Boycott International Shutdown Day!
By Peter Rojas 
posted Feb 23rd 2007 5:41PM
posted Feb 23rd 2007 5:41PM
It seems that a pair of men named Dennis Bystrov and Michael Taylor -- bitter victims of the bubble, we suspect -- want to perform a social experiment wherein people all over the world boycott computers for an entire day; willing participants are encouraged to click a pledge of sorts on the International Shutdown Day website promising to forgo any and all PC usage on March 24th.
Hold on there, big guy. You want us to STOP using computers for a day? How about we all decide to hold our breath for 24 hours, too? Yeah, that's right, we're not giving up our gadgets for anyone. We know that some day our computers will kill us (either by rising up against us or by getting us so sucked into a six day-long WoW marathon that we forget to eat), but hey, you gotta die from something right? At least we'll go out knowing we spent every waking moment indoors doing something worthwhile like reading RSS feeds and downloading porn. Those are truly the hallmarks of a life well-spent, wouldn't you agree? Anyway, we're going to show the Blame Computers First crowd what's what and use our computers TWICE as much on March 24th -- even if that means grabbing two machines and then typing with our fingers and toes at the same time.
Morons.
Not using a computer for a day? Might as well not drive your car, use ANY electrical device (I'm sure there are many computers involved in running the grid), watch TV, withdraw money, etc etc etc. bla bla ba
Mind your own business dudes. You can pry my cold dead hands off the keyboard.
Why do they want us to stop using computers? To save power or what? I'll do it to save power, but otherwise.. why bother?
I heard that someone came up with an idea to save energy by making clocks go 3 weeks ahead and 1 week behind sometimes in March, but that might glitch up consumer electronics.
It's to prove that society isn't totally dependent on computers. It has nothing to do with blaming computers or saving power, it's actually pro-computer if you think about it.
This has to be the dumbest boycott I have ever heard of.
How about we meet halfway and put our computers on standby for 12 hours?
If they have my favourite band playing that Saturday, I would support this initiative with my friends in the club and in the bar afterwards.
Wait... I still need computer to buy tickets, print out directions and... nevermind
I don't see anything wrong with this. It's on a Saturday, so unless you're working you really have no reason not to at least give a halfhearted attempt to participate.
Unless you live in some craphole like New York where there's nothing to do that isn't computer related.
...so EVERYONE stops using computers, sure its a saturday.... sounds like a terror plot for the government to stop using their computers and let their guard down
touchè but im on to you...
I think we should all support this to our friends and relatives.
And queue a LOAD of torrents the night before because that's going to be a good day for downloads.
Oh no! Where have all the seeds gone!!!!!
Queue a load of torrents on a Saturday night?
How would that be any different than any other Saturday night?
Don't you find it ironic that the article prior to this one is abotu children going though Shock Therapy to get them off of th addiction of the internet. Meanwhile this article is about 2 guys who want to abstain from PC's for a day, but you guys laugh at them. Don't get me wrong, I am one of the last people to turn against electronics (even though they will kill us someday). I do think it is a good idea in theory, yet very unrealistic.
Let's just kill off all our hospital patients who rely on monitoring and life support through computers as well.
blame computers first crowd. hilarious
I realize it's a Saturday and all, but do they just expect businesses to just come to a screeching halt or something?
"I'm sorry, I can't check our inventory right now, I'm particapting in Shutdown Day! Try back on Monday."
"Oh, no, I can't take a credit card today. The company that validates them has decided to turn off all of their computers for a day."
be realistic, no company that needs a computer is going to participate, they're aiming it at the casual computer user mainly. the people that sit in front of their screens watching blogs about stuff. i'm so sure that a doctor is going to unplug a patient because it's shutdown day... 9_9
now, if you ran an internet business that makes revenue mainly off of banner clicks, then i'd understand why you're getting all bent out of shape, but come on, be realistic.
In America, today, it's damn near impossible to not use a computer for 24 hours. You'd have to move to Amish country or find the most orthodox of Jews to hang out with and convince them to do the sabbath thing 12 hours longer than usual.
Turn on a light switch and technically you're using a computer because the power that lights that bulb comes from a computer controlled energy distribution system. Most cars these days have computers in them. God forbid you have a pacemaker--don't those have microprocessors in them? And what about the folks that use automatic insulin injectors--those have processor chips in them.
Do I really need to go on?
Is this specifically targeted towards PC type computers, or EVERY computer? If we were to stop using EVERY computer we might as well light some candles and sit in the closet all day. I can't think of too many items that don't have some sort of computer in it.
