[Series] ~Showa PC Geek Chronicles~ Part 11: The "Always-On Revolution" - To ADSL and Fiber. The Day the Internet Became Like "Air"

"Beeee... gaga... kyuru kyuru..."

Anyone who remembers that connection sound is already a true "Showa PC geek."

Connecting a modem to a phone line and connecting to the internet via dial-up. You couldn't use the home phone while connected. Images took forever to load, and opening a single JPEG took several dozen seconds. We would wait for 11 PM, the start of the Tele-hodai flat-rate period, and browse while rubbing our sleepy eyes.

But that was the cutting edge at the time.

The Shock of ADSL

The turning point was around 1999. The atmosphere changed when Yahoo! BB appeared in Japan and started distributing modems for free on the streets.

The concept of "flat-rate, always-on connection" appeared in a world where "communication = time-based billing" had been the norm.

What was ADSL?

ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) was a technology that realized high-speed communication while using existing telephone lines. By inserting a device called a "splitter" that allowed the use of both a phone and the internet simultaneously, it finally became possible to "use the phone even while on the net."

Speeds went from 1.5Mbps to 8Mbps, and eventually to 12Mbps and 24Mbps.

Compared to the 56kbps of dial-up, it was already another dimension.

Web pages opened "instantly."
Images displayed smoothly.
MP3 downloads finished in a realistic amount of time.

The experience of "the internet is fast" was, in itself, a thrill.

How Always-On Connection Changed Life

In the dial-up era, the internet was something you "connected to."

However, after ADSL, the internet became something that was "always connected."

Once you turned on your PC, you were already on the net.
Checking email or browsing the news no longer required any special rituals.

This change was psychologically enormous.

1. Messenger Culture

A prime example born from always-on connections is real-time communication.

ICQ
MSN Messenger

Staying logged in, and hearing a sound when someone comes online.
Conversations that start with "Are you there?"

This was a culture that was difficult to establish with dial-up.

2. The Quickening of the Video Era

Around 2005, services premised on broadband began to appear.

YouTube

The experience of "watching videos via streaming" was impossible without high line speeds.
It wasn't about downloading and then playing.
You press the play button, and it starts immediately.

This, too, is a product of always-on connections.

3. File Sharing and the Darkness

There was light and shadow.

WinMX
Winny

With the ability to exchange large-capacity data, P2P software became popular.
It was also an era where technical romanticism and social issues erupted simultaneously.

And then to Fiber

What came after ADSL was FTTH, or what is known as fiber-optic lines.

The shock of fiber optics

100Mbps.
Even if it was a theoretical value, that number was on a different level.

Just getting 20-30Mbps in actual measurements was a shock.
Large files would download "without waiting."

The days of worrying about ADSL link speeds and being swayed by distance attenuation were over.

The Internet becomes "air"

With the spread of fiber-optic lines, Wi-Fi routers began to enter homes.

AirMac

Wireless LAN became the norm, and laptops were freed from cables. Eventually, smartphones appeared.

iPhone

An always-on device in your pocket. The very idea of "connecting to the internet" disappeared.

The internet is "something that is there." It became an infrastructure that exists just like air.

A revolution for geeks

For Showa-era PC geeks, this change was not just about increased speed.

・Bulletin boards where people competed over connection speeds
・Information warfare over choosing an ISP
・The joy and sorrow of watching the link lamp blink
・Showing off screenshots on speed test sites

The connection was a "hobby."

However, as the era of always-on connections progressed, the connection itself stopped being noticed. It's fast, so it's taken for granted. It's connected, so it's taken for granted.

When technology matures, the romance quietly melts into daily life.

Still, I remember

The day my ADSL was first activated. The moment the modem lamp lit up and the "link" indicator stabilized.

That speed when I opened the browser. The shock when the page displayed in an instant.

"The future has arrived"

I truly thought so.

Now, 1Gbps is not rare. 4K video is the norm. Photos are automatically saved to the cloud.

But, I might never be able to experience that excitement from back then ever again.

🔔 Part 12 Preview

"My Encounter with Custom-Built PCs"
~Core i3 and the Temptations of Osu Ameyoko~

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