Electronic Newspapers Save Time, Money, Gasoline and Excess Calories

The past week I was out in North Truro on Cape Cod, MA. On the Cape I have my usual morning routine that, in the past, has involved getting up early, jumping in my car and driving 14 miles round trip to Provincetown for a newspaper and usually..... donuts!

This year, instead of driving for the paper (and donuts) I was waking wake up and downloading the Boston Globe to my Kindle. I currently subscribe to an electronic version of the Globe for $9.99 per month - I get an electronic copy of the paper 7 days a week without the ads. $9.99 is a pretty good deal for a full month of the Globe - just the Sunday edition costs $2.50. I also don't get stuck with stacks of read newspapers that I have to eventually bring to the dump (Truro Transfer Station).

In addition to the Globe I also like to read the Boston Herald - especially when it comes to reading about New England sports teams. On Friday the Celtics got to be too much for me - the Herald is not available electronically so...... i got in my car and drove to Provincetown to get the paper. Guess what else I got.

By Saturday morning I was back on the Kindle and off the donuts.

Disconnection Redux: A Walk on the Beach

I think I first wrote about disconnecting here in the spring of 2006. I've been away for the last 1.5 weeks without a broadband connection - hence my lack of posting. I've been out in North Truro on Cape Cod. Still here actually - am in the town library right now on a library computer - figured I better post something..... I actually got some down time which was pretty nice - not that I did not do any work.

On June 21 I had a great meeting with Joyce Plotkin from the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council and Ellen Bemben from the Regional Technology Corporation in Framingham, MA. Thanks Ellen and Joyce for a great meeting and thanks Ellen for picking up lunch!

On June 25 I was in Omaha delivering the keynote for the Midwest Center for Information Technology (MCIT). In the afternoon I did a Web 2.0 technology presentation on the University of Nebraska campus to a Nebraska business and industry group. I flew back Monday evening. I especially want to thank Dennis Kirlin and Dave Vankat, along with the rest of the MCIT staff for making my visit a special one. It's been about seven years since I've been to Omaha - a wonderful part of the country and a wonderful group of people.

So - what else have I been up to? Been spending a lot of time on the beach with the kids fishing, clamming and beachcombing. Truro is a beautiful place which much of the town part of the Cape Cod National Seashore. The establishment of the seashore national park in the 1950's has prevented new construction since - in many ways it's like going back in time. Go to just about any public access beach, walk 15 minutes down the beach in any direction and you will likely be in a place where you cannot see another person in either direction.

Lots going on in the technology world and I'll reconnect once we get back on Saturday. I've been amazed at the amount of iPhone hype in the mainstream media but I think that can wait a couple more days. Also Google, FCC, FTTP, FTTN...... Low tide in a couple of hours and we've got to go dig some more clams..... I hope you also get some time to disconnect this summer.