What Happened to Plain Old Mail?
by Grandpa Internet
The wife and I finally did it. We bit the computer byte and let our kids talk us into getting a computer. They didn’t play fair in the argument because they blackmailed us with the grandkids, dangling digitized photographs of them in front of our faces while we were visiting them over the holidays. They showed us dozens of pictures we had not seen yet because they don’t print out the pictures anymore and mail them to us. “Pops, if you and mom just had a computer, we could send these pictures of little Chloe and Brennan every day,” said my son. “In fact, look, we can even talk to you live on a video camera anytime you want – it’s called Skype.” Mom said it just wasn’t in our budget, but then they pulled out the next surprise and gave us this laptop that I’m writing on right now.
So, now mom and I are learning all about how to run this thing, including a whole new language. Here are some of the new terms to become familiar with if anyone else wants to take the plunge:
Snail mail: How we have communicated via post for centuries, which is now considered obsolete and old fashioned.
Email: The new way to send mail, invitations, thank you notes, attachments and other correspondence instead of using snail mail.
Gmail: Different than a G-man, gmail is one of the internet email systems to send email on.
Yahoo and Google and Explorer: These are not what you think. In the old days, to “yahoo!” was a way to vocally express something happy; “google” was a way you looked at your girlfriend; and an “explorer” was someone who trekked to the North Pole. Today, these are all different internet “browsers.”
Internet Browser: These are what Yahoo, Google, Explorer and several others are, which are companies that provide a way for us to “surf” the internet for applications, information and just about anything else.
Surfing the Internet: Don’t worry, surfing this way does not include the need to actually get a surf board and find a wave. No. It is the term that describes actually getting onto one of the internet browsers and searching for something on the internet. Although there is no danger of bodily injury in this type of surfing, mom and I have found out that it can cause strain on the eyes and the temporary lapse of time due to how much fun it is.
We were a little tenacious about getting started, but we had a wonderful time with a couple of our grandkids who came over to help us. Now, mom and I can see pictures all of the grandkids (we have 14 of them in 3 different states) all the time, as well as chat on Facebook with them, and actually talk live with them on internet video calls which is almost like being there with them.
Next mom and I will be exploring, or googling, for information to help us plan our next trip to Florida. We’ll be sure to let you know how our surfing turns out. In the meantime, “Yahoo!”
- Grandpa Internet
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