Technobiography

The Joburg Connection (Part III): Connecting while away

Before I leave for Joburg, I’ve been getting ready to stay in touch with my friends in the Philippines, with my family and with colleagues. This is what I’ve prepared so far:

• My global roaming is on. I may not be on my Smart SIM the whole time, but I plan to check SMS messages at least every night. And thanks to the missed call alert, I’ll also know who tried to call me. (I will not answer phone calls. It’s too expensive when roaming).
• I’ve re-activated my Chikka account. It has gathered dust as I don’t usually log-in. I’ll use Chikka to reply to important SMS messages.
• I hear from friend Nocs that South Africa is known for low-cost international SMS. He says that websites advertising web-to-SMS actually send those SMS messages * from * South Africa because international SMS from SAfrica is cheap.
• Maybe I won’t need to use Chikka. I hope to get a South African SIM. I plan to at least be able to SMS South African contacts while I’m there.
• I also hope to connect Brosia, my smart phone, via GPRS. I’m trying to set up my e-mail to blog. I want to be able to share stories from Joburg while I’m there. So far, no luck in configuring email to blog (word press).
• I’m writing articles in advance so my visitors have something to read while I’m away.
• I contemplated bringing Kurdapia, my laptop, to the conference. But I decided she’s to heavy to lug around. Besides, I plan to do some back-packing sojourns. Kurdapia would spoil the adventurer in me. Brosia’s enough to moblog.

There! Wish me luck, check on Technobiography and see if I’m connected.

ka edong