Concept

In the mid 2000s more and more people got access to internet through broadband connections. This allowed for faster download and upload speeds and near to unlimited data usage. However before that time internet was accessible through what was called Dial-Up. This is a system that uses the public switch telephone network to establish an internet service. The user's computer or router uses an attached modem to encode and decode information into and from audio frequency signals, respectively. This way of connecting to the internet was the most common form before the popularity of broadband and was notorious for being quite expensive, slow and to go down if someone answered the phone. 

Today's internet does not just allow us to access all present data but also everything that was ever uploaded and used in the past. As well as to go back and reminisce about the old. So through a new modern WiFi connection I'll pay tribute to the old.

Motivation

Although troublesome it was for many their first way to unlock the potential that the internet could have in their lives. I remember spending the time waiting for the dial-up tone to finish and see the little internet icon turn from off to on, after that a world opened up to me that before was restricted to what could be found in books and whatever was on the schedule for the television. The vast potential alone that it offered is worth paying tribute to, but aside from that it tickled my creativity and made me value internet in a way I would not learn today.

Implementation

I decided to use two modern devices that uses the modern WiFi connection to connect with each other. One tablet to allow for interaction and one screen. When interacted with the iconic dial-up sound that preceded any connectivity is played and a selection of old websites as they looked when they first launched is shown on screen. It is a little bit off, a little bit pixelated, a little bit slow, just like back in the days.