Not everyone wants to constantly work in the cloud. Some of us like to be offline on occasion. Yet the extra hurdles you have to go through just to create something offline can be taxing.
Take Microsoft Windows for example. Let’s say you want to create an account on your laptop for your spouse or child and they don’t have a Microsoft account and don’t need one. Yet when you try to create an account for them it takes three times as long and it’s not immediately apparent how to do it.
Using Google drive and you enter an area with no internet or phone reception? You are done. The app stops working even though you should be able to work offline. You can’t edit your files anymore. They become greyed-out. Same with a myriad of other apps. It’s as if app makers these days don’t understand how someone cannot be online. The amount of errors my phone apps generate when I go offline without selecting the aeroplane icon. Did the QA guys not test the possibility of someone wanting to work offline?
Nowadays I have backups. Really basic free apps that allow me to work without constant internet access. I just copy my files into them and work on them when I’m in a dead zone. Plus there’s the added bliss that no one can reach you to disturb you.
Rant over..
Tag: offline
Dead zones
I like to write when I’m out and about. Cafes, bars, anywhere with a table and seat. Somewhere that I can unfurl my bluetooth keyboard and just start typing, downloading my thoughts into the cloud.
Occasionally you come across dead zones. Places where there is no phone signal or wifi. Your device cannot talk to the cloud. Sure you can type, but you can’t do any online research and you can’t save to the cloud.
Dead zones can be peaceful. Just you and your thoughts and your unconnected device. You can still write. You also have the added advantage that no one can reach you!
In some places there may be no phone signal but there may be wifi, but do you trust it? When I find a comfy spot that is in a dead zone I sometimes move to an area with signal and download everything I need then return to the dead zone to work, free from distractions. Bliss!