The internet of the wizards?

[Bilbo]

This is a quote from Mugglenet.com:

the reporter asked J. K. if Harry had ever used the internet, and this is what she had to say: "No. They (the Dursleys) won't let him go near Dudley's computer, and Dudley is the only one who has a computer. They hit him if he gets too near to the keyboard. So the answer would be No. I use it a lot, but Harry doesn't. Wizards don't really need to go on the web. They have an even better way to find out what's happening in the outside world, which I think is a lot more fun than the Internet, but I'm going to keep quiet on this one."


Anyone care to speculate? It isn't so much the how/what as it is the "keep quiet" part that has me puzzled.

[mrHankey]

I'd guess that the "keep quiet" thing is that it'll be something that she'll get into in a future volume, so she's keeping quiet about it now.

A more-fun-than-the-internet thing would be something less virtual and more reality -- something along the lines of Riddle's diary or Dumbledore's pensieve for public use -- something exciting that wizards & witches could "surf" into and check out.

[Ashkins]

IN the yer 1991 - 93 the internet wasn't anything that it is now.. its vastly better now than it used to be.

[harryton]

she was probably just writing and forgot what time of period it was.

[Ashkins]

I would love to hear about the wizard internet... :)

[Mr. Granger]

I think they have a system of adding magically all informations of any topic and this is accesible to anyone with a simple spell and a question with it.
My proposal for the spell is
GOOGLELOS! ;)

[Johnny Cage]

Maybe a center of information where everybody can apparate to - or maybe they even got reporters - magical pens and micros come to mind.

[Mr. Granger]

a) magical way to gather information and sort it
b) special way of storing it
c) accesible through magic maybe even everywhere to wizard

The question is, if this would be true and wizards would be able to search for certain words for example, then what is the trio doing when searching for ways to survive under water ind GoF ?
Maybe JKR ment that something like a+b+c will be invented in HP 5-7 ?

[OrioCookie]

Maybe shes tricking us. And the fun for wizards shes talking about is maybe Howlers. I mean theyre not fun to receive but they do sound like a lot of fun to send.

[Mr. Granger]

What have Howlers to do with internet ?

[Bilbo]

Well, Howlers are a way of sharing information...:p :p :p

[Mr. Granger]

But they are transported by owls.
Else you could say a stone on which something is written is also a way of sharinf infnormation.

[Rounded Buddha]

I like the idea of it being like the penseive or Riddles diary but as we've got no clues it's all guess work

[Jessie]

I think she'll come to it eventually...or maybe she forgot about it :p. Like when I'm writing, I'll sometimes forget certain things I mentioned b4 or something...oh never mind.
Anyway, maybe...this may sound lame...but maybe some of them use crystal balls. :rolleyes:

[Trigger Happy]

They would probably put everything in books. Wizards like books lolz.

[dog star]

Originally posted by Ashkins (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=123143#post123143))
IN the yer 1991 - 93 the internet wasn't anything that it is now.. its vastly better now than it used to be.


1993 marked the development of the world wide web as we know it now...it wasn't as fancy then as it is now, as back then it was really special if your browser could display images and tables. :lol: But, it was still the same basic www.

But the internet and "online community" was in existence in the late 80's/early 90's and some people (including myself) would argue that the quality of the community was far better then than it is now. Things like CoS are largely the exception. Back then, chat rooms were places for friendly conversation, not constant a/s/l and advertisement. I miss that. Now the internet has been overrun with trolls.

Anyway...I don't see why you couldn't have a virtual howler or something like that. And surely they need to do research outside of books at some point...so I would think there would be some sort of electronic information system available to them. Maybe it's something that's going to be integral to the plot in a later book and that's why she had to "keep quiet."

[Auri DeMeer]

Originally posted by Bilbo (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=123073#post123073))
They have an even better way to find out what's happening in the outside world, which I think is a lot more fun than the Internet, but I'm going to keep quiet on this one."

Is it only to know about the "outside world"? What about chatrooms, emails, forums, sharing of all kinds of information...

[Starseyer]

What about the Floo Powder Network? :rotfl:
I mean, who needs a chat room when you can meet in each other's fireplaces :devil:

Originally posted by dog star (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=271545#post271545))
Back then, chat rooms were places for friendly conversation, not constant a/s/l and advertisement. I miss that. Now the internet has been overrun with trolls.

