Ask HN: If there was no internet, what business would you have started?
Apart from companies to try and create the internet, what offline businesses would you have started and why?
No, really. I think I wouldn't start anything because without the internet and places like HN I'd never have found the courage to seek out new business ideas. I'd view failure as too high an obstacle and be content with climbing the corporate ladder through an established company.
I do remember that home automation systems usually are the lowest priority while building a new house, so a good entry in the market would be to make it dead-easy to fit into an existing house. One solution I thought was viable were small bluetooth enabled switches any DIY guy can install either as a socket adaptor or to be installed in an existing light switch wiring. This could then be hooked up by bluetooth or zigbee to check which devices are on and in the case of lights, turn them off remotely.
Advanced uses can be measuring and controlling power or simulating daytime routines when you are away on vacation as an anti-burglary measure.
Obviously I never built this, nor did I invest in acquiring the skillset to build this. However, I would have made the effort to get the skillset by now if the internet wouldn't have existed.
My startup is applying machine learning to industrial processes - and guess what - most factories, power plants, chemical plants or oil fields don't have internet.
Some don't have internet. Most shouldn't have internet.
But given the number of SCADA exploits I've heard about recently... there's an awful lot of places which shouldn't have internet but do.
We had at least two housebreakings, where nothing was stolen! Instead someone tried to deploy a trojan by rebooting systems from USB the first time, but reboots had been noticed by Nagios, and failed totally 2nd time, because desktop systems had been migrated to use truecrypt and server systems had been locked behind a stable metal door.
I don't think that this was related to WW5 (stuxnet/flame), but normal industrial espionage. But industrial plants are extremely vulnerable to cyberwar, because they don't have internet, and are therefore badly maintained, and often never updated after installation.
My preferred remote maintenance is to use a cell phone USB stick, that is normally locked in a safe at the customer, and only plugged in on demand after a phone call. Our system will use this stick, if its the right one, to create an internet connection and OpenVPN.
Alternatively, I've always wanted to set up a fast food restaurant. Lot of work, but I think it'd be fun.
I was just looking at my parent's collection of National Geographics and the shelf of yellow spines looks beautiful as a thing in itself, not to mention that they are filled with amazing articles and photography.
Edit: This would be a good Kickstarter candidate IMO!
The presence of the internet and ensuing information exchange reduces these price differences to make such a business nonviable.
I guess there was the internet then, but it was still very, very limited. A lot of people didn't have it.
I got the first virus on my computer before it was internet connected. Instead it was from a floppy disk from a friend. It took days, and days to figure out how to remove it.
More recently my fiancée and I have discussed a small holding farming and opening a local produce deli. But this will probably be for early retirement, once I've made my millions...
What I would like to have done: successful chain of kindergartens/soft play areas for kids
What I would probably have done: accountant :-(