One of the most frustrating things about India, is the Internet here. No where around where I live, can you get a decent internet connection. Dial up is standard here, and its not that great either. Cyber Cafes here use a dial up connection shared among 4 or more computers. Making it so slow, that it takes 4 minutes just for the hotmail website to open up.
Sad part is that there is no alternative. Broadband connections are a thing that can be expected in all areas in around 6-8 years, and possibly not anytime sooner. Even then, it would take an additional 2-4 more years till the prices were right enough for people to start using it.
Also, whats even more frustrating, is the equipment that these cafes use. The computers are old enough to end up in a museum. Monitors are 14". And using a computer with speakers will cost you more.
And if you thought that was bad, wait till you hear about the software aspect. Almost every cyber cafe I went to uses Internet Explorer 5.0 on Windows 98. Firefox is not even an option on these old computers. Although, they all come with Netscape 7.2 for some reason. Makes me have second thoughts about not designing for older browsers.
And since there is no other alternative, people are forced to stick with this plan. Hundreds of college going kids have to check emails. And these Cyber cafes are the only option to most of them. I just cant wait to get back to the U.S. and use the T1 connection at work. Im sure its going to take some time to get used to.