How well do you cope with tortoise-like connections when you travel?
Back in the day, the only “devices” you needed to bring with you when you traveled were a watch and your camera. That list has mushroomed in the last couple of decades — laptop, GPS, smartphone, video camera, nearly all of it depending on wi-fi connectivity.
One outfit even makes the Looxcie, a video camera you can wear like a Bluetooth phone headset.
What’s next, “Set phasers on stun!”…?
We’ve almost become one-person documentary producers. Cool, very cool. But all this “stuff” has become something of a burden, especially when going through airport security.
Furthermore, all wi-fi is not created equal. If you’re accustomed to lightning-like broadband at home, what you encounter on the road may be a bit of a shock.
Does this sound familiar?
HER: “Are you STILL uploading that YouTube video?”
HIM: “Almost done! Only 28 percent to go!”
HER: “It was 35 percent an hour ago. I wanna go to sleep!”
Not long ago, a race was held in rural Britain. A computer user in Yorkshire tried to upload a five-minute video to a another computer 72 miles away via broadband. At the same time, ten carrier pigeons with USB thumb drives containing the same video were released toward the same destination.
The pigeons won — and it wasn’t close.
If half-fast connections sets your teeth on edge, treat it as an opportunity to turn off the electronics and enjoy your time away from home. You can always do your uploading when you get back.
Either that, or travel with a lot of pigeons.