From hungary-online-owner Mon May 29 04:44:44 1995 Received: from localhost (daemon@localhost) (fnord) by nando.yak.net (8.6.5/8.6.5) id EAA10757 for hungary-online-announce-out31415; Mon, 29 May 1995 04:44:44 -0700 Received: from localhost (daemon@localhost) (fnord) by nando.yak.net (8.6.5/8.6.5) id EAA10731; Mon, 29 May 1995 04:44:21 -0700 Received: from carlson@odin.net () via =-=-=-=-=-= for hungary-online-announce@hungary.yak.net (10729) Received: from odin.net (omega.odin.net [193.130.116.3]) (fnord) by nando (8.6.5/8.6.5) with ESMTP id EAA10576 for ; Mon, 29 May 1995 04:35:16 -0700 Received: from [193.130.116.13] by odin.net with SMTP (8.6.10/1.2-btv) id NAA01317; Mon, 29 May 1995 13:33:36 GMT Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Mon, 29 May 1995 13:27:20 +0100 To: hungary-online-announce@hungary.yak.net From: carlson@odin.net (Steven Carlson) Subject: (HOL-A) Magyar geeks get chicks Sender: owner-Hungary-Online-announce@hungary.yak.net Precedence: bulk Reply-To: Hungary-Online@hungary.yak.net In Hungary, the computer geeks actually meet girls and talk to them. And the girls seem to like these kind of guys. I swear I'm not making this up. The anecdote I offer below is true, and I have witnesses. Furthermore I know at least one American geek who came to Hungary and met the girl of his dreams. It's interesting to speculate about what might happen if this news become widely known on the Nets. From what I here, a lot of guys working in the US computer industry still don't have lives. Would some of them be tempted to come to Hungary? Could this turn into a trickle of emigration to Hungary - some kind of reverse brain drain? It's interesting to speculate. (with tongue in cheek) =steve= -- Magyar geeks get chicks hungary-online by Steven Carlson For most of the time I've been interested in computers I've had to keep this fact to myself - like some sort of secret vice. Where I grew up it wasn't cool to be a computer geek. Your typical computer geek didn't have much luck with the ladies. But that's certainly not the case in Budapest. The other day I witnessed a pimply, geeky teenager impressing his beautiful blonde friend - she might even have been his girlfriend - with a lengthly explanation of the Internet Domain Name System. He: The domain name server translates human language domain names into the computer's system of numerical IP addresses. She: (lovesick sigh) Yes, but you can you still locate Internet resources by substituting the IP address for the domain name? He: Of course! Say - why don't we drop by my place and try it out on my 486? In formerly communist Europe, being a computer geek has always been okay. The educational system put a heavy emphasis on technical training, which is why so many people you meet have engineering degrees. Science was always a good career choice here. Which brings me back to my favorite topic - the Internet. Chances are your average Hungarian, Pole or Czech doesn't know about the Net yet, but that's changing. The Hungarian computer press now writes about Internet regularly. From time to time I see a reference in the local newspapers, and the youth-oriented weekly _Magyar Narancs_ runs a regular column called Gep Narancs. Recently a TV program called MediaMix ran a segment about the local Internet culture. (Hey guys, you left your blue screen in my apartment. Come pick it up.) We're starting to see more and more Internet coverage, so it's only a matter of time before Central Europe catches Internet fever, right? I dunno. There's no doubt this year's Net growth will be impressive. But when I think about the Internet madness going on in the States I can't quite picture that here. Take Barney the Dinosaur. On Usenet there are newsgroups devoted to reviling an obnoxious US children's program about a man dressed in a purple dinosaur costume. For that matter there are also newsgroups for fans of nearly every description (in the alt.fan sections). Hungary-specific areas of Usenet exist as well, but these focus on more mundane subjects like jobs and computers. The closest thing to Barney the Dinosaur on Hungarian TV is a puppet goat called Mekk Mester. Mekk Mester is popular, but I can't imagine Hungarians spending much time on Usenet talking about him. There are probably two points to make here. One is that with an estimated 25,000 online users, Hungary just doesn't have the critical mass to sustain newsgroup discussions about Mekk Mester the goat. The more relevant point is that neither you nor I can imagine the Magyars getting too excited about discussing TV. The Magyars are much more interested in jobs and computers. However TV is a huge part of the American identity. Even though I come from California and you from Illinois, we both watched the same shows growing up. Where the Hungarian looks to history and literature for his symbology, the American turns to the media. We are what we watch. What we're seeing in the US Internet explosion is that the Net is entering popular culture and fusing with the mass media. Internet is a medium - or more precisely a set of media. And what we're seeing now is crossover. What you watch on TV you can listen to on radio. Now you can also read, discuss and download it on Internet. This means the Net is not just for the kids with thick glasses and pocket protectors. In States, the Internet is becoming just one more channel for a media-obsessed nation. By the way if you'd like more details about the OJ Simpson trial you can find that on the Pathfinder page . In Central Europe, however Internet is still too expensive for the everyman. In Central Europe, the media hasn't yet taken over our lives. But there are a lot of intelligent, technically educated young people here interested in jobs and computers. There are plenty of technology-oriented companies looking to cut their communications costs. I'd say that's pretty cool. Steven Carlson is Net Media Manager for iSYS Hungary ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright (c) 1995. Permission granted to redistribute this article in electronic form for non-profit purposes only. My byline and this message must remain intact. Contact me for reprint rights. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ --- Steven Carlson moderator/publisher - hungary-online Critical Mass Media Inc internet trainer, consultant [+361] 133-4647 in Budapest, Hungary carlson@odin.net ############# # This message to Hungary-Online-announce@hungary.yak.net # was from carlson@odin.net (Steven Carlson) # # To unsubscribe, # send "unsubscribe" to # For a full subscription (rather than this announcement-only subscription) # mail "subscribe" to # Send mail to for more information, # or to if you need human assistance. #############