10,000ft / 3km / 1.9m in the air over FL, USA 11 October, 2010 3pm ET
The miracle of modern technology… I started using the net in 1989 and wifi technology in 2000… yet this is the first time I am accessing the net from within an aircraft!
My thoughts about this in my next article. For the time being, I’ll just publish this from within the air.
Until next time…
[Time Lapse]
And later…
Fort Lauderdale Beach, FL, USA 12 October, 2010 11.30pm ET
Well, the publishing from within the plane did not work. I was writing the blog in the WordPress App on my iPad and for some reason when trying to publish it, the app kept crashing. So I thought I would leave it until later. There is an update to the app available now, so hopefully that will fix whatever is wrong.
Anyway, what are my thoughts on Internet access on a flight?
At first I quite liked the idea. I mean, I have been living and breathing the net since October 1989 (21 years ago), day in and day out. I believed back then that it would be something that would change the way we live and this has certainly been experienced globally.
My main business would not exist if it was not for the net… my first business would not have started up if it was not for the net. I use it every single day of my life.. if anything, I tend to use it every single waking moment of my life.
And that is where the “but” comes into my enthusiasm for having internet access on a flight. For the past couple of years I have grown accustomed to using my plane journeys as a “Spa in the sky”. What I mean by this is that as there is no phone signal, or internet access, I can “relax” and use the time on flight to recuperate. When on the ground, I am constantly working, checking emails, answering/making phone calls… and whilst on a flight, in the absence of the communications technology availability, I can zone out and do other things that get neglected in my normal daily life or simply do nothing!
This is not to say that I do not welcome access to the technology whilst on a flight… just that I will need to consciously ‘restrain’ my usage. I will need to remember that time I spend on a flight is “Me time” and work can wait a few hours.
I would love to read the thoughts of my readers.. so please comment on this article. What are your views on Internet access on a flight? How much do you use the net in your daily life and how much would you use the net if it was available to you on your flight.. for free or for a fee?
I remain…
-DB
I relish any opportunity to turn off my email, and have had to make more concerted efforts in recent years to disconnect myself.
Human beings weren’t designed for the kind of always-on connected lifestyle we now have to engage in day in, day out – we have to grab down time wherever possible to maintain our sanity… at least… I do!
I rarely fly, but the last time I did, I watched a comedy DVD on my laptop. I suppose I might have streamed something from iPlayer instead. The trouble is that the air made me dizzy, and pain in my knees meant I stood for a few minutes, sat for ten, stood again… all the way through the flight. The comedy DVD helped distract me but I doubt I could have focussed on much else.
However, imagining a world where I am on a 12 hour flight and am stretching out with plenty of room to sit comfortably – yes, I probably would check my mail if the opportunity was there. But I wouldn’t seek it out; one of the things I love about going away is that people do not expect me to answer email or keep up with the latest news. I can escape for a bit, and the real world and work doesn’t matter. Sure, there will be businessmen or others who are “always on” who would probably use the net on a flight, but I don’t see it as a necessity or even something desirable.