Technology

As I got out of my Tahoe at work this morning, a young lady from Russia pulled into the parking space in front of me. We usually show up around the same time every day. I can hear over her car’s audio system that she is talking with her Mom in Moscow since it is 2:00 pm Russia time. I am amazed at how small our world has become due to technology. Today, we connect high-definition secure video conferences all over the world, Australia, Russia, France, and Japan, in support of the International Space Station, and there is no delay in the signal. It was not that long ago in 2005 when I worked for the Associated Press as an Up-Link Operator, and the best signal we could get was a seven-second delay per satellite bounce. In other words, when I connected a live broadcast link to Indonesia, we would have to bounce three times to get a live video/audio link, resulting in a 21-second delay. When I was backpacking through Europe in 1979 and wanted to call home, I had to go to a PTT (Post Telephone Telegraph) office and wait about 30 minutes for a landline connection to be established. When connected, the audio was so bad and scratchy-sounding that it was almost impossible to carry on a conversation. Hearing this young lady talk with her Mom this morning, in real time from Houston to Moscow as she was driving, really brought home how far we have come with technology.