Obviously he's talking about PCs, ThePete.
This is a very interesting boycott. I know that I can easily go without a computer for 24 hours (though I prefer not to), but I wonder how feasible it is for even an entire community. It would be an interesting experiment to see if anything would happen on a day in which the Internet were emptied and all computers were turned off. Would there be some type of meltdown? How would it work with emergency crews and weekend workers? If actually carried out (it never will be) it could have strange and unexpected repercussions.
As for me, the only valid reason I can think of for this is to remind us that we can live for a day without our precious email. That is a good exercise for those who spend most of their lives connected (myself included).
They only mean PCs? Whew! I have a Mac, guess I dodged the bullet there.
It should be interesting to see if their own website is still up that day.
so.... does my moto Q count or even an xbox360/PS3... cause those are nearly computers. so many items are in a grey area these days as to what they are, so how do you classify a computer anymore?
I thought we were suposed to give up things to show our selves how we can live without them. Just how should I exist without a computer. I can run through 10 iterations of a set of financial statements with a client in Germany in a day using a computer. My other option is to write the statements out by hand and then mail them...and wait to receive them back - sure sounds like an improvement to me. Lets not forget all the fuel and resources needed to cut down the trees, fule the trucks and planes, as well as the labor required to to deliver the mail. Boy, sounds like an improvement to me...how come no one thought of this sooner...
Is it only me that thinks this could have catastrophic (not sure if thats spelt correctly) consequences, ok, assuming this just relates to computers in the most obvious formm, (excluding pacemakers, cars ecu's etc)i ask but one question.... where are the contents of the internet held, on computers, its only through that massive network of nodes and servers that the internet exists and functions, if EVERYONE participated in this it could take decades to rebuild the internet to the level it is at today!, anyone else agree?
well, i've had my 2 cents....... in summary.....BIG MISTAKE!
This just goes to show how screwed humanity is if computers "dissapeared"...
And god forbid the rabid WoW gamers are let loose into the streets.
It was scary reading this the first time, as soon as the page finished loading, my power went out.
I will consider participating if there will be a "Give up DRM, bandwidth limits and long distance charges Day" that the RIAA and phone companies will partake in.
Why does this boycott thing sound just like the things drug addicts always tell you? "Yeah sure I can quit any day." The whole idea behind shutdownday is not to get people off computers for good but to make them think about their dependency on these machines. So engadgeteers can you live without gadgets for a day? Just think about what will happen to you when the power is out some day... would you commit suicide then or do you have a generator handy to supply you with electricity until the rest of the world has figured out their problems? I don't know if I will be able to do it but I will surely try to abstain from using my PC on March 24th just to see how many things I will come up with that I miss (like ATMs, cars, cellphones, traffic lights, cash registers, videogames, television etc.). I totally understand your point of being a techie-lover (otherwise I wouldn't be reading engadget at all) but if you just think about the fact that it's only 2% of the worlds population of 6 billion people that have access to broadband internet then I wonder how the other 98% of the people around me are doing so bloody well. While it is absolutely amazing what possibilities this technology has granted us it can't be the only thing that we do with our lives. When a big war comes (and it will, mark my words) then many many people will sit at home without power and NOTHING will work because people like Mr. Rojas have handed over our control over our existence to electronics. Comfy=yeah ... secure or reasonable=hell no.
Ah this is no big deal. No PC for a day? We did just fine in NYC during the blackout in August of 2003. And to be honest.. I never saw so many nice drivers. People were just waving you on when we all stopped at the lights.
Engadget! Dont you know that bad publicity = good publicity?
Well, it's really not a terrible idea... to be honest sometimes i feel like i'm addicted to my computer, so at least walking away might be good for me.. Of course, i don't know what to do about my smartphone... At any rate, I have plans that day anyway to go to a party and a concert, so it shouldn't be too bad...
-Taylor
Good point about the blackout in NYC. I was there - it was awesome and no big deal at all.
Engadget, your humor is getting way too close to that of thoes punks that make adult swim.
I was playing PS2 in my car when the lights went out. I didn't even realize anything happened until I was back on the road.
if the goal to save power, they should instead advocate for boycotting stand-by mode and shutting down at night (or when not in use). giving up computers for a day for no apparent reason is stupid (sorry, it's what pays my bills). Great American Smokeout, it is not...
Well played, Peter... well played.
By the way... some of you people take life way too seriously.
I think this boycott was more intended for home users getting all pasty on Saturdays wasting their lives away..it's not a bad idea..
