Top Geek Vacations, Part 2
InfoWorld editors share more of their favorites, adding to yesterday's
list of top vacation spots.
Andrew Brandt, Melissa Riofrio, Pete Babb, and Steve Fox, InfoWorld
Thursday, July 05, 2007 7:00 AM PDT
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,134138/article.html?tk=3Dnl_dnxnws
What makes a great geek vacation? Well, high-speed access from even
the most obscure locale is a given. Then throw in some activities to
stimulate the brain cells, maybe a dose of electronic entertainment,
possibly a bit of techie history, and you're most of the way there. Of
course, it also helps if your chosen location is frequented by
similarly techie folks and has some out-of-the-mainstream cred,
meaning it would make your non-alpha geek friends roll their eyes. Our
readers weighed in with their choices. InfoWorld editors share more of
their favorites, adding to our earlier list of top vacation spots.
Mount Everest
If you're in search of an adventure getaway that requires you to
really get away--but still don't want to miss that im****tant e-mail
message--there's no reason to mess around at some tropical resort.
What you want is to climb the world's highest, most treacherous peak:
Mount Everest. At the Base Camp Cyber Cafe, owner and sherpa Tsering
Gyaltsen (the grandson of one of Sir Edmund Hillary's sherpa team
members) offers satellite-fed 802.11b wireless Internet access at the
highest ground-level point on the planet, nearly 18,000 feet above sea
level. At about US$1 per minute for access, this won't be the cheapest
Internet connection you've ever used. But despite Base Camp being
situated on a moving glacier on the edge of Everest's Great Ice Fall,
at least it's reliable: Service comes via a wireless link between a
satellite dish in the nearby town of Namche Bazar and the camp. And
there's another good reason to feel good about using the service:
Outside of the March-through-May climbing season, the infrastructure
provides distance learning op****tunities for the sherpa children in
town.
Route 128, Boston
Anyone who remembers DEC, Lotus, or Wang will enjoy a trip along this
tech-heavy highway that runs from Canton to Gloucester in Boston's
suburbs. Although more actual work than tourism takes place here, geek
highlights include a pilgrimage to the MIT campus and, of course, its
science museum. The first modern American factory opened in the town
of Waltham; check it out for early examples of mass-produced goods. In
Boston, the Museum of Science offers a wealth of exhibits, an IMAX
theater, and a planetarium. While you're in town, try the local s****t
of candlepin bowling.
Iceland
It's one of the most isolated cultures in the world--and one of the
most wired. Sure, it has a pristine environment with beautiful
scenery, an interesting cultural history, fjords, hot springs, and
plenty more to make for a fascinating vacation destination. But on top
of all that, broadband connectivity is as plentiful as, well, ice. In
fact, Iceland leads the world in per-capita broadband adoption. So
wherever you go, chances are you'll be plugged in. Iceland is not a
very big place, most of its interior is uninhabitable, and much of its
population lives in the capital city of Reykjavik, but there is much
to see and do around most of the perimeter of the island, from skiing
to rafting to nature-watching. The Visit Iceland travel guide contains
lots of good background info for Icelandic activities. If you want to
get around, you might want to consider booking flights rather than
driving. Roads hug the fjord-pocked coastline, meaning some places
that can take upward of nine hours to drive to are but a 45-minute
flight away. Also a short flight away: Finland, the extremely tech-
friendly Scandinavian country that's home to IT companies such as
Nokia.
Defconin Las Vegas
If you've ever wondered how the world's elite cybersecurity
professionals get away from it all, look no further than the Defcon
computer security conference, which takes place around the end of July
every year in Las Vegas. Even with outside temperatures topping nearly
120 degrees, you'll find more black-leather-clad, pierced geeks by the
pool at the Riviera Hotel than anywhere outside of a bondage gear
trade show. For security wonks, this is a dream come true, whether
you're attending lectures and educational sessions about the newest
hacking techniques, participating in hacking contests, or shopping for
security-themed gear. Where else can you snag a full selection of lock-
picking sets, satellite dishes, or a "My kid hacked your Honor
Student's e-mail account" T-****rt? When the sun goes down, prepare to
experience nightlife, hacker style, with the Black and White Costume
Ball; anime and film festivals; and even Hacker Jeopardy--a live game
show featuring experts and volunteer audience members. Just remember:
Don't use an unencrypted wireless Internet connection on the premises,
or they may project your username and password on the Wall of Sheep, a
20-foot-high screen.
Space Tourism
You don't have to be an ex-boy bander (ahem, erstwhile *NSync-er Lance
Bass) to book a space tourist flight, but you'll probably require a
similar cash flow--and you'll need to learn that the preferred term is
"personal spaceflight" so as not to offend your travel agent and/or
Mission Control. For the moment, the Russian government is the only
outfit offering personal spaceflight, and even with a price tag of $20
million, the Russian Space Agency claims to be booked until 2009. But
fear not, intrepid would-be astronauts! The private sector is looking
to get in on the action, and at rock-bottom prices to boot, so long as
several hundred thousand dollars strikes you as being a bargain-
basement price. Richard Branson has jumped to the forefront of
personal spaceflight with Virgin Galactic, which he calls "the world's
first spaceline," joined by others, including Space Adventures and
John Carmack's (yeah, the guy who created Doom) Armadillo Aerospace.
Presently, private personal spaceflight offers suborbital flights that
serve up a couple minutes of weightlessness and a once-in-a-lifetime
view. Not quite the same thing as the trips to the International Space
Station that the Russian government has been providing, but still far
beyond anything that can be experienced on terra firma.
For more IT analysis and commentary on emerging technologies, visit
InfoWorld.com. Story copyright =A9 2007 InfoWorld Media Group. All
rights reserved.
|
