Which way do we turn?

Greetings from Chicago. After two days and fifteen hundred miles, I’ve confirmed a few long-held assumptions about the quality of food served alongside American highways, but, to date, no revelations about the broader state of technology in America.

Revelations aside, the role of technology in a life-on-the-road has been interesting, and sometimes frustrating, to observe. The 45 minutes during which the iPhone could not acquire a GPS location fix, and was subsequently useless to point us in the direction of the interstate were some of the most frustrating on the trip so far. It’s hardly a new concept, but a simple a reminder that the magic and promises held by technology are still very fallible as compared to, say, a printed map. The trouble we eventually encountered after a day of everything working properly stood in such a marked contrast that it resulted in undue frustration. Wrong turns and misdirection have been a part of road trips for as long as there have been roads, but after a day of perfect direction and orientation, there was a profound subconscious assumption that we could rely on this incredibly powerful system whenever we wanted. The simplicity of operation and function only stood to make it worse – how could something so simple just “not work”?

There are other frustrations in looking at scenarios that could so easily be benefited by use of mobile technology but aren’t. A frivolous example perhaps, but in navigating our way around America’s Roller Coast, (and by “navigating”, what I really mean is “waiting in line”), we couldn’t help but note the signs posted at the entrance to each of the dozen or so coasters announcing the respective wait times – 45 minutes for this ride, an hour and 15 for that ride – and wondered, why isn’t there an app telling us which rides have the shortest waits, and how to navigate to them?

At breakfast with our fellow guests at Ray’s Bucktown B&B, the iPad being used by one of the guests to read the morning paper was the topic of conversation both at the table and in the kitchen, with guests and staff curiously peering and asking about how well the owner liked it, and, might they have a touch? The proud owner was happy to oblige, and, as is so often the case, offered a resounding recommendation to all interested parties.

I proceeded to have a conversation with the owner and his partner (both teachers visiting from San Francisco) about the potential impact of the device in classrooms at different levels. That’s an article for another day, but for the moment, suffice to say that, two months and two million units after its introduction, the buzz surrounding this device is still palpable.

Next up: iOS 4 and the new iPhone, iAds, and what the publishing industry could stand to learn from the mistakes of the record and film industries in moving to digital distribution models.