How about we boycott RIAA labels for a year instead. Gee, where have I heard this before today? Hmm.
It seems kinda hypocritical that they would advertise such a day on the internet where you'd have to view it using a computer...I mean, the friggin' experiment wouldn't even exist without the computer, and you want us to boycott it??? It's like having a peace rally at a tank factory...or something.
How about this... why don't they shutdown an extra day for everyone who don't want to, uhmm, shutdown. So if I don't want to shutdown my PC, they turn off their PC for 2 days, for 1 billion pc not shutdown, I better not see them online for 1 billion and 1 day. Nice deal eh?
"They only mean PCs? Whew! I have a Mac, guess I dodged the bullet there."
Me too! Woot!
Hi Peter,
Thank you for your interest in the Shutdown Day experiment.
Great article! I love my computer too and couldn't live without it. Shutdown Day will be tough but I'm gonna give it a try and just see if people's views change at all. The discussion leading up to the event is certainly stimulating, with many different viewpoints.
Wishing you fast download speeds and a clutter free internet on the 24th,
Michael Taylor
www.shutdownday.org co-founder
P.S. To those asking "What Counts as a Computer?"
Our main aim is to get people just to stop and think about the issues that this experiment addresses, so it is personal to each individual. If your wife often suggests to you that you are having an affair with your PDA, then try switching it off for the day! If you need your cell phone to arrange fun things to do on Shutdown Day, please keep it on and use it. We think the internet is the thing that people will find most difficult to separate from for one day, so the main idea is that you keep your computers/laptops switched off, but if you use your PDA to access the net then perhaps you should switch it off too. We suggest you switch off your games consoles on 24th March also, but it’s a personal choice...
So people will still lounge in front of the TV all day, thats great ;)
I already did something like this back in July(Tornado). Not by choice but we were without power for 6 days. I think I've had my fill of no computer for a day ;)
"We know that some day our computers will kill us (either by rising up against us or by getting us so sucked into a six day-long WoW marathon that we forget to eat), but hey, you gotta die from something right?"
Great argument, I agree!!!
LOL
I heartily disagree with the whole boycott, but I will be the first to point out that, as much as I use and depend on the internet daily (I'm on the net nearly 15 hours a day), I have spend over 2 months a year for the last several years at a Boy Scout camp in the middle of a wilderness where I don't have electricity, or even a reliable telephone (cell or otherwise). I have managed to survive without the PC in that environment quite well.
On the other hand, I recognie the great benefit that computers are to society and am part of a group of volunteers that is working on bringing the internet (and consequently VOIP) to this remote location using radio links (900 Mhz point-to-point bridges). Technology is wonderful, but for those internet addicts out there, yeah, it would be a good idea to take a Saturday or two or three and let your bit torrents do their thing whilst you enjoy the outdoors or anything else that doesn't involve staring at a PC screen all day. (Yes WoW will wait 'til you come back).
PEOPLE, its NOT about turning ALL the damn computers off, its only about people like all of us who spend 35 hours a day at a computer to NOT use them for that one day. Thats ALL.
RSS feeds and porn, truly the hallmarks of a life well spent?
Um... no.
My several computers run 24/7 doing protein folding experiments in the hope of helping to cure diseases and I'm not shutting them down for any reason. This is an idea that a 3rd grader might think up. I suggest they come up with an idea that might actually accomplish something positive. One does not make progress through negative actions.
Phil, excellent stuff, we are not asking for all computers to be shutdown, instead we're really just asking a question about whether we are getting too absorbed into personal computer use.
Keep up the good work!
Michael
shutdownday co-founder
Damn, thats my birthday!
Some of you engadget readers seriously need a viewpoint of your own. The whole point of this experiment is to raise discussion and awareness of our own dependencies on electronic devices; obviously if you need it for business, then keep it on and keep using it.
Despite all your nay-saying, negativity and utter stupidity, you are participating in the experiment and are becoming aware yourselves (negatively or positively) of your dependency on digital devices.
F-ing retards.
I will never turn off my computer.
I'm going to do it. Why?
Why not?
I'm not out to prove anything, I just figure ShutDown Day might be a good excuse to go outside or something. Might as well. What's the worst that can happen? Besides, it'd be fun to ride my bike or something.
On behalf of all weekend computer repair guys, I am giving that website the eFinger.
Tackle a real problem like war or something whydontcha.
Sorry guys, my education revolves around computers. And a lot of people's jobs depend on them. Just not gonna happen. We can't shut it down. We're fully reliant now. They have us where they want us.
