The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group A Road Warrior's Tale Laurie Pearson |
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Laurie Pearson tells the tale of how technology began to assist his wandering around the outback |
In the 1980s I was employed by the State Electricity Commission (SEC) as a Control Room Supervisor. During that decade the SEC introduced a mainframe computer terminal into the work area, gave everyone logon instructions, told us to follow online tuition and learn how to operate the thing.
The online course gave an instruction on how to send a message to somebody in the remote computer section with any queries that we may have. During my course of learning I came across the term "database" and just to show my naivety I sent off a query asking "what is a database?" Never did receive a reply.
The crux of the matter is that this system was not user friendly nor could I see any immediate use for it.
At about this time I began to read about personal computers and in these I could see a use, both in the workplace and as a personal tool, so I took myself off to a class at Preston Technological College to study personal computers. During the first course the class enjoyed a TRS48 computer for every two pupils. I was paired with a lad who understood most of what our tutor was saying and he tapped away at the keyboard while I looked in wonderment at the black screen with green type and learnt very little. At that stage I did not have access to a computer between classes so there was no way of practicing.
The main thing I learnt was that when imparting computer knowledge, you do not show the pupil how to do something on the computer. Instead you teach the pupil what to do so that control is theirs, to have fingers poised over the keys and then for the eyes to focus on the screen and observe the result of their action. In other words I should have had my own computer in the class.
The next course I undertook was to learn to program in the Basic language and this time I was able to borrow a portable computer from work. The term "portable" is used loosely because it was the size of a portable sewing machine in a wooden case and twice as heavy, making the task of
bringing it home on the train somewhat of a challenge. This enabled me to practice and discover the questions I needed to ask at the following class session.
Eventually I bought my own TRS48 computer so I can say that I grew up watching much of the development of personal computers and computer programs. Finding practical uses for your personal computer helps one to justify spending squillions on programs and the necessary updating of computers over the years.
As a lead in to my present lifestyle I will backtrack to the times of my family's development. Our holidays and recreation were of the travelling type towing caravans or tenting and 4 wheel driving in the High Country and Outback. When the chooks flew the coop my wife and I finally discarded the tent for living out of the back of our four wheel drive. Those holidays were my apprenticeship for retirement.
In May 1992 I retired but in November of that year we discovered that my wife had cancer and after nearly 5 years of major operations and treatment she succumbed and died in July 1997. 38 years of marriage and bonding went down the gurgler.
I cannot put my finger on when I joined Melb PC but I can say that it was long before retirement and I frequently attended the Windows SIG run in Dorcas Street by a very clever tutor/convener in the person of Nigel Harris.
Another valuable organisation if one can call it an organisation was the Dead Persons Society. The Dead Persons Society at that time was an informal gathering of like minded genealogists who swapped information, spoke of their experiences with research and computers, and generally helped each other to solve research problems.
I am still a member of GUM (Genealogists Using Microcomputers) which is a more formal organisation specifically to educate its members in the use of computers for genealogical purposes and for help and information swapping. GUM issues a monthly newsletter from which one obtains gems of information. Both Melb PC members and The Dead Persons Society communicated via Bulletin Boards and after my retirement all of the above played an important role in replacing the problem solving and learning interaction that I had at work with boffins in the computer department and computer literate workmates.
The above leads into my present lifestyle which commenced in 1998 when I purchased an off road caravan and started travelling for extensive periods to escape southern winters, and for the fun it of course. Initially my e-mail while touring was done by connecting a GSM mobile phone to my laptop via a cable connected to the serial port or via the infra red ports on the phone and the laptop.
This was a frustratingly slow process compared with using my home landline. Remember also, while using the mobile phone one is time charged as opposed to one call charge when using landline.
Anybody who has travelled the outback with a GSM mobile phone will know that once outside a country settlement the mobile phone signal disappears and often didn't reappear at the next town.
About 5 years ago I noticed people talking on their mobile phones in country towns but my GSM phone didn't have a signal so my next contract was a CDMA phone. The CDMA was a huge improvement with almost twice the Internet speed of the GSM phone and with a much wider coverage.
Incidentally, all of my mobile contracts are with Telstra, not through love but necessity, because they have the most prolific system. This situation is gradually changing but not completely at the time of my last contract. Optus claim to have the same coverage as Telstra but their contracts did not suit my purpose.
Last year I bit the bullet again and changed my phone to Telstra's NextG. This system is mobile Broadband and compared to my landline and previous mobiles it runs at breakneck speed. The connection icon at the bottom right hand corner of the screen, when the phone is connected to the Internet, tells me that it is 230.4 kbps but I take that indication with a grain of salt because the same icon told porkies about my CDMA speed.
My NextG phone can be connected to the laptop by either Bluetooth, Infrared or the cable supplied. Telstra retailers assure me that the cable connection is by far the fastest of the three.
As an aside about the speed difference, one year before I discovered the program Mailwasher, and Internet Cafes, I received an e-mail that was taking an inordinate amount of time to download. I downloaded the file on the after hours cheap rate and it took just over I hour to clear it out of my Melb PC mailbox. The email turned out to be a 3 MB electronic Christmas card from a friend and I estimated that it cost me about 515.00 to receive the festive greeting. One can buy a reasonable bottle of red for that price. With NextG I can download a 35 Mb file within the 20 minute period of my Bonus Hour. The Bonus Hour is part of my contract where I can call any phone within Australia during my nominated hour for free as long as no call lasts more than 20 minutes. Previously I could not install Windows critical updates until I found a town with an Internet Café where they would allow me to connect my laptop to their Broadband system.
Because of the short time I've been on NextG I am unable to give an informed view of costs except to report that NextG is dearer than CDMA and the cost is governed by the phone that one purchases, and by the size of the Data Pack to which you subscribe. It is not necessary to subscribe to a Data Pack but for my purposes it is essential. Prior to signing my contract with Telstra I viewed my usage at Melb PC to determine which Data Pack to purchase. Now here is a word of warning to those contemplating using a NextG mobile phone to access the Internet. Careful consideration must be given to which or no Data Pack to which you wish to subscribe and if you are tempted to pay by usage instead of subscribing for a Data Pack your back pocket may suffer a lot of pain.
Next month with photographs Laurie shows how he began using GPS navigation and the difference it has made to his nomad lifestyle.
About the Author
Laurie Pearson, lpearson@melbpc.org.au, is a grey nomad from late May till January and lurks in some Melb PC newsgroups.
Reprinted from the April 2007 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
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