Quote:
Originally Posted by ImmortalA1000
I meant supplied with the Windows XP PC I bought in 2002. Sold my Pentium 133 in 1996 before values went down to nothing as I had finished my degree course. Never bought another PC as I had a company laptop for my job. It came with some ISP packages.
I can't remember exactly when iBrowse was released for Amiga, you can bet Steve Jobs was annoyed he didn't think of that name for his browser. It's not just ISP support, it's really all the software as a bundle that was on coverdisks/CDs on just about every PC. The first iMac was 1998, but that's really the sort of thing that could have saved Commodore if they lasted 3 more years, an Internet bundle with modem and a full suite of software and ISP subscription for a limited time in the box ready to rock and roll iMac style.
If you ever had the internet not working for a few days you realise PCs are quite boring when there is no internet, certainly the HTTP browser based
internet interest/use pushed sales of 'home PCs' greatly. By 2000 it was unthinkable not to have the internet with a PC at home.
|
Escom did try an internet-ready bundle with the Amiga Surfer pack in mid-1996, but they folded pretty soon after that.
I got my PC online in late 1997 and it definitely felt like the world opening up, with content for what I was into and the ease of downloading game demos etc. Downloading music came pretty soon after that, though I never got into online gaming. So much of what I used was PC-specific, even then, that I was glad to have the same system as (almost) everyone else. I spent nearly a month without internet some years later and definitely missed it badly, though I'd be lying if I said my PC wasn't on just as much as usual.