Might as well be an orthodox jew on the sabbath ;)
Walker, you are an idiot. Some of us make livings on our computers and use them for charitable reasons.
Nope, not doing it. One of my computers is a Media Center, which means no music or TV (or just sitting there recording TV). I think its pointless, and I'm not addicted to computers, as when I went on vacation I was without a computer for several days.
The Internet is a mostly useful tool and has created a better world in terms of knowledge (and hype). The Police, Medics depend on computers and even the internet.
I'll make sure I turn on computers I normally don't use on March 24th and urge my friend to do the same...
http://www.startblue.net
am i the only one that thinks - despite the logo and proposed boycott - this post could possibly be in jest? (see: "At least we'll go out knowing we spent every waking moment indoors doing something worthwhile like reading RSS feeds and downloading porn. Those are truly the hallmarks of a life well-spent, wouldn't you agree?")
and if not.. have you people honestly not spent a weekend day recently during which you happened to not turn on your computer all day and night? true, on an average saturday i myself would be likely to turn on my laptop at least once to check email or something. but have you not, or can you not imagine a day, such as going snowboarding and passing out immediately upon getting back to your house/hotel? or going camping? something that maybe requires you to leave your home early so that you might have printed directions and such the night before, and gets you back late? not to say that this is how every saturday should be spent, but why not for every now and then? or say, once a year? and jesus, i've even spent saturdays (admittedly not proud of this, just proving a point) sleeping till mid-afternoon, waking up hungover while watching some tv on the couch, then going to dinner and whatever that kept me out past midnight. point is, i love gadgets, engadget, and computers, but after spending 12 hours staring at screens at the office - and reading engadget while at it - all week, i can easily go a saturday without firing my laptop up.
You've got a good point there dan ... I guess my little rant back there was a little early snapshooting. Anyhow the headline is enough to make readers believe that the site is against the project and even though I can (now) see the point of Mr. Rojas' article it's still ambiguous in a way. On first sight (not being a native speaker of English) I thought of it as a hearfelt fanboy's reaction to some guy trying to cut in on his electro-action. I understand that most of the engadgeteers probably have full control over their habits and don't even come close to what weirdo geeks like me go through :)
The idea is completely pointless. Why even waste time reporting on this? It only gives them the attention they crave.
If you can't go without your computer for 24 hours your a fucking loser.
"If you can't go without your computer for 24 hours your a fucking loser."
or employed at a job that requires more of you than emptying cans into a big smelly truck. but who's to say sorting and forwarding orders aren't better done by hand?
oh, really? hundreds of them? wasting valuable man power for a few days?
yeah, thought so.
This day is to get you ass off of the internet and whatever time waster you have on your computer instead of speading time with real people, in person.
Computers are necessary for life today,
being anti-social isn't.
I'll do it. I'll blog every hour and let you guys know how its going.
I could never go an entire day without turning on my computer. I would probably start it up absentmindedly.
YOU ALL HAVE IT WRONG ITS AN EXCELLENT IDEA!
Publicize it as much as possible. Servers will not shut down, but individual people will. There on the day, use your PC. Imagine the download speeds. Say it was publicized hugely and 1% of home users turned off for a day. The internet would be hugely faster, just don't use any P2P programs.
Make it happen, free the tubes up for one day. In this day, download as much as physically possible.
Fucking hippies!
This is just like when people write in the comments, "if you don't like posts about ____, then don't post a comment!" If you don't want to participate in Shutdown Day, then don't. No one's forcing you to. If you don't like the idea, just leave it alone and let people who actually want to do it, do it.
Name a piece of equipment that does not have a computer in it. My frickin toaster has a CPU.
Why not do this? Anybody who can't resist a computer for a day, clearly has problems. Why no take the time to lift some of your daily stress? Why not go outside and get some fresh air and exercise? Why not live?
I just might do it...just to see if I can.
I would love to. That, however, would require that I take a vacation day since I can't do my job without a computer. So no.
There is very little point to this - yeah, we could get off these things for a day, but why would we want to. Is someone paying us?
I will participate - if so only because it would be fun to know how important the computer is to me. Not only as a hobby, but also as a tool to find information. Heck, I will shut down the computer at once and will not start it again for the entire weekend.
next up, dont eat for 24 hours
It'll just get worse after that
Why would I want to give up my computer on my birthday? That is the only thing I have to look forward to.
I'm for the double usage and pay the consequences for totally ignoring the missus.
