THE BIG SWITCH
January 23, 2009 01:39 PM Filed in: Personal
One of the things I've noticed is how everyone here
in Korea uses entirely web based, or internet based,
tools for their online life. For example, many
Koreans, it seems, build their homepage on a service
called Nate On, which also has a fully featured chat
tool similar to Skype or ICQ, but all in Korean
language. They also use, for email, a service called
hanmail.net, which I am surprised my friend Anthony
Han doesn't use, since it would make for a cool
address for him. Even many games they play, they
never need to store locally, but unpack them from the
web at runtime and simply play online. Korea has the
fastest internet in the world after all. A full HD
movie can be downloaded in just a few minutes, and,
on top of that, their media players allow one to
start playing the video as soon as the download
begins.
Anyway, I am going to start making the switch to all web based tools myself. The problem I have faced since I began traveling is that my website is created in a tool called Rapid Weaver, which runs on my MAC in OS X, and everything is stored locally. I also access all of my email accounts through Mac Mail or on my iPhone which is usually synced to my laptop. Either way, this requires me to find an internet connection, usually wireless, that works on this laptop, on which I am now typing, or on my iPhone, which has a much weaker WIFI ability. WIFI is not as prominent as I expected it to be here, and when I do find it, it is dreadfully slow for me. I asked the reason for this and was told that because wired connections are so fast, reaching true gigabit speeds here, few are interested in slow WIFI. Even many internet cafes don't have it. They expect you would want to use one of the computers already there and have full speed access. This leaves me primarily with the coffee shops which are a bother.
If, however, I used web based tools, like my friends here do, I would pretty much have access anywhere I go. The computer here where I stay has a connection so fast I can download an HD quicktime trailer in a few seconds. There are PC rooms on every corner with super fast connections. What I want to do basically is eliminate the need to use this particular Mac to do all my stuff. I will be able to use any computer I come across. Since I am getting rid of this Mac pretty soon, that only adds to my reason.
I already have a gmail account, but may make another web based mail account specific to this site. The real key is this website, which I am currently thinking to switch to an online tool like Blogger to continue. It would be easier to access and update anywhere and anytime, regardless of what computer I am on. Of course, this doesn't apply in any country into which one might travel. I have heard that in the Philippines, though internet cafes are numerous, many have keyboard mappers or hidden cameras and will steal your passwords and personal information. I have come across a few stories of people who had their bank accounts supposedly cleaned out after accessing them from an internet cafe. Whether true or not, I would never attempt such a thing anyway.
So this weekend, I may be starting book two of this adventure a little sooner than planned, and it will be started on an online web building tool like Blogger. I will also find a good web based email service on which to create an email account for this site.
Anyway, I am going to start making the switch to all web based tools myself. The problem I have faced since I began traveling is that my website is created in a tool called Rapid Weaver, which runs on my MAC in OS X, and everything is stored locally. I also access all of my email accounts through Mac Mail or on my iPhone which is usually synced to my laptop. Either way, this requires me to find an internet connection, usually wireless, that works on this laptop, on which I am now typing, or on my iPhone, which has a much weaker WIFI ability. WIFI is not as prominent as I expected it to be here, and when I do find it, it is dreadfully slow for me. I asked the reason for this and was told that because wired connections are so fast, reaching true gigabit speeds here, few are interested in slow WIFI. Even many internet cafes don't have it. They expect you would want to use one of the computers already there and have full speed access. This leaves me primarily with the coffee shops which are a bother.
If, however, I used web based tools, like my friends here do, I would pretty much have access anywhere I go. The computer here where I stay has a connection so fast I can download an HD quicktime trailer in a few seconds. There are PC rooms on every corner with super fast connections. What I want to do basically is eliminate the need to use this particular Mac to do all my stuff. I will be able to use any computer I come across. Since I am getting rid of this Mac pretty soon, that only adds to my reason.
I already have a gmail account, but may make another web based mail account specific to this site. The real key is this website, which I am currently thinking to switch to an online tool like Blogger to continue. It would be easier to access and update anywhere and anytime, regardless of what computer I am on. Of course, this doesn't apply in any country into which one might travel. I have heard that in the Philippines, though internet cafes are numerous, many have keyboard mappers or hidden cameras and will steal your passwords and personal information. I have come across a few stories of people who had their bank accounts supposedly cleaned out after accessing them from an internet cafe. Whether true or not, I would never attempt such a thing anyway.
So this weekend, I may be starting book two of this adventure a little sooner than planned, and it will be started on an online web building tool like Blogger. I will also find a good web based email service on which to create an email account for this site.
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