Expanding My Internet Use

Going back through Amazon.com’s history in the “Your Account” section, I found that my first order was on Feb. 19, 1997. I ordered two books, The Gospel According to Mark: The English Text With Introduction, Exposition, and Notes (NICNT), and Between Heaven and Earth: Prayers and Reflections That Celebrate an Intimate God. It was my first ever online purchase, and I said a prayer as I hit the “submit order” button that my credit card would not be broadcast to the world.

Thankfully, my information was kept safe, and I received my order without delay. Since that fateful day, I’ve ordered plenty of items, books and otherwise, from various internet sites. It’s easy, usually more economical, and you can cover ground more quickly than driving all over town looking for the item you want.

Lately, I’ve expanded my realm of internet purchases beyond books, clothes, computers, music, and bill paying to try some different internet options—namely ordering pizzas and movies.

Perhaps I’m behind the times, but I realized that I had never ordered a pizza online. I had an ad from Pizza Hut that highlighted its online delivery feature, so I thought I’d give it a shot. I quickly signed up for an account, and chose the location nearest me, and began to build my pizza. I liked the ability to choose different toppings for different quarters of the pie. I placed the order (you pay the driver when he comes, just like phone ordering), then waited for the approximate 56 minutes that the website gave me. Would it come? Yes. Was the order correct? It was. Will I do it again? I think so.

I also thought it would be neat to try an online movie service. There really aren’t that many available yet, but I tried Movielink. The selection is pretty limited, but the drill is this: choose your movie, purchase and download. Once you hit the “play” button, you have 24 hours to watch the movie before it expires. As I said the selection is limited, but we ordered Charade, an excellent 1963 Cary Grant-Audrey Hepburn intrigue-suspense-romance. There is a special coupon that allows your first movie to be only $0.99. The download took about 45 minutes on my DSL connection, and you can begin watching when enough has downloaded already.

Overall it wasn’t a bad experience. Keep in mind that you have to watch the movie on your computer, so those of you with big entertainment centers might want to pass for now. The only quibbles I had were that the site requires you use Internet Explorer, and the aforementioned minimal selection.

What’s next? The sky’s the limit, but I would be partial to pay-per-view NCAA Football Games online if they were offered. Major League Baseball has had it for a couple of years, so hopefully it’s not too far down the road.