Is internet access a utility?

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I have been staying with The Voice for the last few weeks. His broadband connection hasn’t been working for the last 2 weeks. The inadequacies of Tiscali and Sky Broadband notwithstanding – between them they seem to think that a 4 week interruption to service is acceptable – is it only me who sees internet connectivity as a basic utility? The Voice maintains that I am exaggerating but I beg to differ.

  1. I got a new credit card on Saturday that I had to go to an Internet Cafe to activate
  2. I am moving house next Saturday and need to:
      • rent a van
      • organise parking
      • order broadband

      Aside from the fact that Camden Council are doing everything they can to encourage email contact, how is one to order broadband or book a van and have any confidence in the choice made without being able to browse the Internet at length and in comfort?

      In addition to the ‘life admin’ necessities listed above, how about:

      1. Wikipedia is a vital support to most TV viewing, no?
      2. How long should I roast a shoulder of lamb?
      3. What is the best route from Fulham to Dulwich Village?
      4. Which tubes were running last weekend?
      5. Which pub shall we meet in which is convenient for London Bridge and Waterloo?

      Ok, so I did find ways around most of the above:

      1. We didn’t look up what on earth that guy had been in before.
      2. I phoned my mother.
      3. I used the A to Z (Was it the best route? Dunno, but we did get there!)
      4. We relied on remembering that most weren’t so used the overland (which, by the way is not covered by my pay as you go Oystercard – even though Putney is zone 2. Ken? When are you going to sort that out?)
      5. We relied on The Voice’s memory – always a gamble, but it paid off. (The Ring, Southwark tube, it was OK).

      I haven’t even added to this the fact that my Blog (which I am bad enough at updating at the best of times) has been even more neglected than usual!

      Am I very spoilt or is the internet really rather handy in a lot of instances?

      About the author

      Ivanka

      Ivanka Majic works in technology. She was Head of Design for Ubuntu, service managed Digital Marketplace through to beta, was acting director of digital for the Labour Party. She lives and works in Brighton where she works with the council’s digital first team, does a bit of teaching at Sussex University, and works with her husband on projects like restaurantsbrighton.co.uk and the BRAVOs. She has also started a podcast with her friend Michael which you can listen to at grandpodcast.com.

      3 comments

      • How people managed to survive 15 years ago? Hmmmm… They were miserable 24/7 365 days per year, probably… 🙂 🙂
        Yes, sometimes internet looks like utility, but I think internet became THE HABIT, time-eating habit very often. We can do same things without internet, even faster (activate credit card by phone is faster, in my experience). We often look for information which we don’t really need or definitely don’t need immediately. We are losing focus because so many links available in any page (when checking roast time for a shoulder of lamb, you probably would check links about marinating and/or seasoning too).
        I never (well, almost never) read work emails at home. Why? Because to answer I’ll have to open/read (some or most of) them again next day.
        Communicating with fiends and relatives: email (IM, etc.) is great way. But unless I have to send INFORMATION, I’d definitely prefer phone. Hearing human voice makes me feel better.

        Internet is GREAT, it’s very inconvenient to live without it even couple of days.
        But besides work, is it really vital, like water or electricity? Is having city map on your book shelf or in your car less necessary than having Internet Driving Direction Service available?
        Is it possible that we became sort of addition to available technology (at least sometimes)?

        —————–
        BTW, why Wikipedia is a vital support to most TV viewing?

      • It’s not just Wikipedia. It’s IMDB too. And Amazon, itTunes, Google image seaerch, and the rest…
        I find I never really watch a TV programme nowadays as my attention is divided between laptop and TV screen. I’ll check things on IMDB, find music on iTunes, look up reviews on Amazon, all queries sparked off from something on TV. In fact, if I didn’t have the laptop (and access to the information it gives), I think I’d be twitchy and restless just plonked in front of the TV.
        Oh, for the good old days when people just slumped listlessly in front of a cathode ray tube!

      • Pavel: one NEEDS to know that Philip Glenister from Life On Mars (as Gene Hunt) was the timid photographer / artist in The Calendar Girls. This is important in order to keep the peace during collaborative television viewing 🙂

      By Ivanka

      About Author

      Ivanka

      Ivanka Majic works in technology. She was Head of Design for Ubuntu, service managed Digital Marketplace through to beta, was acting director of digital for the Labour Party. She lives and works in Brighton where she works with the council’s digital first team, does a bit of teaching at Sussex University, and works with her husband on projects like restaurantsbrighton.co.uk and the BRAVOs. She has also started a podcast with her friend Michael which you can listen to at grandpodcast.com.

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