As the year winds down and we prepare to join the crumpled, sweaty masses motoring to the coast for the holidays, I have to ponder over how times have changed. While the annual trek to the seaside hasn`t changed in its colours and flavours, the paraphernalia that goes with it has. And thank goodness for that.
Anyone older than 25 will remember a time before one-stop, ultra city convenience, when families pulled over to rest at the roadside, eating soggy, homemade sandwiches and boiled eggs while fighting off the inevitable wasps.
Most cars had no airconditioning, car radios never got proper reception and kids amused themselves by loudly mauling their siblings in the back seat. Someone inevitably messed on - or tore - a crucial corner of the map, resulting in hours lost while the family got its bearings. Engine trouble or flat tyres were sorted out in the blazing sun on a karoo road, and running out of petrol meant someone had to take a long, hot walk with an oil can.
IT makes holidays so much better.
Tracy Burrows, journalist, ITWeb
And heaven forbid anyone should have a medical emergency en route to the coast. Asthma, heart attacks or even trivial (but desperately embarrassing) problems like upset stomachs meant racing frantically to the nearest farmhouses. These, of course, were either deserted or guarded by killer dogs that could cause even greater medical emergencies.
Getting to your destination was a small triumph back then, marred only by occasionally having to devote hours to writing postcards or finding public telephones to call someone and check if the house was still in one piece.
Fast forward to December 2002. Vehicle air conditioning works and crackling radios are a thing of the past. CD shuttles, MP3 players and portable CD players supply crisp, soothing music to relax frayed nerves. The kids have Gameboys, headphones and even in-car TVs complete with DVD and video options to keep them quiet. No-one gets lost anymore - routes can be plotted online beforehand, or double-checked on efficient little GPS devices.
Mobile phones revolutionised the holiday travel experience - now you can just summon the cavalry whenever there`s a problem. Help for practically any situation is only a simple call away.
What`s more - you can also be reached in case of emergencies, do your banking or look up information on the Internet. No more spending two weeks wondering whether you switched the iron off before you left home. Now, you can check.
And once you`re away from it all, you can get back to it all by plugging in your laptop, firing up your Internet access and checking your share prices, news and correspondence. No more tedious postcards either - you can SMS Gran a photo direct from the beach via your mobile phone.
Of course, 10 years from now, this will all be old hat. But if you were around before IT was transportable and everywhere, you`ll have to agree - IT makes holidays so much better.
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