Now that's what I would term sacrificial. Survivor !!!
http://www.av1.co.nz
This is simply a social experiment right? So theres no real passion or hatred to cause such an aggressive opposition to the idea. Obviously this isnt directed at those that need to use computers for work or something. Nor can they possibly be suggesting that we shutdown the computers that run the world. how could some of you be so dramatic and unrealistic? Seems like it struck a nerve, so to speak... maybe some of you are "addicted".
My first reaction was to scoff and immediately disagree with the idea. But its not such a bad idea. Interacting with people face to face is quite a bit different. Some of us spend so much time using a computer that human interaction is a unique experience. And the intent is not for us to go zone in front of the tube instead. go out and "see the world". Get your friends together and play a good game of soccer, or ultimate frisbee. A bit of healthy, physical activity can do wonders to settle and balance the mind. Even better, make it a cookout. hell, if nothing else go get slammered with the guys.
First post on here - Just had to say how dissapointed I am with the article. I usually enjoy a good portion of the posts on this site but this one actually kind of upset me.
I do EVERYTHING on the computer. I love my computer. It allows me to do so many different things all in one space.
I also love doing real world things. That aspect of my life took somewhat of a backseat after I found this tool that did everything in one space.
If you go look at what people are planning to do you get a heart warming feeling. People talking about taking their girlfriends out for picnics, going on bike rides, you know.... NORMAL STUFF.
I'm all for technology/computers but there has to be a balance. One day won't kill you.
Does not using the computer in my sleep for eight hours, three days in a row count?
I already know I'm too absorbed in my computer use, so I don't need to play this game.
Hello Michael,
I think it would be very difficult to judge what is and is not a "valid" use for a computer. In my case my whole business is managed via the Internet so without the computer my business freezes. But who is to say that gaming or web surfing is not equally important to the person who uses their machine for that? An analogy is found with cars. To ask people to not use their cars for a day means that they don't get to work and the kids don't get to school. It's not practical because cars have become vital to survival for many people. But people also use cars for joy-riding, or taking long drives because it clears their mind and helps them write their latest novel. Is this not also a valid use? After all they are paying for the gasoline to run the car as they are paying for the electricity and maintenance of their computer.
I don't think you can ask people to judge whether their use of a computer is "valid" or a "waste of time" and to turn it off during those times. It would seem that whatever they use their computer for MUST be valid and not a waste of time or they would not be doing it, they would be doing something else. Bear in mind also that if a person was restricted from using their computer for a day they would likely be in front of the plasma TV, which consumes twice as much power as the computer.
@Phil: Spot-on! Thanks.
Whaaaa...?!
Viva la technology!
(PS. I plan on tripling my computing on March 24th.)
geeks sneer at PC shutdown day.
uber-geeks boycott it.
the rest of the world has never heard of it and continues on with their lives as usual.
do smartphones count?
Alright folks. One day without your PC. Hummmm...could be a good day to reconnect with family and friends. maybe a cook out or trip to the zoo. Oh hey how about just spending the day playing with your kids. What a bunch of whinny babies.. the point that seems to be missed is that a mere 15 years ago the average household had no computers and did very nicely. yes I am on one now but I do not use it everyday.I don't think the idea was to shut down the world just the personal pc and maybe remember there is a whole world out there that has nothing to do with the dang things.
The internet is like TV. Is is killing socialising. When was the last time you sat around a table and had a proper family meal? Or just sat and read a book? When was the last time you had a proper conversation with someone that lasted more than three minutes? And I don't mean a conversation by IM.
I'm honest enough to say I'm addicted to the internet. I can't even go 12 hours without checking my email. First thing I do when I get up is check my email and the several forums I am a member of.
I agree that people should spend a day without their computer UNLESS it is important such as work or their only communication with the outside world. Viewing forums, blogs etc is not important and not reading them for one day is not life threatening.
Personally I feel Phil is just being argumentative to try and hide his internet addiction. The car comment about parents taking their kids to school is rubbish. I live in a small town and you get people driving their kids to school despite the fact the walk is about a tenth of the distance the car takes.
In my opinion this whole boycott is about making people remember what life was like before computers became an everyday thing. I remember having my first mobile phone back in 1996 and getting comments along the lines of "Why do you need that" and "you're a poser" but now everybody has one. Can any of you, who own a mobile, honestly say you can leave the house without it?
Man survived for thousands of years without being able to instantly contact someone or access information so I don't think a single day is going to kill you. Do you?
