I have to admit...

I'm a bit of a net-a-phobe. Not the internet as such, more the modern version of it.

Recent events haven't helped much. I've had to close down a blog because of problems.

Luckily for aged folks like me, who remember the freer, non-commercial net that is admittedly harder to use, the old version is still around, built into modern versions of operating systems. I've slipped back into using it recently, and man, is it a breath of fresh air.

With a modern computer, it's blindingly fast, and seamlessly integrates with modern home networks too. It's not for everyone though - it tends to be text based, though pictures are possible - if you don't mind converting them to, put simply, indecipherable text files in blocks that need rejoining and converting back again (Mime Files). No Adverts !! But extra work.

But in my position, the modern net just can't be ignored. A friend emailed me and remarked "Hows your lifeline?". They know I prefer the, as they put it, 'the old fashioned way', and not being an out-person much, my life line, as they put it, is that I have a reasonably powerful system.

My graphics card is not the greatest or newest, but it does have two outputs, that I normally use to run two monitors. But with a couple of minutes work, I can feed my computer to my 40" Plasma tv, connect in a 5 year old web camera, and an even older microphone to my computer.

Then I'm away having a coffee with an office in Tokyo, joking with a plumber on the Pole, (now, there's a job!), brainstorming a problem with a lawyer in LA, or being made fun of by a Preacher in California, or a gentle argument and a beer with a scientist in Germany.

So the 'new' ways can often be much more fun - and if it ain't fun, it ain't worth doing, old or new.

Try it yourself.