New Poll - Whats the Internet worth to you?

[Pappy]

I marked $10,000 but probably wouldn't take even the 20K. Gas and time saved on calling around or running down sources / comparison prices, Craigslist and EBay bargain finds, on line ordering....

Add the entertainment factor....

[LarryG]

The poll asks a thought-provoking question. Occupational use of the Internet probably should have been excluded, as that's obviously a different situation.

I've been online continuously since 1989. I pay most of my bills online, do most of my shopping online, do a lot of my socializing online, do even more of my research and reference activity online. But I don't know how much of that is necessary, how much is because it's available and it's convenient. It's a variation on the old "If you build it, they will come" thing. They built the Internet, so here I am. If they hadn't built it, I'd have found another way.

I shut off my Internet access at home years ago, when there was nothing but slow (VERY slow) dial-up available. Broadband has been available for six or seven years, but I never bothered to sign up. I went completely without online access at home on evenings and weekends until just about one year ago, when I got my iPhone, and it has proven to be all I really need at home since I'm on a computer all day at work. The one "essential" capability it provides is email, but if it didn't provide that ... well, hey, it is a phone.

So I thought it over and voted $6000, which works out to $500 a month. I recently bought a new car and the payments are about that much, and I envisioned someone saying, "Would you give up the Internet for a year if I made your car payments for that year?" And I decided, Yeah, I'd take that deal. (Meaning, I'd give up access both with my phone AND my personal usage at the office.) Not because I need the extra $500 all that badly, rather to see if I could do it.

But I really don't know. If it actually happened, I might find that even $20,000 wouldn't have been enough.

Cool poll, Loring. Really makes you think.

[LCHIEN]

The poll asks a thought-provoking question. Occupational use of the Internet probably should have been excluded, as that's obviously a different situation.
...
Cool poll, Loring. Really makes you think.

Thanks, Larry, I try to provoke thought!
I think you're right about occupational use... but it wasn't mentioned in the original poll I read about.

[dbhost]

An interesting thought has been knocking around my head about this whole deal... What would I do if I couldn't work in I.T. where internet communications is such a key component. Prior to my retraining, I worked as a mechanic, eventually working my way into high end imports, I have worked on cars, including road testing them, that most people only dream of getting a glimpse of. However that was a long time ago, and I am a lot heavier now than I was then. I don't think spinning wrenches on Benzes, or Bimmers would be a problem any more, but forget the Porsches, Jags, or anything Italian. Their scale and mine don't match...

Right out of high school I worked 2 jobs simultaneously. A part time service station mechanic during the week, and a hunting guide during the weekends. It was actually effectively the same job as I got one paycheck from the same guy, just two different duties. I LOVED doing the hunting guide thing and would probably have to go out west and drag tourists and buisnessmen out to where the deer and elk are... It's been a long time, but I am sure I could pick it up again quick...

[leehljp]

One other area of value that has not been discussed is the internets access to information that would be very limited and probably expensive otherwise.

While I am not on very many forums, I have saved quite a bit of money from proper information that I would not have had otherwise. I have learned things in short order that would have taken considerable research in a library or phone calls and conversations.

I have learned a lot about culture personally in other parts of the country and other countries on this forum and others too. My international news sources have been greatly expanded too, because of the internet. Google Earth has taken me to places that I have never traveled also.

Lots of ways that my mind has been expanded because of the internet. And Best of all is the folks I have become friends with here and on IAP (pen forum). I can't put a price on these things!

EDIT IN:
Being that I don't read long manuals because of the male that I am,
. . If it were not for the internet and the old Ryobi Forum, I would probably still be using the SMT fence with the pivot pin in the center slot and would have probably given up on using the SMT at all within a short time!

[Black wallnut]

I voted however I was only considering giving it up when not job related. Like many my job is heavily dependant on the net.

[JimD]

It's an interesting question but misguided in my opinion. The possibility of the internet going away seems awfully remote. Somebody paying so you would abstain seems even less likely. In reality, what I will pay to get internet access is the minimum I have to for the service level I want. While I might pay more if I had to, I won't pay more than this minimum. That might frustrate people who have some "great idea" that would work only if people paid a little more but I think that is a poor business model. A smart consumer only pays the minimum. The minimum may consider service level and lots of factors but we still won't pay more just because somebody wants us to.

There was also fully functional email before there was internet. I could live without on-line purchases and the other things facilitated by the internet. I would want to keep email but I had it before there was an internet so I presume I could have it again without internet access. But what I expect to do is to continue to pay on the order of $50/mth for an internet connection at home. If somebody offers me decent service at $35 I'll take it.

