12
PSA: Dial-up turned 'working from home' into a family negotiation in the 90s
I was just remembering how my mom's office tried letting her work from home sometimes back in '97. She had to use our family computer with that screechy dial-up modem. Every time she needed to check email or send a report, we all had to stay off the phone for hours. It felt like a big deal, like we were helping with a space mission or something, lol. If my brother or I accidentally picked up the receiver, her connection would drop and she'd have to start over. Her boss would get annoyed because replies took so long, and they'd just tell her to come into the office instead. That whole experience made me see how new and clumsy remote work was back then. It's funny to think how far we've come from those days.
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
kelly_lee886h ago
That "helping with a space mission" bit is so true. The whole house had to go on high alert for a basic email download, like we were defusing a bomb. One wrong move, someone picks up the phone, and the mission is a total failure. It's hilarious how something we treat as a constant background thing now needed a full family meeting and silence back then. We've gone from treating the internet like a fragile science project to it just being the thing that lets you watch videos while making a sandwich.
6