Sometimes, internet connectivity is not the goal. Instead, lack of internet is desired in a handful of cases.
As many of you know, I am a huge advocate of 68K Macs in education. We all know what they can do in terms of enriching an education through programs such as Math Blaster and Carmen Sandiego. In fact, some of us learned a few things from these games when we were children. However, there are other reasons why you may not want a web connection:
1. The web can provide for many distractions (at all age levels--think about it, a computer without chat, social networking sites, online games--this is exactly what you want for your kids who need to focus on homework and studies).
2. There is bad stuff on the web. Yes, we've been hearing this for about 20 years now, but it's true. Besides, kids can get around web filters and disable tracking software--they're tech-savvy and curious, just as we were years ago when we found ways to get around At Ease. Also, some kids are extremely gullible and will fall for anything they read online--be it an unreliable Wikipedia page, a dating profile of a 39 year old ex-con posing as a 13 year old, the temptation to illegally download music, or some offer for free stuff that winds up installing a virus on the computer. Depending on the maturity level of the kid, the internet may not be for them to use unsupervised.
3. Even for those who are mature enough to know how to use the web, it can be distracting! Online chat, social networking sites, fantasy sports, and even forums like this one can get in the way of productivity. Yes, the papers may get done, but they may not be done until 1AM. By using the web-capable computer as a reward for finishing the paper, there is incentive to get it done on the machine without a web connection. (If it has to be turned in online, simply put it on a floppy and copy it over--Snow Leopard can read floppies, it just can't write them.
4. I'm sure some of us on this forum like to go camping. (I mean real camping, as in going outdoors with a tent--not sleeping outside the mall where the newest Apple Store is about to open with an iPad, iPhone, two iPods, and a MacBook in tow). When you camp, you usually do so to get away from the fast-paced, tech-heavy, overindustrialized world we live in today and sit back to enjoy the simplicity of nature and a world without distractions. Even if you don't camp, you probably like to take a vacation on a beach now and then to escape the daily grind. Think of a web-free computer as a camping trip--back to the basics.
With the last point in mind, we like to preserve land for campers so they can go and enjoy the same camping experience the great grandparents they talk about over a campfire did years ago. Of course, this land has to be maintained and used to be worth preserving. Our old Macs are the same way. We aren't going to let camping die out because we want our children to have the same memories we did of escaping the complexity of society that we did. Likewise, we shouldn't let these old Macs die out and need to do our part to run them regularly, store them at room temperature, take the PRAM batteries out when not in use, re-cap the boards if need be, celebrate them for their virtues, use them when the need calls, and preserve the experience of a computer without the treacheries of the internet for future generations--the "camping" experience of computing for many.
(If you were in Boy Scouts, you probably remember the Outdoor Code. The last sentence in the preceding paragraph is the 68K version of the Outdoor Code and should be memorized by all users of older Macs--a request from Scoutmaster Scott).
As many of you know, I am a huge advocate of 68K Macs in education. We all know what they can do in terms of enriching an education through programs such as Math Blaster and Carmen Sandiego. In fact, some of us learned a few things from these games when we were children. However, there are other reasons why you may not want a web connection:
1. The web can provide for many distractions (at all age levels--think about it, a computer without chat, social networking sites, online games--this is exactly what you want for your kids who need to focus on homework and studies).
2. There is bad stuff on the web. Yes, we've been hearing this for about 20 years now, but it's true. Besides, kids can get around web filters and disable tracking software--they're tech-savvy and curious, just as we were years ago when we found ways to get around At Ease. Also, some kids are extremely gullible and will fall for anything they read online--be it an unreliable Wikipedia page, a dating profile of a 39 year old ex-con posing as a 13 year old, the temptation to illegally download music, or some offer for free stuff that winds up installing a virus on the computer. Depending on the maturity level of the kid, the internet may not be for them to use unsupervised.
3. Even for those who are mature enough to know how to use the web, it can be distracting! Online chat, social networking sites, fantasy sports, and even forums like this one can get in the way of productivity. Yes, the papers may get done, but they may not be done until 1AM. By using the web-capable computer as a reward for finishing the paper, there is incentive to get it done on the machine without a web connection. (If it has to be turned in online, simply put it on a floppy and copy it over--Snow Leopard can read floppies, it just can't write them.
4. I'm sure some of us on this forum like to go camping. (I mean real camping, as in going outdoors with a tent--not sleeping outside the mall where the newest Apple Store is about to open with an iPad, iPhone, two iPods, and a MacBook in tow). When you camp, you usually do so to get away from the fast-paced, tech-heavy, overindustrialized world we live in today and sit back to enjoy the simplicity of nature and a world without distractions. Even if you don't camp, you probably like to take a vacation on a beach now and then to escape the daily grind. Think of a web-free computer as a camping trip--back to the basics.
With the last point in mind, we like to preserve land for campers so they can go and enjoy the same camping experience the great grandparents they talk about over a campfire did years ago. Of course, this land has to be maintained and used to be worth preserving. Our old Macs are the same way. We aren't going to let camping die out because we want our children to have the same memories we did of escaping the complexity of society that we did. Likewise, we shouldn't let these old Macs die out and need to do our part to run them regularly, store them at room temperature, take the PRAM batteries out when not in use, re-cap the boards if need be, celebrate them for their virtues, use them when the need calls, and preserve the experience of a computer without the treacheries of the internet for future generations--the "camping" experience of computing for many.
(If you were in Boy Scouts, you probably remember the Outdoor Code. The last sentence in the preceding paragraph is the 68K version of the Outdoor Code and should be memorized by all users of older Macs--a request from Scoutmaster Scott).