AAAAHHHHH TROLL! Troll in the chatroom!!! TROOOOOLLLLL!
(Sorry, couldn't resist! :p )

[Jessica]

Originally posted by Mr. Granger (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=123282#post123282))
a) magical way to gather information and sort it
b) special way of storing it
c) accesible through magic maybe even everywhere to wizard

The question is, if this would be true and wizards would be able to search for certain words for example, then what is the trio doing when searching for ways to survive under water ind GoF ?
Maybe JKR ment that something like a+b+c will be invented in HP 5-7 ?


Good question!

Maybe its like Apparating and you can't do it until you reach a certain age.

[Master Dragonfly]

The wizard internet is probably like Riddle's diary, but interactive. You'd be able to walk around and talk to people, kind of like a virtual reality game but more reality. And by the way, what exactly is the Wizard Wireless Network?

[Spitf1re]

Maybe J.K.R,'s being quiet about it because she didn't think about it fully yet, or maybe she wasn't thinking about it all and now she's about to do some inventing.

[Weatherby]

Perhaps it's like Sims online but with people. :)

[dorcasderr]

I think the talking in a fire is more like a telephone call (but more fun), so I really can't wait to see what wizards do that is more fun than the internet...It must be for people older than Harry and his peers have gotten yet, or we would have heard about it already.

[Padfoot127]

JK has been hinting about the Wireless Wizard Network (I think that's it...) It's probably what she was talking about in that interview. :D

[nfh_aftran]

Hey, heres a witchy idea......probably not true, i think the WWN idea is better.....but say there was some sort of pool of water, where you were there, but here at the same time. You could communicate with different people, who were there then also.

[MaynardIsReal12]

I'm really excited on to what this might be, but of course right now we have no leads or even clues to point out what this is all about.

[Nys]

Maybe they have some sort of invention that you simply ask a question... like a wizard search engine :D

[dumbleedore]

I think that the wizard internet is just a bush telegraph- Hogwart's has proved time and time again how quickly information can spread between people.

[Nys]

I suppose you could just ask someone like Dumbledore, who seems to know most things... :p

[dumbleedore]

Or maybe there's a spell that makes everyone know something? And that could also explain how everyone knew how Dumbledore had escaped, even though only Harry and Marietta were the only students present.

[Nys]

I was thinking more like it could be an object like the goblet of fire, bewitched to know everything that had happened... And like the muggle internet, proan to being wrong everyonce and a while... Thus why Dumbledore, and wizards a like don't actually know everything...

[rotsiepots]

Interesting. I just checked the date on that interview and it was from March, 2001. I thought that if it predated GoF, JKR could have been referring to Apparating or Portkeys.

Perhaps JKR is referring to the ability of portraits to dash between frames, or Legilimency? Either of these could be used to establish what's going on in the outside world, but I'm not sure if I'd classify them as "fun".

Oh well.

[dumbleedore]

The portraits is actually a good idea Rotsie- there'd have to be a few that had more than 1 portrait somewhere.

[Serpentine]

Anyone remember the Protean Charm Hermione put onto the fake galleons for the DA, and which was so similar to the way the Dark Mark worked? Edit the "master file" and all the "mirror images" get edited as well. Sounds like SMS/Internet, and a brilliant communication device. And if times and dates can be transmitted that way, I bet it can work for texts and images as well - and not only on coins... :agree: (Check out also the thread DA's fake galleons - more than just a meeting reminder? (http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?p=1002727#post1002727) for possible uses of that charm in later books. There's definitely more to it than we've been told so far, it could e.g. be used for Order communication. :tu: )

[Lucybird]

When was this said? Could it possibly be something to do with the messages sent by Flawke's feathers?

[atherella]

When was this said? Could it possibly be something to do with the messages sent by Flawke's feathers?

March 2001
Has Harry ever used the Internet?

JKR - No. He's not allowed near Dudley's computer and Dudley's the only one who's got a computer. He gets beaten up if he goes too near the keyboard. So no, he's never used the Internet. I use it a lot but not Harry. Wizards don't really need to use the Internet but that's something that you'll find out later on in the series. They have a means of finding out what goes on in the outside world that I think is more fun than the Internet. Could anything be more fun than the Internet? Yes!

[Lucybird]

So it was before ootp came out. Maybe she was talking about the methods the order use then