Walking with the Smartphone
Nearly two years ago, in early 2009, I joined a group of friends for a walk in the New Forest (near Southampton) in UK. It was a sunny, spring day and after a fantastic breakfast a group of 12 boot-clad 'nature enthusiasts' , one brave 6-year old and one baby (piggy-backing!) proceeded for a short walk, aiming to reach a local pub in time for a hearty lunch. Five hours later we found ourselves in a swampy field trying desperately to get a signal on the one i-phone that we had in the group.The phone's map said we were in the middle of 'nowhere' and but our group of several experienced town planners, transport planners and geographers refused to believe it and pored over one big soggy map. A few false starts later we grudgingly acknowledged that the phone might be right and made a beeline for the country road we saw in the distance! We made it to the pub eventually and the food tasted better tha...