Author: The Netstorian

Internet culture enthusiast and creator of The Netstorian.

Let’s Play A Net Game: Cartoon Cartoons Summer Resort

Cartoon Cartoons Summer Resort title screen
The title screens for all four CCSR episodes.

—2019 UPDATE: ALL YOUR CCSR QUESTIONS ANSWERED HERE—

Game: Cartoon Cartoons Summer Resort (Episodes 1-4)
Creator: Cartoon Network
Released: Summer 2000
Play it here:
Episode 1: http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/games/cc/summerresort/1.html
Episode 2: http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/games/cc/summerresort/2.html
Episode 3: http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/games/cc/summerresort/3.html
Episode 4: http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/games/cc/summerresort/4.html

Yesterday night marked the very first Netstorian live stream. For those of you who missed it, I played all four episodes of Cartoon Cartoons Summer Resort, a Cartoon Network game from the summer of 2000. Like many Cartoon Network games, CCSR was one that I thoroughly enjoyed playing when I first got online as a kid. Before last night, it had been years since I’d last played it, but thanks to the help of the Wayback Machine, I was able to replay a game that I loved back then, and have a newfound love for today. Continue reading “Let’s Play A Net Game: Cartoon Cartoons Summer Resort”

The death of MySpace: How Facebook won

MySpace logo
The old MySpace logo, featuring the slogan “a place for friends” which was used until 2009. (Photo from TechCrunch)

The Internet has evolved as a social tool throughout the years. Discussion with purpose was held on newsgroups, forums, and themed chatrooms. As the Web 2.0 era came to be, social networking was on the rise. Interaction was no longer limited to specific discussion. Sites like Friendster and Photobucket allowed users to share more of their true selves online. The biggest and most important social network of Web 2.0 was without a doubt MySpace, but as the times went on, it couldn’t survive into the next era. Continue reading “The death of MySpace: How Facebook won”

Web Relic Showcase: Furniture Porn

Furniture Porn main page screenshot
Screenshot of the main page. Appropriately viewed on Netscape Communicator on Windows 98.

Name: Furniture Porn
URL: www.furnitureporn.com
Year created: 1992
Year abandoned: 2001

If there’s anywhere to go searching for something bizarre, it’s the Internet. Most websites created before 1995 served a serious purpose of some sort. Someone may have created a website to promote their business or organization, provide information to the public, or to host a digital personal portfolio.

Between all the seriousness, there were also some personal websites with no more of an intention than to make users laugh. One of these websites was Furniture porn. Continue reading “Web Relic Showcase: Furniture Porn”

Virtual communities and self-expression

Habbo screenshot
A populated room on Habbo. (Screenshot from Virtual Worlds For Teens)

Aside from providing a plethora of information, the Internet’s rise in popularity can also be credited to what it allowed users to do socially.

Communication with a far-away relative was made easy with e-mail, and meeting a new friend halfway across the world could be done from your own living room while browsing a forum. This advanced connectivity introduced a fascinating experience previously unavailable to the world and changed the way we interact. Beyond the typical e-mail and instant messaging programs, one thing that took online socialization to a new level was virtual world games. Continue reading “Virtual communities and self-expression”

The freebooting debate: Keeping obscure legacies alive

Aaliyah One In A Million
Album cover of Aaliyah’s One In A Million (Photo from Wikipedia)

I recently read a Complex article explaining why Aaliyah’s music cannot be legally downloaded on the Internet. Often times for artists who do not make their music available online, typical reasons include issues with royalties, ethics, or quality. What makes the late R&B singer’s case so unique is how there appears to be a lack of motive behind it. The article goes on to question if as a result, illegally sharing her music on the Internet is one of the main things keeping Aaliyah’s legacy alive.

While Aaliyah is by no means an obscure musician, her situation falls similar to actual obscure artists. This raises a question of if illegal access online for not only obscure music, but any obscure media is a positive thing. Continue reading “The freebooting debate: Keeping obscure legacies alive”

Web Relic Showcase: GeoCities NorthPole

NorthPole community page
The NorthPole community page as displayed on Internet Archive

Neighbourhood name: NorthPole
Year created: 1996
Year abandoned: Unknown
URL: http://web.archive.org/web/19961221000658/http://www.geocities.com/NorthPole/

Before the elimination of GeoCities neighborhoods, homesteaders were given 41 different places to categorize their webpages, based on community and interests. In 1996, there were only 29 neighborhoods. For a short time in 1996, a temporary 30th neighborhood called “NorthPole” was created for the Christmas season. Continue reading “Web Relic Showcase: GeoCities NorthPole”

25 years of Web memories

Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web
WorldWideWeb creator Tim Berners-Lee (Photo from CERN)
Tuesday Aug. 23 marked Internaut Day, the 25th (unofficial) anniversary of when Tim Berners-Lee introduced the World Wide Web to the general public. Berners-Lee and his team brought more than just an interconnected society to the masses, but also brought positive change to users lives in more ways than one. Continue reading “25 years of Web memories”

The rise and fall of the Yahoo! dynasty

"Jumping guy" Yahoo! logo used in 1995.
“Jumping guy” Yahoo! logo used in 1995.

Let’s get one thing straight before we get into it — Yahoo! isn’t closing, its assets are just being sold to Verizon. What’s the big deal then? The big deal is that while Yahoo! may have already been on the decline, this purchase can be considered the official end of the company’s reign over the Internet. Continue reading “The rise and fall of the Yahoo! dynasty”

The struggles of WebTV

A screenshot of the WebTV homepage in its first year
A screenshot of the WebTV homepage in its first year (Photo from TheFreeDictionary)

The growing popularity of the internet in the late ‘90s had people curious as to what the web was all about. More people started going out and buying computers and subscribing to an internet service provider to explore what this emerging technology had to offer. For some, it was harder to access. Whether because of financial struggle, tech illiteracy, or only minimal interest, using the web, let alone owning a computer was considered either a luxury, or something only for those who had an interest. A low-cost alternative, WebTV, was invented for these types of users. Continue reading “The struggles of WebTV”

Sounds of cyberspace: How the internet has influenced music

If there are any two things that are constantly changing with the times, it is music and the internet. Good things happen when one meets the other. The internet has had a helping hand in bringing musicians and fans together in ways once impossible, but the internet’s influence on the actual sound of music raises questions.

How can one take the merely visual internet, and associate it with sounds? Can the internet make a sound? And how do we come to the unanimous decision regarding what defines the “noise of the net”? Musicians of the 21st century have found ways to bring aspects of the internet into not only their visual aesthetic, but also into their styles. Continue reading “Sounds of cyberspace: How the internet has influenced music”