Park wi-fi
Four state parks -- including Saratoga Spa State Park -- are getting free wi-fi coverage, the Cuomo admin announced today. (The service is being provided as part of pilot program collaboration between a parks information service and a car company.) And while there will almost surely be good/interesting/helpful applications of the service (map downloads, environmental sensors, whatever) -- we gotta admit that the cranky, grumpy side of us is thinking, you know, that maybe we go to the park to get away from stuff like wi-fi...
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OTOH, for those of us who have been avoiding buying expensive data plans, I'd love to be able to upload my photos and download a new novel from the library without leaving the park.
... said abby on Aug 6, 2014 at 4:39 PM | link
@abby: Sure. And if I could wave a magic wand, I'd make some level of free or relatively low-cost wireless access available almost everywhere. You know, like other infrastructure, roads or water or whatever. (I mean, this probably wouldn't be the *first* thing I'd do, but I'd get around to it eventually.)
I guess I just had a pang of pessimism about this being a tiny step toward a world in which we're expected to be working all the time -- even when we're not "at" work, even when we're "outside" -- because it will be possible.
... said Greg on Aug 6, 2014 at 4:58 PM | link
@Greg
I let calls roll to VM. I've been known to *gasp* turn off my ringer. If I don't flip off the world (!!!) who will?
Very few of us have lives/careers where we need to be available 24/7 to everyone. Practice good filtering. And let yourself feel good about it!
... said abby on Aug 7, 2014 at 6:04 AM | link
My neighbor, Mrs Mattoon, came back recently from hiking part of the Appalachian Trail. She had done a good deal of it when she was a young lady at Bennington College. She said she was shocked to see there were so many hikers now on the phone. At night they would talk on the internet and update blogs, call their parents, watch cats play the piano on Youtube. One crowded camping spot she said the light of cell phones was drowning out the stars. She wanted to cry, she said, so she hiked back home and sat in the dark in her living room.
... said Big 'Vic' Proton on Aug 7, 2014 at 6:52 AM | link