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From the Beeb:

A tech veteran is boldly going where few of his friends and colleagues dare follow - he has cut his links to cyberspace and hit the road to find out more about life on the other side of the Digital Divide.

For the past 20 years, Steve Cisler has proudly worn the badge of one of the world's digerati. How could he not? The 61-year-old lives in the heart of Silicon Valley, and he worked at that holy grail of computers, Apple. He also set up many projects around the globe to help others get online.

But this week Mr Cisler has pulled the plug on his link to cyberspace and is now a man living life offline.

"A lot of the people I know and work with see those offline as needing to be saved, that they are doomed if they are not online. But I don't believe that. I think the vast majority of people believe there is more to life than the internet."

Such talk is practically heresy in a part of the world that's earned its fame and fortune from computers and the world wide web. But Mr Cisler hasn't gone to the dark side without good reason. His decision to cut the umbilical cord with his internet service provider is being done in the name of research.

Full story here

Could you unplug from the net? How long into your self impossed "Cold Turky" do you think you could get before returning to the dark side? Or are you made of sturner stuff, and can live without it?

As for me - "I can handle it - I can quit any time I want...."

 

Well, I would call this far from heroic I did quit "cold turkey" for about 4 years without any withdrawl symptoms, except for that nagging itch to "hit the power button"...... I finaly got back online after actualy buying a computer of my own (yes, I bought my first computer, and every computer since then, take that you people who get their parents to buy it for emm {that was ment to be funny btw}) and have been "hooked" as it we're ever since.

 

Um, probably about 2 days before I'd get fired for not doing my job...

 

Didn't use my computer or the net for almost 2 months last summer. Just couldn't be bothered.

 

last 2 days when i went home at Xmas... then back on as often as i could

 

last year at university, when living in halls

 

Ive gone for months at a time while in the military.

I do find myself more stressed if I cant play when I want to though.

 

to me it's just boredom relief, nothing more

 

Welp, after tomorrow I'll be going to school at 8 AM and staying through musical rehearsal until 10PM... so I probably won't be online until the 4th of February... Is that long enough for you?
I admit that I almost feel like I run two lives. Only because when I don't get to the computer at least once a day, I have to catch up on previous days... as if I missed school or work...

 

It's just boredom relief for me too. Nothing else to do in this little village, though I have to admit I get hooked and time just dissapears..
If there's no computer around then I don't miss it, but if there's one there then I just have to use it

 

I'm in the same boat, small village, and I've never been much of a socialiser, so I spend alot of my spare time on the net (as opposed to watching T.V? I wonder which his more productive ). If I've got something to do, then I don't really mind being away from a PC, it's when you're sitting there twiddling your thumbs for hours when you miss it.

 

I ought to but dont. I avoid the internet in vacations but that's only cos we have 56k dial-up at home. However i persuaded the folks to fork out for broadband and a wan so it's all downhill from here...

the Internet is the biggest tool for procrastination ever. For example, i curse the ******* who introduced me to this site aaaagh I will fail my degree...