13 Things You Were Doing on the Computer in 1997

It's easy to complain about the state of current consumer electronics. You may, say, wish your laptop didn't get hot enough to cook a panini. Or that the Wi-Fi in your apartment didn't always have your Netflix buffering. Or maybe that your browser didn't always crash when you opened your 115th tab. As much as you may grumble about your gadgets and services, just know this: We're much better off now than we once were. To illustrate that point, we took a look back at the year 1997 to see how things used to be.

Before people were filling their hard drives with MP3s, the best way to hear new music on the Internet was with Real Player. (Napster would be released two years later, and WinAmp was just getting started). Before music blogs, the best you could do was dig through forums to stream new songs, which you would then bookmark to play later. And you're mad that Spotify Premium is $10?

In '97, the top three computer (hardware) companies were IBM, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard. (Apple's iMac wouldn't drop for another year.) But what kid wanted an IBM computer? I didn't know any. Everyone who wasn't building their own wanted a HP or a Dell. We're guessing you were the same way.

Not only did Microsoft have a near monopoly on computer operating systems, it also made the only word processor that mattered. Sure, you could use Word Perfect and be fine, but your school probably used Word. So, all that formatting you spent the night working on would go to waste if you weren't rocking with the best. For those (like me), who were stuck with the struggle that was Microsoft Works, which also wasn't compatible with Microsoft Office (WTF?), be happy those days are over.

If you're parents didn't shell out money each month to keep "You got mail!" ringing throughout the crib, you were more than likely going through a ton of the free discs they mailed to your house unsolicited. If you weren't on that hustle, you were at least using AOL instant messenger to keep stay connected to your friends during your two hours of Internet use a day.

Seeing as how by 1997 Microsoft had completely dominated the personal computer industry with the release of 95, there's a great chance that you were using what some still consider the best version of Windows ever made. It introduced some of Windows hallmark features like the Start Menu and the task bar, and set the tone for nearly every release to follow. It was so popular, you probably didn't stop using it until Windows XP dropped in 2001.

Now-a-days people complain about smartphones that don't come with a high-speed LTE Internet connection. Back in 1997 some people would have killed for the ability to download files at 18.6 megabits per second on their computer. But no, back then all we had was a 28.8kbps (or, if you were lucky, 33.7kbps) connection that made downloading certain, um, pictures a tiresome experience.

Google wasn't founded until September 4, 1998, so in '97 your options for searching the web were limited to the motley crew of crawlers that were jokeying for the top stop. This was a time when, if you asked 10 different people what search engines they used, seven of the people would tell you six different search engines, and the last three would ask you, "What is a search engine?" The good ol' days.

Even though Microsoft included a version of Internet Explorer with Windows 95, the superior Netscape Navigator was still the king of the hill, commanding 54% of the browser compared to Microsoft's 39 to 45% (depending on which study you read).

There was no better way to kill time during study hall or any class that had a computer than to fire up Solitaire and try not to fall asleep.

The iPhone 5 has a resolution of 1136x640 pixels. The average resolution of CRT monitors, because a flat screen LCD was out of the question, was 640x480. Let that marinate the when you start complaining about not being able to afford the iPhone 5S.

The follow-up to one of the most influential video games of all time sold over 1 million copies. If you weren't playing it on your computer, you were playing it at friend's house who had a much more powerful computer.

Do kids even use encyclopedias anymore? In 1994, the world's most famous encyclopedia had realized that digital was the wave of the future and began releasing its volumes via CDs. Doing a last minute paper was never easier.

Only a few people will relate, as most of us couldn't afford CD burners for at least two more years. But, for those that could afford drop nearly a G on a CD burner, you were, without a doubt, the coolest kid on the block.