@Carbonize
"The internet is like TV. Is is killing socialising. When was the last time you sat around a table and had a proper family meal? Or just sat and read a book? When was the last time you had a proper conversation with someone that lasted more than three minutes? And I don't mean a conversation by IM."
First, I live on my computer - easily 8-10 hours a day online, I use it for school, socializing, news, games, everything. However, to answer your questions: Last time I had a proper family meal - the last time I saw my family (I live alone, btw), we sat down to a good homecooked meal together, at the kitchen table. Not counting my textbooks, the last time I read a good book was about a week ago. As for a conversation, well, do you want to consider me talking to my family over the phone half an hour ago? My good conversations with my friends all this week? Or the hours my girlfriend and I spent discussing all kinds of things the night before last?
My point here is that a computer is just a way to centralize the things we do - I could read the paper, spend hours on the phone, search through encyclopedias, and play card games or sudoku all day - and it wouldn't be any different. People will do the same things regardless of the means used to achieve them. Is DnD any better then WoW, simply because you are there in person?
Might I not turn on my PC on the 24th? Sure. Will it change the types of activities I engage in? Not at all. So what's the point?
Since when has a cpu been a computer? A computer is a complete thing not just one part. Anyway if you had actually read the article it clearly says "forgo any and all PC usage" not all computer usage but all PC usage. Technically even that is incorrect since the term Personal Computer belongs to IBM.
As I said there will always be circumstances where people need to use the computer. My exact words were
"I agree that people should spend a day without their computer UNLESS it is important such as work or their only communication with the outside world."
But in your case I do have one question. How often do you go out and socialise with people? Go to the cinema? A restaurant? drinking with friends?
I suppose one extreme way you could put it is if you suddenly died at home how long would it be till somebody noticed or found you?
Don't get me wrong I'm all for socialising on the internet. I have friends in many countries thanks to the net (I live in the UK). But it's also good to have friends in real life. Friends who can come round and lend a hand or give you a real shoulder to cry on.
As I tried to explain earlier I believe the point of the one day shut down is to try and point out to people that whilst the internet and computers are good they are becoming to reliant on them. I use the same argument when it comes to cars and especially aeroplanes. In cars people are becoming to dependant on GPS navigators rather than actually sitting down and looking at a map. And planes are so computer dependant these days what would happen if the onboard computer crashed as was recently demonstrated with the new Lockheed fighters? It was said that they were lucky they were near the refuelling planes and it was good weather otherwise they would of never got back to land safely.
I think my point is somewhere in all that waffle, honest.
sundays are usually my shutdown day.
why are so many people afraid to go without their computers for one day? i mean, it's only a piece of machinery and they're not asking you to forgo food or water or loved ones... some websites will lose revenue because of casual surfers not clicking banners and many workplaces that are open saturdays won't be following it so i ask... what's the real harm?
Just look at many of those comments and you'll realize how dependant of computers we've become. I think this Shutdown Day is a good idea. Because it makes at least some people stop for a moment and think about it. If you ask me, we're way too dependant of computers and technical gadgets. I mean - computers in hospitals, ok, that's sensible, to save people's lifes.
But why on earth would anyone need a mobile phone he can use to go online? What for? Do we really have to order our groceries online and have them brought to our doorstep instead of going out and doing it ourselves? Books, CDs, DVDs, etc. ordered online? Agreed, Amazon & Co. do come in very handy. But isn't it more fun to go to a real shop and browse the shelves? I'm not in the "blame computers for everything" league. But there IS a life out there, beyond the virtual reality of online-games and internet.
If the idea of Shutdown Day did one thing then it was to make me think: "Ok, I won't shut down my computer this weekend - not convenient. But maybe I should, and soon, and go out there to get a real life." And that's not so bad, is it?
Shutdown Day is a great idea. Have any of you actually tried to research the idea. The creator, Denis Bystrov and myself have been emailing each other a couple of times. He only intends for this to be personal computers. He does not want stores and businesses to shut down their computers. Just get of your lazy butt, turn off your computer and go outside or read a book, things people did before there were computers.
Guys, most of you here are fudging morons. It’s not about turning off every single computing machine in the world. And sure no one is trying to make you do that.
It really is just an attempt to live a day without touching a keyboard. World sure won’t stop spinning if you go camping, or read a book, or paint a masterpiece, or spend whole day in bed with girlfriend, or go out on the drinking binge if you don’t have one.
well... their site is still online... ridiculous ;)
Seeing that our brains are super-computers, I guess they started early and shutdown their brains already.