This is probably about 6 years late, but Google Maps Street View is amazing. I've been using it to explore the streets of Bangkok, to try to get familiar with neighborhoods around the U.S. embassy, the boys' future school, and places we might be assigned to live. (We *still* haven't gotten our housing assignment, which is vexing since we have to make decisions about what household effects will go to Bangkok and which will go to storage; not to mention that other people we know going to Bangkok received their assignment nearly two months ago.)
I guess what makes Street View so amazing to me now (nearly 7 years after its launch) is that I'm actually able to use it for our next assignment. In 2008, we were headed to China. No Street View there -- the Chinese would never allow such detailed information to be public. Even satellite imagery of China is limited. And in 2012, we came to Ethiopia. Could be any number of factors why Street View isn't here, but terrible roads, constant construction, and Ethiopia taking cues from China in terms of information control come to mind.
So when we arrive in Bangkok, jet-lagged and disoriented, and have less than a week to get the boys enrolled in school before the term starts, I'm already armed with the knowledge of exactly where the school is and two different routes to get there (depending on where we get assigned for housing).
I'm sure I will also get excited (again, belatedly) about WiFi and 3G/4G networks since I will be living in a place with such capabilities for the first time since owning a smart phone (once again, outdated -- sensing a theme? -- an iPhone3 that our Ethiopian driver asked us to order for him, then upon its arrival decided he didn't want, leaving us in the lurch. He wouldn't pay for it, so I ended up with a mostly unwanted iPhone. But I digress.).
So yeah, I'm running about 6-7 years behind schedule on this stuff, so I've got some time to make up. Pretty soon I'll start using apps and maybe even figure out how hashtags came into use, why they aren't called pound signs, and most importantly why people think they are useful and not annoying. Might take me a while to crack that one since I still haven't wrapped my brain around the appeal of Twitter.
Watch out mobile Internets, I'm coming.
I guess what makes Street View so amazing to me now (nearly 7 years after its launch) is that I'm actually able to use it for our next assignment. In 2008, we were headed to China. No Street View there -- the Chinese would never allow such detailed information to be public. Even satellite imagery of China is limited. And in 2012, we came to Ethiopia. Could be any number of factors why Street View isn't here, but terrible roads, constant construction, and Ethiopia taking cues from China in terms of information control come to mind.
So when we arrive in Bangkok, jet-lagged and disoriented, and have less than a week to get the boys enrolled in school before the term starts, I'm already armed with the knowledge of exactly where the school is and two different routes to get there (depending on where we get assigned for housing).
I'm sure I will also get excited (again, belatedly) about WiFi and 3G/4G networks since I will be living in a place with such capabilities for the first time since owning a smart phone (once again, outdated -- sensing a theme? -- an iPhone3 that our Ethiopian driver asked us to order for him, then upon its arrival decided he didn't want, leaving us in the lurch. He wouldn't pay for it, so I ended up with a mostly unwanted iPhone. But I digress.).
So yeah, I'm running about 6-7 years behind schedule on this stuff, so I've got some time to make up. Pretty soon I'll start using apps and maybe even figure out how hashtags came into use, why they aren't called pound signs, and most importantly why people think they are useful and not annoying. Might take me a while to crack that one since I still haven't wrapped my brain around the appeal of Twitter.
Watch out mobile Internets, I'm coming.
2 comments:
You'll have to look back on this post... cause even though I agree with a lot of it, I think you are going to love a lot of the things you don't 'get' now. I could be wrond but you seem to love enough tech that you will be digging a lot of the social stuff... While I'll probably still be watching if the few people left blogging still do:)
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