Holiday Surfing

With all the computers that are nested under the Christmas tree right now and all those upcoming luxurious hours of personal disposable time coming up this holiday season, it's no surprise that several millions will be spending much of their holiday on the Internet! Why, you say, would anyone want to sit in front of a computer during the holidays?? Well, here are some of the more compelling reasons:

Entertainment - Recent studies show that approximately 10% of the people who previously spent their free time watching television now are surfing on the Internet instead.

Family Fun - With the proliferation of inexpensive multi-media computers, group activities such as game playing, family vacation planning, and even reading *books* online are becoming more and more popular. Its even fun to explore the encyclopedia with others! The advent of DVD will undoubtedly increase as well as movies and more interactive CD-ROMs become easier to use.

Shopping - Post-holiday sales bonanzas will be happening in cyberspace as well as the local malls this season and those with a little credit left on the cards will snarf big bargains in CDs, books, travel tickets, specialty gift items, and computer hardware and software. All from the comfort of home!

Catch Up - Many a working stiff will be glad of the opportunity to kick back comfortably in the easy chair in front of the screen with a cuppa catching up on the news. Most newspapers, magazines and e-zines have back issues online as well as breaking news front pages. Professional journals and the World Wide Web Virtual Library, open 24x7, give people the opportunity to read at their leisure what they can't during the busy work week and even more hectic weekend. And, hey, you can even enjoy one of the classics at Project Gutenberg!

Visiting - The first and most popular use of the Internet will be the number use of computers over the holidays: email. Even this humble commnication tool has recently expanded to the videoconferencing level on the homefront with video cams that let Grandma in Wisconsin see and listen to the new baby in Ketchikan. Hundreds of thousands will be actively chatting in the vastly popular and numerous chat rooms throughout cyberspace on topics from geneaology to feline fashions. And, listservs traditionally sport tons more traffic on holidays when people take the time to read and post comments to their favorite hobby and professional lists.

Gaming - Not just the realm of the middle-schooler any longer, games from Myst to Quake to Magic will entertain thousands of adults and, the fastest growing population on the Internet, seniors, this holiday season. From the solitary games of solitaire to group dominoes and mahjongg will be improving the hand/eye coordination of many! Matches and tournaments abound during the holidays for serious gamers as well.