Unwired, but Not Unplugged
I am so looking forward to my second NLII conference in New Orleans starting
at the end of this weekend. As I have written before, I think it's vital for
professionals to get out to conferences and interact with others. Although I
often find myself, days before such a trip, trying to find reasons not go to;
I also always come back recharged, with my head full of new ideas - and glad
that I went.
Speaking of recharged, the NLII event I went to two years ago impressed me
as the first conference I had been to where the plenary session rooms were made
up with several rows of tables to accommodate notebook users. I was very impressed.
I also, now, do not remember what the accommodation was for electrical power
in that room. I know that outlets in the common areas were few and far between.
But at the NLII Fall Focus in Boston last September, there were sufficient power
supplies at each table to accommodate anyone.
That previous NLII conference in New Orleans was when I started carrying an
extension cord in my notebook's backpack carrier. In fact, it may have been
the only time I left the conference hotel on that trip (I hope that this time
I find time to get out for dinner at least once), to find a place to buy an
extension cord so that I could stay powered-up between sessions. (There were
several places with outlets just a little bit too far from any seating and the
extension cord let me reach both at the same time.)
I also now carry, when I travel, a second laptop battery that is fully charged
when I leave home. And I have added a power strip to the collection of stuff
I lug around, because I think it's kind of nice - when I do find those rare
plugs in Detroit Metro, Denver, or L.A. - if I can temporarily do my part to
provide more outlets for others to get their charging done. I'm not at all sure
that places like Detroit Metro are really friendly about sharing power. The
managers know we're sort of stuck there, and that we're not going to choose
not to fly through a particular airport just because it hides its power outlets
from us.
Even the airlines seem a little that way. I was naively excited when I got
my first complete, customizable set of plugs for my notebook that included one
that could be used on airplanes. I figured that each seat had power, I had just
never noticed. Well, I still have yet to find a power outlet on an airplane.
I guess that some planes have them, but I have never flown on one of those.
I wonder if the new jumbo Airbus has outlets, other than in private suites?
I wouldn't be surprised that, if they do, the power is metered and overcharged-for.
Many have stated, and I completely agree, that it's too bad that the development
of power storage technology has lagged behind the development of our information
tools technology. It's nice to see some minor advances - like the fact that
I can now charge up my Treo directly from my laptop through the USB hub; thanks
to a new cable my future son-in-law gave me last month. (Among other things,
that means I only need a single outlet in the airport and don't have to feel
like a power-source hog.)
If only we could broadcast power like we do connectivity. Unfortunately, there
is little doubt that broadcasting power would involve some serious personal
and public health issues. Occasionally I head about some new developments in
small fuel cell technology, but I don't follow it enough to know if two-day
batteries for laptops are on their way or still a pipe dream. (I figure it's
the latter.)
At my home right now, we are completely renovating the kitchen and dining room,
which were added on to the core of the 1870 house in 1941 and 1964, respectively.
Guess what, there were not enough plugs! But there will be. In the dining room
alone, which is about fifteen feet by fifteen feet, there will be three sets
of double power outlets along each wall, for a total of 24 outlets. That should
be enough . . . I think.
Are we building more power outlets into buildings on campus? I am sitting here
right now, as I write this, and kicking myself for not having looked around
the Stata Center at MIT when I was there recently. I'd be greatly impressed
if there were power outlets every few feet along the internal "Student
Street" there.
I saw a statistic lately about our lives in the "built environment."
World wide, it is estimated that by 2030 more than 50 percent of the buildings
we live and work in will have been constructed since the year 2000 - http://www.scup.org/knowledge/scuplinks.html#462.
I sure hope we're building in enough individual power access. But I would not
be surprised to find out that we're not. If we are not, then we are making assumptions
about power needs and supplies of the future that may or may not be right, and
may even be implicit rather than explicit.
Anyway, if you see an older guy with white hair and a beard at the airport
in Detroit this afternoon (or coming back in the New Orleans airport next Wednesday),
probably wearing a tweed jacket, sitting on the ground near an outlet, with
an extension cord, it might be me.
Just ask, and I will be very happy to pull out my power strip and share!
