Torments of the Internet damned

Computerworld - I live on the Internet. I work on the Internet. I keep in touch with my friends on the Internet. Without the Internet, I'm out of business, and I'm not the only one. But lately, with my rock-solid AT&T DSL connection (6Mbit/sec. down, 512Kbit/sec. up), I've taken it for granted. That was before my connection went sour and I rediscovered just how miserable life can be without a good network connection.

Last Friday, my network connection started turning on me. It never completely failed. Instead, it started torturing me with a thousand cuts of minor slowdowns and nagging latency delays. By Saturday morning, my network connection was down to dial-up modem speeds of 32Kbit/sec.

Imagine trying to run a hundred-yard dash in knee-deep mud and you have an excellent idea of how I've felt over the last few days. Instead of getting my work done, I've been working with AT&T on getting my Internet connection back into shape. It hasn't been easy. I'm falling behind in my real work and my connection is still having fits.

It could have been worse, though. Yes, I rely on the Internet to do my job, but I don't rely on network-based applications. I use the Web, instant messaging and e-mail constantly. But I don't write stories using Google Docs, manage projects with SharePoint Online or use Salesforce for CRM (customer relationship management). If I did, I wouldn't just be angry and miserable; I might well be on my way to being out of a job as well.

You see, I can still get some work done even with a crippled Internet connection. I write my stories with OpenOffice 3.1, I use QuickBooks for both accounting and project management, and I keep my calendar and manage my contacts with Evolution. By keeping my mission-critical applications on my local servers, I'm still able to keep going.

What about you? If your business Internet connection were crippled and running at 5% of its usual speed, could you keep going? If you've moved your business's core software to SaaS (software as a service), I doubt it.

It's handy to run your applications remotely. But that's not to say I'm a Luddite. Indeed, I was helping run the Internet, or at least some of the parts of it belonging to NASA, when a T1, with its 1.544Mbit/sec. speed, was considered remarkably fast. But I've never been comfortable with relying on the Internet for vital applications.

Of course, you have to have the Internet for e-mail and the like, but does that mean that it's a smart idea to put all your IT eggs into the Internet basket? I don't think so.