Re: PC--What is it good for?

On 2007-12-10, Damien Sullivan <phoenix@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
allegedly proclaimed to rec.arts.sf.written:
> Taki Kogoma <quirk@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>>Hrm.  So *that's* what's so old-school about Bujold.  She still has
>>humans working with fixed or semi-fixed comconsoles instead of toting
>>around mobile communnications/entertainment/computation devices...
>
> Well, I think they have data tablets.  I think Miles whipped up the
> Dendarii regulations on something ****table.  I know Illyan was given a
> ****table electronic map and note-taker.  I'm not sure it was wireless,
> though.  Aral usually has some sort of ****table device; he has his heart
> attack when left without it.

Neither Simon's map-cube, nor audio-filer appear to be networked.  The
data tablets seem to have some limited communication capability; they
feel like PDAs swapping files via IR with higher bandwidth.

(I'm not sure the map-cube has GPS equivalent; the text doesn't
suggest it, but the rest of the tech base clearly indicates that it
should be relatively trivial to have.)

> Still... yeah, "phone calls" on Barrayar are via fixed comconsoles.
> Which work as videophones, so it's both old and super-new school.  But
> little use of wireless.

They do have ****table comm-links, but they seem more like dedicated
circuit radio nets; not connected to the public comm system.

> Don't know how much of that is Lois's "oops" vs. Barrayar's lack of
> development.  I don't remember enough about the scenes on Komarr, Earth,
> Cetagandan world, and Beta.  Of course, "backwards" Barrayar has
> space****ps and better medical tech than we do, you'd think they could
> cover the *capital city* in cell towers.

Having just finished a re-read of _Komarr_, it isn't much different
from Vorbarr Sultana.  Jackson's Whole also appears to be similary set
up.

My recollection of earth is that they're roughly comparable.
Cetaganda seems to have more ****table comm-links (among the Haut).
(I'm slowly doing tape --> mp3 conversions of my Reader's Chair Bujold
audiobooks, so when I get to _Cetaganda_ and _Brothers in Arms_, I'll
try to remember to look at their public comm systems.)

-- 
Capt. Gym Z. Quirk     (Known to some as Taki Kogoma)     quirk @[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 swcp.com
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