FRANKIE DeGROOT | Local News | Contact
In another blow to Tasmania, residents have been further isolated by the loss of the state’s internet.
The technical difficulties have come at a bad time for Tasmanians, many of whom are still reeling from a local share market crash earlier this year that wiped literally tens of dollars off the books.
Since 1997, Tasmanian internet has been supplied from a single 56K wi-fi modem in Store-Room 3B in the sub-basement of the Port Phillip Library.
This can be an issue if Scott is trying to stream that new Indiana Jones movie at the same time Gareth is trying to play Counterstrike online, although apparently a booking sheet is used to make sure every Tasmanian gets an hour or so of internet every day.
Recently however, the internet has been unavailable due to strong winds which have blown the wi-fi signal out to sea, meaning the only way Tasmanians can contact the mainland is by letter; a primitive form of hardcopy e-mail.
The latest disruption comes on the heels of another internet outage in early May, when a cleaner at the library inadvertently unplugged the modem to plug in a vacuum cleaner.
Some residents have taken extreme measures by sending their Atari laptops to Victoria on the Spirit of Tasmania with written instructions for the current page to be refreshed or a link to be clicked upon arrival in Port Phillip before the laptop is returned.
“It’s great using new technology to catch up on the news” enthused Gareth “although obviously there is a delay having to wait for each page. Hear about that Ruby Princess thing? I hope that works out OK”.
