56k.rip – the 1996 dial-up internet experience

56k.rip – the 1996 dial-up internet experience 56k.rip

The full 1996 dial-up experience: the handshake, the wait, someone picking up the phone. Sound on.

111 points•adunk•about 7 hours ago•61 comments•

#experience #dial #internet #rip #56k #internet experience #handshake #full

61 comments

jermaustin1about 3 hours ago

This is very similar to a project I'm working on called Sim95 [1]. It has an entire networking stack and visual basic style language. You can host your own websites, chat servers, anything you want, and everything runs over a virtual network (websocket that passes through a relay).

It has all the warts of the early internet era: you can program a virus, get people to download it, delete their documents, etc., but it also has a lot of the charm, build a website, chat with strangers, enjoy the lack of facebook (for now until someone builds it).

1: https://sim95.kippy.io/

tegiddroneabout 1 hour ago

I love the concept! It's too damn fast though. I want to see my cursor change to busy when waiting for IO

ueanabout 1 hour ago

I am having way too much fun with this. Thanks!

artyomabout 4 hours ago

Lovely. 16MB of RAM in the 90s? That's luxury. And that dial-up sound always takes me back to happier times. Not unlike normal people's childhood songs.

asciimovabout 1 hour ago

By the time 56k was out most new entry level machines came with at least 32 megs.

101008about 3 hours ago

Amazing. When we were all living offline by default, and you had to go online. Now sadly it's the opposite.

(When did this change? Around 2012?)

Telaneoabout 1 hour ago

I want to say I was online by default earlier, just because I preferred that life to my offline one, but online clearly hadn't become 'real life' yet. Sure, your online life could affect your offline life if you really wanted to make it happen or were just really dumb, but whatever did happen online, it could be brushed off and you could Just™ wash your hands of whatever happened and go and do something else, be that play a different game, browse a different forum, or just log off.

Saying that what happens on the internet doesn't actually matter nowadays is clearly untrue given even just the most cursory look at the state of the world today.

ryandrake17 minutes ago

> Saying that what happens on the internet doesn't actually matter nowadays is clearly untrue given even just the most cursory look at the state of the world today.

I mean, you can still have this: by 1. Not being Chronically Online and 2. Not worrying so much or watching what is going on online.

I’ve managed to keep the separation between “online” and “the real world.” Mostly by just not participating or caring about social media. Online only invades Real Life to the extent that you allow it to.

There might be someone over on Instagram “canceling” me right now! I have no idea because I don’t even have an account there.

asciimovabout 1 hour ago

For me it was ‘02 when I moved to college and got that sweet dorm room internet. Some of my friends had aim via text messaging.

2012 is a good date for roaming internet, although for the plans and places I’ve been it’s only been the last 3 or so years that roaming internet has been mostly reliable.

altermetaxabout 3 hours ago

It changed with smartphones being widespread, so more or less yes, 2012

SV_BubbleTimeabout 2 hours ago

2008-2012 was pretty much the height of human civilization.

A few bad moves and it’s been quite a subjective fall.

y1n0about 3 hours ago

I was so excited to get road runner, which was an isp from I think time warner, rolling out cable modem service in the early 2000s. I ended up taking a day of vacation just to ensure I was going to be home for the installation window.

I don’t remember if my computer at the time had built-in Ethernet or if I had to buy a card.

I have been always-online ever since. Wouldn’t have it any other way.

But I do still miss the BBS scene.

smith7018about 2 hours ago

I had the first iPhone and distinctly remember telling people "I have the entire internet in my pocket at all times" and people finding it strange. I said "I never really have to log off Facebook or Digg" and my friends didn't understand what I meant.

VCFundedGenYerabout 3 hours ago

Vibe coded replica, not the actual OS or programs.

Also riddled with inaccuracies.

henrychannelabout 2 hours ago

it's like a theme park, the feels - not a museum

slaterabout 3 hours ago

and less space than a Nomad, you say?

h4kunamataabout 1 hour ago

Like others mentioned, the intention is great but too much AI.

The icons do not even look remotely close to the dial-up computers.

When it disconnects, the reconnection sound is not that at all. Pages load too fast.

asciimovabout 1 hour ago

It’s a nice tribute, but it’s all off. Glad I’m not the only one that knows the modem sounds are off.

Read the full thread on Hacker News →

61 comments

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