I was asked "Do I have to use a computer to get on the internet?"

Now, I have tried to look at this question objectiviely...

1) I guess you could use your X-Box. The average lay-person would probably not think of that as a "computer" evejn though it is... technically...

2) I guess you could use your cell phone to access things like email and downloads of certain types...

3)In many instances people use things like Blackberrys or even windows mini workstations that looks like a blackberry to access the internet and people think these are not "computers"...

But, I am still struggling with people not understanding what the internet is. I mean, do they think it is like TV or radio where you just tune in with something?

I was asked this question by someone that (until now) I thought of as relatively intelligent... which is what is causing me this mental struggle.

How can you not know what the internet is? My mind is boggled.. somebody help me here...

Everything you have mentioned there is a computer. Cell Phones contain a CPU, memory and an Operating system. X-Box is just a nice looking case with CPU memory hard disk etc...Blackberry is also a computer as well. People think of computers as a desktop on your system which is wrong. Like I always say before you buy a car you should read the manual...unfortunetly many do not. The same applies for computers. Nobody reads manual these days they just go at it trying to figure it out with time. If everybody who uses the computer today was fully educated in them, I would predict DDoS attacks by using deflectors would be a thing of the past. Unfortunetly it is not so and hackers use this to their advantage.

People are not always as intelligent as they might seem...but many do like to act as though they are intelligent.

You can access Internet through an X-Box??

Hell you can hit up HD from your PSP - I have, and do!

And it is fairly easy to not know what the Internet is. You at one time did not know, someone had to teach you. In fact, you at one time didn't even know how to talk - someone had to teach you how to do that as well. But no one called you stupid, or insinuated it because you did not know. They taught you.

John, something tells me you're a father.

Haha Dan, You are correct sir, in fact I'm on Amazon.com right now hittin' up the Reader Rabbit stuff

rofl, true....guess I can say I'm a member of the club now.

Dont nearly get enough time near my PC anymore

but, hey, atleast theres time for HD!

John - I never called anyone stupid It just seemed more of a common sense thing since the "Internet" is such a prevalent part of our lives in this era. I STILL think of this person as very intelligent. One question does not an idiot make LOL

And to follow up on that story, the question made sense once I talked directly to the person responsible for the question...

You see the person I was talking to was a secretary that had nothing to do with anyof this. The person really asking was a store owner wanting to run security cameras and did not neccessarily want traditional internet access (if that makes sense). So, I guess I was the one asking the stupid question after all...

I was working technical support for a cable company once, and a woman called in to tell me that her internet connection was not working. Thinking to have her recycle her connection, I asked her to shut her computer down. She responded that she did not have a computer yet... Makes you wonder.