Robert Poynton
A cartoony hand-drawn portrait of Robert Poynton
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My jet pack arrived

December 15, 2011 – 1 min read

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This afternoon I decided to try and do a Skype call from home.  Our house is remote – there is no phone line (and therefore no fixed line internet). In fact, there isn’t even mains electricity or water. So I decide to use my phone as the connection. It will work with voice I reasoned.

I was wrong. It worked with video.

And while I was relishing the chance to share the beauty of the sunset with my friend Ed Brown in California, my wife called. And I found I could answer the phone and talk on it, even while I was connected on Skype to Ed. Blimey.

A few years back in Greenwich in London I saw a T shirt that said “technology has failed us – where’s my jet pack”. This afternoon, I felt like mine had arrived. And it reminded me that even though technology can be frustrating, we would do well to stay amazed at the extraordinary possibilities it brings. However uncool that may be.

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