Technological Bliss

Technological epiphanies are such a rare guilty pleasure. I mean, they used to come all the time. In the past, 7-8 years everything’s just evolved so much it doesn’t happen as often…We exchange email addresses more than phone numbers, I chat more with my friends online that I sometimes speak with them in person (which is really a shame), and to just be as San Franciscan as possible, I usually take part in a renegade party each Halloween, and one of the participants actually proposed using a wiki to help plan this year’s event...raver-techno-practicality…gotta love it. Very, very few things, at least in my life, operate the same way they did a few years ago. I buy all my records online, I use an online calendar….gay but true, I even buy my underwear online…I mean, I know what I want and I just don’t wanna be bothered with it, I hate going to Target and wading through masses of people, and I certainly don’t want to spend my weekend doing it.

Anyway, back to the point, such conveniences, when they come at the appropriate time, can be some of the most sinful pleasures...just like you need it, just like you want it (not like online porn, useful stuff...wait...nevermind, you get the idea.) When things work and you really need then, not only are you extremely thankful, but also you’re infinitely excited about finding the next dorky gadget that could actually make your life a ‘lil easier…at least I do, being the convenience whore that I am.

So I’m on this brief working stint out of the country in Europe. And if you’ve even been in Europe and needed to call someone, you know what a pain it can be. The scenario usually pits you (loaded with a healthy dose of jetlag) against a guidebook to find a place to buy a phone card to use the guide book (again) to figure out how to dial out from that specific country…while you’re getting operator messages in another languaue (Polish being on of the more difficult ones to draw any similarities on)…I dunno maybe I’m being a major baby about the whole thing, but the European phone experience has never been good for me (and I’ve been doing it on an off for like 10+ years...I just don’t get it). Anyway, compound the fact that the reason you’re using the phone in the first place is not to call a loved one, but instead, trying to call in to some god forsaken conference call for work..the whole thing just takes it to a whole 'nother level of hell.

So there I was, fresh off a plane from the states, trapped in the bowels of this corporate business park in the suburbs of Poland, trying to figure out how to dial into this conference call I was supposed to be on 5 minutes ago...which really either sounds like the beginning of a horrid joke or a nightmare, not sure...anyway, all of a sudden, one of the guys I’m working with asked me if I used Skype...that comment hit me like a load of bricks.

So, a brief detour, skype is a VOIP software, that lets you use your computer as a phone. It’s definitely not the first, but it’s supposedly one of the first really usable versions in a long line of predecessors. I always knew about VOIP apps, but they’re sort of fraught with tales of shoddy quality and best saved for people who are broke but still need to dial friends on the other side of the world. Apps like Skype allow you to either converse with anothe Skype user for free, or call an actual phone number for a really reduced rates. (You'll see it installed in a lot of internet cafes b/c people use it to call family on other continents, etc.) Ironically, most of those really weird, cheap calling cards that give you such great rates when you need to talk to your cousins in Namibia actually use a similar software, Skype's just managed to really up to quality. I’ve never really had much use for this type of software before b/c, well, basically I can call anywhere in the US on my cell for the same rate I call across town, As for international calls, chat and email usually suffices so I've just never bothered.

Anyway, so I download and sign up for this software and within literally 5 minutes, I’m on a conference call on my computer and it was possibly on of the easier things I’ve ever done. You have to prepay (in euros), and it works out to about 2 cents/minutes to basically anywhere in the world….beat that deal. So that was my moment of Zen, my moment of technological bliss…just working, like it’s supposed to, to make the world a better place to live. It wasn’t even a factor of trying to save money or make things cheaper, it was just easier…so if you ever need to talk to someone halfway around the world…or you just don’t want to deal with long distance, etc, you should check into it. Oh, I didn’t mention it before, but you probably have to have a DSL or better connection to get any worthwhile results.

Posted by colin at October 12, 2004 01:24 AM