One of the challenges for me during this week will be getting used to using a crippled iPhone. I have data roaming turned off on my phone this week while I'm in the US to avoid remortgaging my home in order to afford my next cellular bill. I don't want to get into how roaming charges work in North America, because this will quickly turn into a rant, but I'm going to have to get used to actually doing some basic planning before I leave a wifi hotspot. This is something I didn't notice I had stopped doing when I got my iPhone.
When I started looking into buying a smartphone, I wasn't really interested in getting a data plan. It was expensive and I didn't think it was worth the cost. A colleague, who had an iPhone for a while already, told me I'd regret not getting a data plan and I shrugged. Turns out when I bought my phone, Rogers' retention specialist offered me a basic 500MB data plan which I decided to try out. I have to admit that I would be kicking myself if I actually would have gone through the trouble of buying a smart phone without a data plan. It even recently got my wife to say this magical phrase: It's a good thing you had your phone! after she constantly tried to convince me that it was a waste of money. (It's true, I swear!)
You really need to have it to really appreciate how useful it is to have the internet in your pocket. Or better yet, you need to lose it in order to really appreciate what you had. Do you remember watching Back To The Future 2 when you were a kid and thought "Man, I can't wait to ride a hoverboard!". Turns out, those didn't really materialize (it's not 2015 yet!) but lately I've often found myself reading headlines and think "Geez, we're in the future!". Think about SixthSense Projection, 3D holograms, cars that park themselves and even 3D Televisions. Though mobile internet has been around a while now and you might think I'm lame for talking about this Today in 2010, but it is pretty much the equivalent to the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. When you stop to think about it, that is an incredible technological achievement.
It's also incredible how fast we become dependent on these technological advancements. A friend once asked me whether I had used a computer without an internet connection lately. My answer was no and I hadn't really thought about it, but a disconnected computer feels quite useless in 2010 while it was state of the art technology "only" 15 years ago.
So now I'll need to go about only partially connected for the next week. At least there is free wifi at OSCON, unlike another tech convention I went to earlier this year..
When I started looking into buying a smartphone, I wasn't really interested in getting a data plan. It was expensive and I didn't think it was worth the cost. A colleague, who had an iPhone for a while already, told me I'd regret not getting a data plan and I shrugged. Turns out when I bought my phone, Rogers' retention specialist offered me a basic 500MB data plan which I decided to try out. I have to admit that I would be kicking myself if I actually would have gone through the trouble of buying a smart phone without a data plan. It even recently got my wife to say this magical phrase: It's a good thing you had your phone! after she constantly tried to convince me that it was a waste of money. (It's true, I swear!)
You really need to have it to really appreciate how useful it is to have the internet in your pocket. Or better yet, you need to lose it in order to really appreciate what you had. Do you remember watching Back To The Future 2 when you were a kid and thought "Man, I can't wait to ride a hoverboard!". Turns out, those didn't really materialize (it's not 2015 yet!) but lately I've often found myself reading headlines and think "Geez, we're in the future!". Think about SixthSense Projection, 3D holograms, cars that park themselves and even 3D Televisions. Though mobile internet has been around a while now and you might think I'm lame for talking about this Today in 2010, but it is pretty much the equivalent to the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. When you stop to think about it, that is an incredible technological achievement.
It's also incredible how fast we become dependent on these technological advancements. A friend once asked me whether I had used a computer without an internet connection lately. My answer was no and I hadn't really thought about it, but a disconnected computer feels quite useless in 2010 while it was state of the art technology "only" 15 years ago.
So now I'll need to go about only partially connected for the next week. At least there is free wifi at OSCON, unlike another tech convention I went to earlier this year..
Couldn't agree with you more. My last trip to the states nearly killed me. You have to pick your restaurants before you leave. What if they are full? Do you really just walk into a restaurant and waste some money on crappy food when you've become dependent on instant social networks to help you make an insightful decision?
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