.