I'm Loving the Internet Archive Today

In 1997, the Internet Archive copied sound files from my daughter's website. We had lost track of these WAVs over the years and I longed to hear Kaity's young voice again.

In my wildest dreams, I would've never guessed these coveted recordings were archived somewhere, but here they are in all their glory. I shouldn't be surprised. After all, it's been reported that the Internet archive has saved over 10 petabytes of the web.

"...use the Internet Archive Wayback Machine to scare the hell out of your kids..."

If you're still not convinced there is such a thing as a "permanent record," this will change your anyone's mind. Chances are, you can use the Internet Archive Wayback Machine to scare the dickens hell out of your kids before they get to college and attempt to clean up their digital footprints.

Anyhoo, I want to thank the Internet Archive (@internetarchive) for this lovely walk down a mother's memory lane. I'm so verklempt!

Now a blast to the past, recreated with the help of archive.org. Please ignore the garish color scheme. That's how Kaity's site actually looked back then.

Seven-year-old Kaitlyn, junior webmaster of Kaitlyn's Knock Knock Jokes and Riddles, has recorded some cute sound bytes for you to download and use on your personal computer. These are great for resetting the sound options in Windows 95, AOL 3.0 (America Online) or other programs.

If you are using NetScape 3.0 with plug-ins, a sound card and speakers, you can hear Kaitlyn's sound bytes before you download them. After you've downloaded files, use Windows 95 to reset your sound options. Click on Start, Settings, and Control Panel, then doubleclick on Sounds. Scroll down to find the sound events, browse to find the Kaitlyn sound byte you just downloaded, and select it. Click on Apply, then click on O.K.

Some of these sound events may be unique to Window 95 and/or AOL 3.0. Feel free to use Kaitlyn's sound bytes for other programs. By the way, if you have any ideas for more sounds you'd like to hear, just drop us a line. Have fun! — Kaitlyn's Mom

• Ding - Here's a silly answer to all those awful computer sounds. [ Sound Event: Asterisk ] 
• Hey, somebody's here. - A friend of yours just signed on to America Online. [ Sound Event: BuddyIn ] 
• Awww, they left. - They just signed off. [ Sound Event: BuddyOut ] 
• Well, it's about time, Mom. - Kaitlyn thought Mom would never get off the computer. [ Sound Event: Exit Windows ] 
• It's done already. - Pay attention. Your file is finished downloading. [ Sound Event: File's Done ]
• Great, more spam. - We can't think of anything more annoying than unsolicited junk email clogging Kaitlyn's inbox. How many phone cards can a young child use, anyway? Kaitlyn lets you know when your mail has arrived or is finished downloading. [ Sound Event: for Win95/AOL select You've Got Mail, for Eudora select Special, Settings, Getting Attention, then Play a Sound]
• Mommy, your mail's here. - Lucky for Kaitlyn, Mommy uses filters to get rid of most of the junk. [ Sound Event: for Win95/AOL select You've Got Mail, for Eudora select Special, Settings, Getting Attention, then Play a Sound] 
• Ahem, excuse me. - Kaitlyn interrupts your online session to send you a live or instant message. [ Sound Event: for Win95/AOL select IM, for Win95/CompuServe select Invitation ] 
• Welcome to the Unlimited Patience Network. - When AOL launched their so-called unlimited access plan, droves of users were met with busy signals and bumped sessions. Mommy coined the phrase 'Unlimited Patience Plan.' Kaitlyn helps her drive that point home with a new log on sound for America Online users. [ Sound Event: Welcome ] 
• Goodbye everybody. - Kaitlyn sings a cheerful farewell. [ Sound Event: Close program ] 
• It's history. - After you empty your Windows recycle bin, it's too late to change your mind. [ Sound Event: Empty Recycle Bin ]