Weekly Photo Challenge: Split Second Story – “Lest We Forget”

A submission to the Weekly Photo Challenge: Split Second Storytaken in Loughborough in November 2011.

Disconnected

T Minus 82

I am fairly attached to my mobile phone. I am using it now to write this post. I use it a lot when not at work. At work I am surrounded by computers and as an ICT Teacher it is very much a part of my working day. At home we have a fast broadband connection – so the only challenge in terms of connectivity is when I’m out and about. Much of the time I’m driving do it’s not an issue.
This week in Cornwall we have been travelling a lot exploring the area. It has been much harder to find a reliable signal as we have travelled – making navigation difficult (if the phone can’t get a signal it does not know where you are and so how to get you to where you are going).
The UK has patchy connectivity, 3G is very transient and often you need to rely on Edge (I am using that now) or GPRS (both of which are inferior technologies). Then suddenly everything is gone – no signal.
The other use of the phone is Social Media. Facebook, Twitter and of course WordPress :-). I like to keep in touch with the world through Social Media and this, I think, will be really important when we travel to Mwanza in Tanzania. It has been much harder to do this in the week – relying on the infrequent connections and the occasional WiFi hotspot. We were staying in a Travel Inn with WiFi which helped though speeds were lower than usual.

In spite of all this it has still been possible to connect, even if patchily.

Going to Africa is going to be a challenge on the connectivity front. Network speeds are going to be much slower. I will still have a computer at work and we hope to get a home network – but will have to get used to slower speeds. It is probably the mobile phone network that will be the challenge. Not only the speed but the ability to walk around holding an iPhone in my hand will obviously restrict usage. I doubt that I will be able to blog daily as I am at the moment. It will be a change of habit, a different way of doing things. It will be good for me too! Perhaps mobile technology has been too easy, too addictive. If a few days in Cornwall have taught me anything, it is that you can be disconnected and fine!