Re:Ask HN: What was it like to use BBS?
by VLM on Sunday November 07, 2021 @02:43PM
(#29142752)
I would also toss out the concept that what moderns call "speed" is actually latency.
Latency of even a 300 baud modem is essentially instant, in some cases faster than modern heavily buffered cable modem services. Hit enter and it starts responding instantly.
People are used to a second or so latency on modern web pages, when shopping on amazon or whatever. Then they see a 300 baud modem vs a 30 megabit cable modem and think if "hit a key see response" takes a second at 30 megabits/sec then at 300 bits/sec 100K times slower, it must be "hit a key see response 100K seconds later" LOL no nothing like that at all.
UIs were generally lower latency aka "faster" back in the old days than they are now.
Re:Ask HN: What was it like to use BBS?
by jart on Monday November 08, 2021 @02:30PM
(#29153208)
Bufferbloat is easy to address if you've got a $50 ubiquiti router that can shape traffic. A bigger I'd say is when ISPs add jitter and other forms of unreliability to make SSH unusable unless you upgrade to business class.
Latency of even a 300 baud modem is essentially instant, in some cases faster than modern heavily buffered cable modem services. Hit enter and it starts responding instantly.
People are used to a second or so latency on modern web pages, when shopping on amazon or whatever. Then they see a 300 baud modem vs a 30 megabit cable modem and think if "hit a key see response" takes a second at 30 megabits/sec then at 300 bits/sec 100K times slower, it must be "hit a key see response 100K seconds later" LOL no nothing like that at all.
UIs were generally lower latency aka "faster" back in the old days than they are now.