The Internet in 2008 without high speed access

2008-01-08 One-minute read

Working on tech support in Guatemala City in October 2008 for the Social Forum of the Americas is having a profound impact on my assumptions.

The Internet and all my assumptions about tech are very different in a place without regular, high speed Internet access. It’s not possible to just say it’s like being in New York 10 years ago, because it’s not like that. The Internet I use regularly is an Internet based on an assumption that you have high speed Internet access - an assumption that didn’t exist 10 years ago.

Now, I’m re-thinking everything, like when and how often I install full system upgrades, the value of having installation disks that don’t need a network connection to install an operating system or program, and how our communications protocols should function if we assume inconsistent network connections rather than the opposite.