Obviously I’ve passed the curmudgeon stage and gone straight to Crusty Olde Farte. It seemed to jump right up and bite me, as opposed to filling out the paperwork and waiting to be approved (by whatever body approves it). I realize Crusty Olde Fartes don’t use linux, but let’s suspend disbelief for just this moment, shall we? Thanks.

Today’s great indication would be the E-word - `Experience’.

When I go to a website, I want to read it, not experience it.
I firmly believe that a display won’t provide the correct tools to experience a site.
Maybe I’m just looking for some info for work. I don’t need to experience the directions on how to do something in a domain with Active Directory. Simply understanding them would be a big plus, don’t you think?

When I use a media player, I want to watch or listen, not to experience it.
I don’t need to run `visualizations’ to listen to music. In fact, that’s why it’s called music - because you LISTEN to it.

I don’t need the player to organize my collection. Nor do I need it to put everything in alphabetical order, sort by artist, or ask Steve Jobs’ permission to put the music on my portable player (thank you, iPod). Heading out to a huge database to fill in the release date and who picked whose nose on which track is also not a major requirement for me.

Another category that I completely fail to get is online apps. If you managed to divert a few mortgage payments to purchase MS Office or if you downloaded Open Office for free, why would you need to do your work online? Are you always going to have access? Will your info be there next time? Will the SITE be there next time? Why do you need to download your own documents? I believe this is what a coworker refers to as `a solution in search of a problem (like VOIP)’.

Online video often leaves me scratching my head. YouTube is one thing, but Joost really boggles my mind. Online video is a concept that has been in the works since there’s been an online, but never successfully.

Tired of hearing all the praise and screams, I tried Joost out for a night. This experience left me no more illuminated or fulfilled than I was before I tested it.

Joost features a stunning lack of selection of many video feeds, geared to thirteen year old boys with Attention Deficit Disorder, thirteen year old girls with Attention Deficit Disorder, and music fans (provided they’re fans of hits of the last ten minutes and have Attention Deficit Disorder).

Granted, I’m not your standard viewer, but there was absolutely nothing for me (even with my Attention Deficit Disorder). No classic rock, no tech shows, not even any decent car chases or shows about people taping their pets playing musical instruments or performing surgery.

On top of all this, all of the tremendously tittilating content requires a high speed internet connection. I an an unfortunate victim of Comcast Cable, which offers unlimited high speed downloads (unless of course you try to download unlimited amounts, in which case Comcast suspends your service until you understand that you went over the limit. Unfortunately, Comcast won’t tell you WHAT the limit is - only that it’s unlimited).

With a total lack of content plus a big hit against my (limited) unlimited downloads, I did the only sensible thing: I deleted Joost that moment.