I literally could not survive in the 90s

You could adjust. We made do.

Now living in the 1890s, that'd be a bitch.

For scientific & historical & sociopolito knowledge, having a nice set of Britannica's around was nice. A mini-library. Also great books, compendiums of one sort or another.

To buy 'on-line' you had magazine ads, tv ads, where you buy over the phone wid your credit card number.

It was fine. Never once did I think Man, I wish there was an easier way of doing this. It was normal life. We just got on with it.

I hope you’re joking. If not it’s nothing to be proud of.

Really? The 90s was literally the best. Most of us who miss it are having a hard time with how messed up things are now. Everyone was happy then. There were no wars. The economy was bangin. Travel was global. Couldn't have been a better time and the internet was around just fine. I remember spending hours in the computer lab looking up the high res photos of the Mars rover. What a blast it was. I feel sorry for the kids born after 1990 who didn't get to experience such great times.

You never used hyperterminal to dial up a libraryand see what books they had on hand?

"I have information at my fingertips at all times."

The information you have at your fingertips now is 90% gobbledegook. Pure low quality crap.

"I couldn't imagine having to drive to a library to research something."

That's pretty ignorant because libraries are still the most reliable source of true information. Also great places to meet high quality good looking women.

"Or phone around everywhere asking questions '

Don't you think that might have been a little easier getting an instant answer than painstakingly having to buy an expensive device, get yourself connected to the internet, get it all booted up and ready and then look up your answer, which may or may not be accurate? I recall being in a job interview prelim. They were testing people for English proficiency. Whoever made the test was smart and had done their homework because the definitions to certain words weren't accurate online. I could see people cheating with their smart phones. I didn't have a phone with me. Those people with their phones didn't make it to the next level. There were at least 3 questions that I remembered that were trick questions, and later, I looked them up online to find the definitions were wrong online and was happy I got them right.

"Or going to a travel agent to book a flight that I can do in 3 minutes online."
lmao are you kidding?! Cheap flights without 12 hour layovers are HARD as hell to find cheap now. There's ALWAYS a catch, like... it's on Spirit Helllines for example. Having a handy dandy flight consolidator that I found in the back of the Sunday paper, who I knew well could get me flights to Paris for $395 nonstop. I could call them up. They'd quote me the price. I could mull it over for 2 weeks and then tell them I'd take it. This worked well for me until 2004ish or so. You're lucky if cheap flights last more than 48 hours any longer.

When you traveled there were even calling cards that would allow you to call from ANY PHONE ANYWHERE for cheap as hell. Now when you travel you have to hunt down sim cards or new burner phones that can waste you 3 days of your trip if you happen to land on a Friday.

The 90s were amazing. Running errands lol is that why there are so many people driving around aimlessly today? Half the time things are out of stock now. They weren't in the 90s. They were always there. Businesses didn't mysteriously disappear and products didn't mysteriously

But there was a freedom which came with it as well. When we talked to someone it was face to face. Everything was more direct in the flesh. Now we've become isolated by online communication.

Sure, I enjoy the ease of acquiring information. If I want to know what's the top movie in Zimbabwe I just look it up online. In the 90's it would take hours of research and even then such info might not even be available.

But there's a downside. There are people who never leave their rooms and conduct all their affairs virtually, both business and personal. That makes for a more isolated artificial existence. We've destroyed the Order of Flesh & Blood.

I love this now. But I'm glad I experienced living in the real world, not the virtual world. It makes me grounded. People born after 1990 lack a certain depth and realism.