David Notik

The Internet is a power to behold. It gives us the ability to instantly connect, to share, to be on the same page (literally). Nobody disputes its inherent shining qualities, as we all at some time or another have e-mailed a friend, checked the latest stock information, or streamed music from our favorite band. We've sent flowers to Mom, talked worldwide for free, or auctioned off an item. The daring ones amongst us have joined discussion groups, started a blog, or collaborated on a document.

Yet, for all its brilliance, the Internet and its WWW offspring have managed to confuse us all -- starting with its biological parent, the computer. What program do I need for this file to open? Where did it download to? Sure, I'll accept cookies. Which of my 32 passwords is for nytimes.com? Why are my friends sending me viruses? Yikes! The computer just showed me a blue screen and mentioned something about terminating and fatal and -- ohhhh, help me Dave! Yea, they usually call the "computer guy", and I never even certified the damn thing gold.

Chances are you intents were pure and simple. You wanted to check out the picture from Jill, save it for later, read the article Jack sent, share your comments, and do it all without the fear of viruses, Viagra ad overload, or fatalities. You wanted to check the latest weather, purchase advance movie tickets, or compare prices on a new stereo, and not be overwhelmed and frustrated or launched into a sea of techno-babble. Heck, the TV just works -- why can't your computer?

There's no doubt that computers and the Internet have alot to offer, if only it wasn't so geeky or made us feel dumb. That, however, is one reason there are people like me, and collectively an entire industry, dedicated to making it work.

The Internet, nay computing itself, is immature -- but the things it already can do for us can't be ignored, so we end up participating anyway, using the nascent, clumsy tools we've got now. The good news is, it's evolving -- and fast.

And most aren't even aware of what it really makes possible. Suffice it to say, when one billion people (and growing) can connect instantly, and can do so in a way that lets us take advantage of our computers to sort and process vast amounts of information -- wow. You've been blown away by what you can do today, but there are people creating tomorrow.

Rest assured, dear friends, the future is bright.

And it's all about You.

Hang in there.