Paul Miller: Offline
Our friend and Senior Editor Paul Miller has decided to take a hiatus from the internet. Here is all the news of his adventures and his weekly diary updates in one convenient place: the internet.
Offline: 'Diablo III'
I don't use the internet. Diablo III, Blizzard's latest stunning blockbuster sequel, requires the internet. I know this, you know this. And yet...
The other day I was talking to a friend about how much incredible, unparalleled fun he's been having playing Diablo III. I got a little jealous. I would buy a copy of Diablo III, and attempt to install it, and fail, and then: something something. Spite Blizzard. Something something. Rage, rage, rage against the dying of the light. I would purchase...
Offline: Bills
I don't know a better way to put this: I have a fear of mailing things. Postalphobia? I don't know what it's called, I can't look it up. But I'm not kidding, it's a real fear. I start shaking when filling out an address, and get the double shakes when it's a FedEx envelope — so many checkboxes! The cacophony of terrors in my mind climax as I near the mailbox. What if the comma is supposed to go after the state, before the zipcode, instead of between the city and state? What if I put the...
Offline: Ignorance
In the classic animated series Arthur there are many references to reading. For instance, Arthur's full name is "Arthur Read," which is a little obvious. There is also the dynamic, show-stopping number: "Having Fun Isn't Hard When You've Got A Library Card." Many pivotal moments and celebrity cameos take place in the library as well, as if to remind us that it's not only vital that you attend your local library often, but also potentially cool. You can almost walk away with the vibe that the...
Against the future: inside the Jewish anti-internet rally
This weekend I took a 45 minute train ride to Citi Field, which typically houses a baseball team called the Mets and some of its fans. But me and my fellow passengers on the 7 train weren't attending a baseball game: we were there, along with 40,000-ish ultra-Orthodox Jews, to learn about the internet.
Since I'm currently (for non-religious reasons) not using the internet for a year, I seemed to be the right guy to tag along. Of course, I didn't actually have a lot of specific information...
Offline: Peeking
I can honestly say that since May 1st I haven't loaded a single webpage, synced a single client, downloaded a single file, or sent a single email. I also haven't explicitly asked anyone to do those things for me, though I'm aware that some webpages have been loaded, files downloaded, and emails sent on my behalf. When it comes to purposeful internet use, I'm almost as pure as the wind-driven snow.
I've actually had recurring dreams about vastly violating my self-imposed internet exile, dreams...
Offline: Ghost limbs
About a month ago, before I had left the internet, I got an offer for my iPhone and I bit. Phoneless, and with my upcoming experiment in mind, I wandered over to the shady, "authorized" AT&T store near my home and picked up the trashiest dumbphone I could find.
I hated this phone. I hated it so much, in fact, that a few days later I let it run out of charge, and then finally I lost it in a desk somewhere. I didn't recover it for a week.
In my normal life, I do very little collaboration and...
Offline: Did you hear the news about Diet Coke?
An addendum to my first entry, regarding a mention of "Diet Coke": Last Tuesday when I visited the office, I made a trip to the fridge to grab a Diet Coke. I passed Ross Miller (no relation) in the hallway on the way out, and I bragged to him about how I was going to take this Diet Coke home with me, instead of drinking it in the office — subverting the entire purpose of office snacks for my own gain. I'm developing a bit of a reputation as a rebel, and I felt the need to cultivate that...
Offline: day one of life without internet
Dear Diary,
I just spent 24 hours entirely without the internet for the first time I can remember in my adult life.
I think there are two kinds of people who live with technology constantly in their face: people who freak out when they're forcefully separated from their devices or connectivity, as if their arm has been cut off, and people who feel really chill when they're forcefully separated from their devices or connectivity, as if they've been let out of prison. I've spoken to many of...
Paul Miller's final hours on the internet
Tonight, we're saying good-bye to a dear friend: Paul Miller is leaving the internet for a year. Before he renounces himself to a lonely existence filled with face-to-face social interactions, though, he's taking the time to publicly celebrate the elements of the web that most shaped him into the thoughtful, sophisticated, debonair Verge editor he is today. In other words, he'll be playing a lot of StarCraft and Minecraft. We also have it on good authority that other members of The Verge will...
I'm leaving the internet for a year
At midnight tonight I will leave the internet. I'm abandoning one of my "top 5" technological innovations of all time for a little peace and quiet. If I can survive the separation, I'm going to do this for a year. Yeah, I'm serious. I'm not leaving The Verge, and I'm not becoming a hermit, I just won't use the internet in my personal or work life, and won't ask anyone to use it for me.
Depending on your perspective, you might be completely shocked that I'd even attempt such a thing, or you...
