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 I don’t know much
about technology. It’s just not my field of expertise; I’m a creative
writer. However, as I work for an Internet company I have come to
realize the powerful ideas that my fellow office-mates/nerds (cool
nerds: E.g. Napoleon Dynamite www.imdb.com/title/tt0374900/) come up
with, and how these ideas are changing our world for the better. The
latest idea that has come to fruition, to me, seems like an amazing
accomplishment for all of humanity to partake in, even writers. Mobile,
wireless, broadband Internet means we can now go on the Internet when we
are on the move, or away from our homes and offices. Check out http://www.theunwired.net/,
or http://www.iburst.com.au. This is really cool stuff. Picture a few of
these scenarios…
You are a creative person, writer/graphic artist who doesn’t like to
work indoors. You need the fresh air blowing in your face, sun warming
your skin, to get the imagination flowing. You feel like sitting in the
park but would also like to have access to the Internet to do research,
as well as add to your blog or website portfolio. Stick one of these
magic laptop modems with its own antenna into your computer and as long
as there’s coverage you’re on your way to creating your life’s work.
What if you’re into big business, a company executive, or need to
communicate with your colleagues regularly? Now you’re on the road, in a
taxi, going very quickly down the highway. There’s no need for this to
be ‘down time’ for you anymore. You can email, send files, and if you’re
especially techno-savvy, you can hook up a webcam and voice-over IP and
have meetings ‘face to face’ while on the go. Moving from office to
office, and staying in hotel rooms far from home makes no difference, as
you are always able to connect. Talk about limiting loss of production
due to time and space constraints!
Imagine you are a university student who has to move house a lot due to
short leases and sometimes-unfriendly relations with roommates. You no
longer will need to be concerned with disconnection and reconnection
hassles, especially the added fees. As this technology also caters for
individuals, you won’t have to worry about your buddies downloading
heaps of your cash with the usual wireless network setups in houses by
telling you that you have to pay an ‘equal’ share of their activity.
However, there are no limits to how many connections are in one house,
so all your friends or family can have their own.
There are also desktop versions if you are in an area that doesn’t have
access to ADSL, or you don’t want to use a phone line to access the Web.
The mobile version of iBurst is just like a normal wireless system
except it uses a system of base stations that transmit the network to
the wireless modems. So, if you’re at school, work, the library,
airport, business meeting, or even the beach (if it is under coverage)
you can surf the web (after the waves) and send important emails. There
are a few issues with places like parking lots and subways where the
radio frequency may sometimes be unable to pierce through deep layers of
concrete, or where towers are too far apart so the connection drops in
and out. I expect my nerd friends will solve these problems and any
others that arise as the technology develops further. The nerds can do
it all. Check out Napoleon Dynamite’s dance moves:
www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/napoleon. Now all we have to do is wait
for them to expand from their tunnel-vision focus on technology, to
developing the means to creating a utopian society. I don’t know, maybe
that’s where us creative folk come into play?
By Jesse S. Somer
http://www.m6.net
Jesse S. Somer is a humanoid that sees the possibility of a society
achieving incredible technical evolution, but which is still at one and
integrated within a healthy natural world.
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