Unwired at last
I’m not an early adopter when it comes to hardware. When it comes to free software, sure. But for hardware, I’ll let the pioneers get the arrows in their backs and jump on the bandwagon when things are better and cheaper.
For instance, it was only last year I finally got a wireless router for the house. The only thing we’re getting out of it, really, is not needing to run an ethernet cable to Pocahontas’ computer. Once, a visitor made use of it on his laptop. I never did get the wireless card working on my vintage 1998 laptop.
Recently, a friend of mine upgraded from the lesser 15” Powerbook to the greater one, and loaned me the lesser one. (I’ve got good friends.) For the past week, for the first time ever, I’ve been travelling with a wireless laptop.
I was thinking, ok, I’ll be able to check my email when I visit my one sister, whose husband is a geek with a wireless router. But while I was staying at my other sister’s house, I thought I’d check whether any of her neighbors had WiFi. Turned out I had my choice of three networks.
Later in the trip, we were staying at a friend of Pocahontas’. Her household had a wireless router.
And right now, I’m writing this at JFK Airport, courtesy of JetBlue.
Yes, I know how far behind the curve I am, and I know you were sick of reading “gee whiz! I have net access away from home!” blog entries in 1999.
But, gee whiz! I have net access away from home!
Not directly related, but I just noticed the "Steampunk Fax Machine" link in the Free Range Memes column. FYI, there was actually an even earlier fax machine, dating back to the 1850s. Do a Google search on "pantelegraph."
Posted by Ted on December 30 2004 00:26
To sort of merge the main entry and the comment, I can remember someone from RPI getting all thrilled because he'd hooked up a modem, car phone, and portable computer, and was able to log onto the RPI machines from his car. This was back in 1987 or '88.
And for older debuts of supposedly modern technology, magnetic recording goes back to 1898. The first patented magnetic sound recorder was marketed commercially as -- somehow this isn't surprising -- a telephone answering machine.
At least one book, titled "Magnetic Recording: the FIrst 100 Years" has been written regarding the history of this technology. There's short and informative article on Valdemar Poulsen, the inventor of the "Telegraphone", here:
http://www.amps.net/newsletters/issue27/27_poulsen.htm
Now all we need is a suitable SF/pulp/steampunk setting into which to insert our techno-whiz with the pantelegraph, telegraphone, kinetoscope, Babbage analyzer, and other 19th-century advanced tech.
Posted by Jimcat on December 30 2004 09:43