Accessories as Necessity

Most of us have traveling streaks within us. When this triggers, we cannot help but pack our belongings and travel to some place that can satisfy our adventure craving. No matter if you are headed in across the country in an RV bus or cross the pacific to Jakarta, Indonesia or Guam, you just have to ensure that your gadgets like laptop, iPhones or iPod are fully packed and ensured. The Peterson Group, one of Asia’s leading distributer/ wholesaler of mobile accessories and laptop paraphernalia based in Taiwan listed three are three critical laptop accessories no summer or any season traveler can do without.

1. Adapter

Not all countries have outlets similar to those in your locality unless of course you are just traveling some neighboring county. You’ll need to check and review local electrical standards at your destination. It’s really annoying to find out your North American plug won’t work in whatever summer paradise you’re headed to.

Last minute types who don’t mind paying a little more can probably find a shop in the airport that will sell you what you need or you can try and pick something up at your destination.

But you can also find out the correct adapter plug with a little research online and then head over to your local electronics shop. Another option is to get an international adapter that covers most of the world’s electrical needs in one device.

Most laptops can handle power all over the world. Just to be sure, check that your laptop’s power brick can handle up to 240 volts of input.

2. Case

Protecting your laptop from bumps and scrapes while on the road or in the air is a must. The simplest way to keep your laptop as nick free as possible—not to mention clean—is a soft cover or bag. You can get a case pretty much anywhere from Best Buy to Target. Just make sure you don’t buy those fraudulent ones as they can easily be torn.

3. Ethernet

Ether-what? Yes, you may be exclusively wireless at home, but on the road nothing can save your bacon better than an ethernet cable. Sometimes you end up in a hotel with a bad Wi-Fi connection or a choice between free wired Internet and paid wireless.

An ethernet cable doesn’t take up too much room in your bag and you can probably even slip it into your laptop case if you need to. Just don’t leave home without it.

There are probably numerous other accessories others can’t live without, but these three basics are truly key for anytime you travel.

The Role of Mobile Phones during Calamity

Mobile use has spread rapidly, especially in some developing countries. Some poor countries are very vulnerable to natural disasters, and many are badly affected when disaster does strike because their infrastructure and emergency response capabilities are often weak.

However though, mobile technology has expanded dramatically around the world. In a review made by The Peterson Group to the Cisco Visual Networking Index, global mobile data traffic has doubled for the fourth year in a row. And looking toward the future, the report estimates that “global mobile data traffic will increase 18-fold between 2011 and 2016.” By the end of that time period, 10 billion mobile devices are projected to be in use around the world.

With its growing usage, this technology is greatly improving disaster relief and public safety efforts. Countries around the world face threats from natural disasters, climate change, civil unrest, terrorist attacks, scams and fraudulent acts, among others. Mobile devices, tablets, and smart phones enable emergency providers and the general public to manage these challenges and mitigate public safety concerns.

On Tuesday, 12th of January 2010, a magnitude of 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti and due to the population density of that area, what unfolds was one of the largest sudden onset emergencies in the Western Hemisphere has ever given. Many lives were lost, homes shattered and families destroyed. People started to give a hand out to help. The government also gave thought of ways to expand the support for the victims. With the help of telecommunication companies, they started a text campaign which every SMS would give a single dollar for the benefit of the Haiti victims. More or less a million dollars were gathered for that cause. Same happened on the aftermath of the tsunami that hit Sumatra, Indonesia, just a few islands away from the country’s capital, Jakarta.

In response to natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina (2005), the earthquake in Haiti (2010), earthquake and tsunamis in Japan (2011), and the Oklahoma tornados (2013), mobile invention and application have skyrocketed. Mobile development has surged in reaction to the increase in need for instant and accurate information. In Australia, for example, researchers have created software that combines voiceover IP technology with Wi-Fi to enable communication between mobile devices in areas where there is no available reception. Such a feature is of critical importance in cases where traditional communications networks are knocked offline for extended periods of time during or after a major crisis.