Jim

[LCHIEN]

It's an interesting question but misguided in my opinion. The possibility of the internet going away seems awfully remote. Somebody paying so you would abstain seems even less likely. In reality, what I will pay to get internet access is the minimum I have to for the service level I want. While I might pay more if I had to, I won't pay more than this minimum. That might frustrate people who have some "great idea" that would work only if people paid a little more but I think that is a poor business model. A smart consumer only pays the minimum. The minimum may consider service level and lots of factors but we still won't pay more just because somebody wants us to.

There was also fully functional email before there was internet. I could live without on-line purchases and the other things facilitated by the internet. I would want to keep email but I had it before there was an internet so I presume I could have it again without internet access. But what I expect to do is to continue to pay on the order of $50/mth for an internet connection at home. If somebody offers me decent service at $35 I'll take it.

Jim

Actually Jim, the point is NOT how much are you willing to pay for internet service, but what is all that the internet brings to you, worth? That is the point of the survey to which I read.

There was e-mail before the internet but it was within closed networks, or you had to call into a specific server. Mail was not readily forwarded across isolated networks.

[LarryG]

One other area of value that has not been discussed is the internets access to information that would be very limited and probably expensive otherwise.

This, in a nutshell, is the source of my hesitation. Every day there are many, many things I do on the Internet that have become ingrained to the point I no longer think about them, which means I wouldn't miss what I have until it wasn't there. Quick and virtually instantaneous access to answers about virtually anything tops the list.

A simple example: not long ago I was in the local Sam's Club, perusing their selection of five dollar DVDs. There was one particular movie that interested me; I don't recall the title but the plot synopsis sounded intriguing and it had a strong cast. I remembered it being in the theaters, but couldn't recall hearing much about it. So I pulled out my iPhone, launched the Flixster app, and within a minute or so found out why: it was a dud, not even worth five bucks. Naturally, I put it back.

Okay, so that's a small thing, but it's also an incredibly powerful small thing. That $5 DVD could just as easily have been a a $200 cordless drill-driver, or a $1000 refrigerator. Without the Internet, how do you obtain information like this that quickly, that easily, no matter where you are, and no matter when? The answer is, you don't.

[Cochese]

EDIT IN:
Being that I don't read long manuals because of the male that I am,
. . If it were not for the internet and the old Ryobi Forum, I would probably still be using the SMT fence with the pivot pin in the center slot and would have probably given up on using the SMT at all within a short time!

Wait...what?

[LCHIEN]

Wait...what?

I think Hank was referring to a misuse issue some people have with the BT3 miter fence where they put the pivot pin of the miter fence into the center slot rather than one of the side holes. THe miter fence is then poorly supported and easily gets knocked out of alignment when under any torque from pushing wood into the blade.

Hank was probably one of those who found out what he was doing wrong in one of the many discussions on the subject wayyyyy back. I haven't actually heard of anyone doing this for a long time, but it is covered in the FAQ as a result.

[RAFlorida]

For all the information that I gather

from the internet, I voted at the high rate. I'm retired so not job related, but the information, news and the plethora of knowledge that I get about every day makes it rough going without the internet for a year.
If you've never had the internet, then you can not miss it; but once you've tasted the forbidden fruit, it's hard doing without.

[leehljp]

I think Hank was referring to a misuse issue some people have with the BT3 miter fence where they put the pivot pin of the miter fence into the center slot rather than one of the side holes. THe miter fence is then poorly supported and easily gets knocked out of alignment when under any torque from pushing wood into the blade.

Hank was probably one of those who found out what he was doing wrong in one of the many discussions on the subject wayyyyy back. I haven't actually heard of anyone doing this for a long time, but it is covered in the FAQ as a result.

Right On, Loring! That was a problem for several people back in 2000 - 2004 or 5, including yours truly!

[jackellis]

Let me count the ways:

Work. As far back as 1998, I was researching the state of the electricity market in the UK. All of their discussion papers could be downloaded, which was very convenient.

Aviation: self-briefed weather, airport information, and now the maps and charts I use in the cockpit get downloaded to an iPad instead of hunting for them in a local pilot shop that's no longer available up here.

Entertainment: I can check the TV guid, look at YouTube videos, etc.

Shopping: other than groceries, a limited selection of hardware, and ski gear, shops are at least 45 miles away.

Financial management: I manage my retirement money myself. It would be a lot more difficult and expensive if I didn't have access to research, news and annual reports.

Education and self-improvement: I need to take a boating safety course before I rent a boat this summer. There aren't any classes scheduled locally, but there is an online class.

News and current events: I get news from all over the world.

We pay less for Internet than for cable TV, but I can assure you we use the Internet a lot more than we use the cable.

[jwoldsr]

Only $20,000?!