A Tiered Internet

I few months back I wrote about what older computers should be capable of. Now, let's look at the other side of the equation and explore online access in its purest forms. And yes, that is meant to be plural.

We know that older computers can do pretty much everything we ask them ; that they did these things before and we were happy should pretty much prove this. I know of a few people who access the Internet on what can only be described as truly ancient computers, and to them I say bravo. The question becomes one of access; what are you willing to live with, what are you willing to live without?

If we look at the Internet as a tiered system, it makes more sense. This is not the same tier system that has been proposed by the ISP's, let's be clear, though it certainly has much in common.

Multimedia Internet - At the top is going to be the bulk of high bandwidth sites, the ones that are going to tax software and hardware and therefore require newer operating systems and equipment. These are sites like Facebook, YouTube and any site that relies heavily upon video and software such as Flash.

Basic Internet - The next layer down are more static sites, ones that may have plenty of graphics but much less Flash and video usage. Some modern protocols may be found here, but they are not as common and tend to be a bit more subtle. A good deal of the Internet still lives here, the bulk in fact.

Another layer down we find the limits of older HTML. Everything here is static, though animated GIF's Static Internet - are still found and have been here since the Internet exploded in the mid-1990's. The old GeoCities lived here, as did most of your original DIY sites.

Simple Internet - Down further. This is the earliest incarnation of the World Wide Web, the Internet today. Completely static, few images, and those that can be found exists in the form of links.

Shell Access - Finally, the underbelly; this is the very backbone of the Internet. You can access it through a terminal application, and be prepared to know Unix commands. There is an amazing community here of hardcore fanatics, and you can still do quite a bit here, including email and surfing the Internet.

Now, let's compare these layers to the categories I created in "You Got On The Internet How?!?".

	Multimedia Internet	Basic Internet	Static Internet	Simple Internet	Domain of Shells
0-8 years	x	x	x	x	x
9-13 years		x	x	x	x
14-18 years			x	x	x
19 + years				x	x

So, again, it comes down to whatever you want to do. Knowing what your computer is truly capable of is the trick. Chances are, it is capable of far more than you think.