I was there, it was more like understanding that the internet was a new way to offer literally every service, and everyone was in a scramble to do that, but because nobody had ever built those things before, we really didn't know how!
So much of what is taken for granted in today's tech age was being cobbled together with love tape and bubblegum back then.
Just on the issue of disc rot, I feel like I have something to add to the conversation that's more than a personal anecdote.
For many years I worked as a game developer and I did tons of multimedia software, it would not be an exaggeration to say that in my career I personally oversaw the burning of over 100,000 discs, and that's not counting manufacturing or high-run final product.
There's actually a pretty high failure rate, even on new disks. Most that are about 7 years have a 50% failure rate, anything after 10 years if you're lucky you can use software.
In the above examples I'm talking about discs that the consumer grade hardware can burn. It doesn't matter that we used the highest quality equipment, it really doesn't change the formula. Commercially made ones have a much higher durability, somewhere around double.
So basically any disk you own, regardless of where and when it was made, you've got 15 to 20 years at best and then it's nothing but a crap shoot.
I was a professional developer in a wide range of gaming areas for about 20 years... Looking back, I can honestly say that 95% of the work I did ended up as a vapor... The 5% that made it to market were so fleeting...
I derived my satisfaction not from completing projects, but solving the underlying problems. That kept me very engaged.
Young men who start to behave this way are lacking direction and aren't self-starters. So to cope with the fact they aren't accomplishing anything or going anywhere in life, they assume an outwardly-accusing posture.
Contrary to the image peddled by the grifters, every guy I've known with the "alpha" mentality has been a dishwasher, car porter, snow shoveler, or unemployed cretin.
I do a 20 minute quick-rise, then 5-10 minutes kneading, then 45 minute rise. A quick fold-over then another hour rise. Usually it's ready to bake, and at that point I weigh and portion. Sometimes another rise if conditions require it. I cut it with a plastic edge, put the blobs of dough on a cookie pan covered with shrink-wrap so as not to dry out, and when frozen I bag them up.
Once I learned to make dough, I realized it's actually a total of 30 minutes work distributed over 4 hours. Reorganize and re-prioritizing my time made it work. Simple planning.
If I make dough, I make 2Kg so I cut it up, freeze the chunks I wont be immediately using and I have dough for as long as I need. Why make new dough every time? Batches.
It's way simpler than you guys think. Scoffing is fun, but getting off the "convenience train" was the best thing I ever did. Requires a bit of upfront adjustment and learning, but change isn't free.
edit: Another guy above was mean/joking about not having a job. Think, guys. If I save $300 on bread that's $300 I don't have to earn at work and pay taxes on. I win big for just learning to stop the bs already and take control.
In full forensic accounting, you make/save money by getting off the "convenience" train.
Once you realize that a checkerboard costs $5 but a piece of paper and 24 pennies costs... well nothing... it starts to make more sense. Because most stuff in life, you use once then throw away or stuff into the closet and never think about again.
Breadmaking is just one great example. If I save $300 by making some bread I have to earn $300 less at work. I work less now.
As a person with a grab-bag of disorders, I do get it.
I have been on my own journey of going from a great technical communicator, to a great human communicator. There's a big difference that I wasn't able to see before.
One of the things I've discovered is that in irl interactions there is an undesired aspect of "heavy lifting" that has to be done on "your" side. That involves a lot of "listening" to how what you are saying is being received, and then on-the-fly recognizing and adjusting to that.
I used to resent that and feel I shouldn't have to and that other people should be able to "hear" me "plainly" without transforming it through their own emotional framework first. I've since learned that was naive and self-centered of me - A denial-based assumption on how communication works, that honestly for me looking back, was me being lazy.
I don't buy a wire- or mechanical- puzzle I make one. If I want a tile-based game (think scrabble, qwirkle, rummy) I make them with upcycled junk and paint markers.
I don't buy bread or pizza crusts or tortillas, I make them. I can make a month of bready products in an optimized hour of work for 1/30th the price.
I play indie games by inexperienced developers who charge $4.99 because I'd rather try new mechanics even if they fall flat.
I'm currently precipitating copper into an aqueous solution on my stovetop and later I'll try electroplating the copper onto some random thing. Because this is free and fun AS FUCK. Forget going to the arcade or to a pre-packaged event show or movie.
I am just drifting away from everything that's not hand made. Fuck it already.
You're wasting your breath. These people are smart enough to know that you can connect (hell, even to an ad-hoc network if you're so f'king paranoid) once to FW update then hard-reset. These people are just being pissy. They also know that "IF dIsPLaY PIcTuRe No BUg PosSiBLe" are absolutely lying to themselves because they're not actually that technically illiterate.
I hate it when people pretend to be dumb just to continually underscore a feeble point.
FYI "not sugarcoating things" is the asshole's mantra for saying anything they want with callous disregard to how its received. Based on displayed attitude in your comment, I sincerely doubt you are as kind as you think.
Mother's Little Helper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OusADDs_3ps