Friday, July 15, 2005

Party Like It's 1995

In the one week since we left the friendly confines of California, one of the most difficult things that we've had to adjust to is being cut off from our usual, always-on feed of information through either web or cellular services. Singapore was not that bad, although the Four Seasons charged a hefty price to keep your data fix going in the hotel room. But, functioning in Sydney has taken some patience, partially because of our pressing needs for housing listings, used car posts and job opportunities.

The University charges you per MB downloaded if you go over your daily quota of 6MB which accumulates while doing activities such as surfing the web or checking email. This, assuming, is to prevent file sharing of music, videos and pornography (it's for research, I swear!), which tends to gobble the bandwidth. So, every computer on campus has a login credential attached to it, even when dialing in from home you are monitored on your quota. Never heard of this concept being implemented before in the states, but it does make sense in some twisted way. In addition, each department has a different set of credentials than the University-wide set, and each library has a third set in order for you to use their top-of-the-line desktops (in about 1995) and wi-fi networks. Mind-boggling.

We established a mobile number today, which is helpful in applying for housing and bank accounts, you can reach me at 0413 660 173, drop the 0 and add 011 61 2 (I think) when calling from the states. We've certainly had our share of misdials, adding a jumble of ones and zeros before local and long distance calls to try to find a magic combination that gets us through. Peggy gets her mobile either today or tomorrow, we're going through a pre-paid plan until we can sort out who's the best provider for us.

When we got dial-up going last night in our temporary digs, it was amazing. We didn't realize how much we needed it until it was taken away. A former teacher of mine once was quoted five years ago as saying, "I'd rather chew on tin foil than use dial-up", this was until the job market tanked and he was forced to eat those words. But man, after a week of searching for internet cafes and not being able to boot up your own laptop, the sweet sweet sound of that bit-rate baud screech was music to my ears. You can have my broadband connection when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

Coming soon... obligatory Sydney Opera House photos, possible flat rental options and more!

posted by ncawthon at 7:51 PM