A Question

My friend Marjo emailed me a question today, and I wanted to post it for everyone else to read. Let me know what you think.

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QUESTION
What modern convenience is the one you absolutely could not live without? By modern, I mean something your grandmother didn't have at your age and by convenience ... I mean simply something that makes life simpler or easier. It could be an appliance. It could be a process. It could be a product. So .... think about it and and send your reply. There are NO wrong answers. As you think it through you'll realize how many things you appreciate!!

MY ANSWER
We were just talking about this at work the other day. I've actually thought about it a lot. It would absolutely be computers, but more specifically the Internet. Now that I'm connected with the world, I couldn't imagine what life would be like if I couldn't email and blog with friends and family; get news seconds after the event occurs; watch movies and TV; listen to ANY music I want from any time and any place; find out what the weather is today and ten days from now. I could go on and on.

I remember in 1993 (and that wasn't that long ago), when I went to Romania. The only way I could communicate with anyone back home was through the phone, which was very expensive, or fax. I still have faxes that I received while I was there. Actually, I have the paper they were sent on, but the ink has completely disappeared! I could send a letter, just like it my grandmother's time, but that would have taken so long to get home. Now, I can IM with friends in Russia. I can talk on the "phone" via the web (skype) to anyone anywhere in the world. I can use my web cam and meet with anyone anywhere at anytime. It's like were right there together. I remember doing this with friends in Germany not too long ago. I was sitting in my office at work and they were in their living room in Germany. It's absolutely amazing.

So, my answer is "dubbya dubbya dubbya" ... the World Wide Web.

What would you say?