I can't get no sleep without broadband...
Why can't I sleep? Well it's a bizarre and frustrating sequence of events that has led me to this. I'm not going to go into the details of why I still don't have a working broadband connection. But if you are reading this and you live in the UK I’m sure you can hazard a guess.
I live in the great city of Manchester in the UK and working for Microsoft I need to be connected to our electronic infrastructure, not just for email, but for presence and instant messaging, collaborating using SharePoint and Groove and now more recently posting to my blog. Now I have been using an Orange 3G card (the telco not the colour) and to be honest it's very good. I get a good strength 3G signal but I'd normally only use this for quick connections in places that don't have other forms of connectivity available, I would not use it all day. Each time I see the connection manager it tells me how many megabytes of information I have transferred but my brain is just registering pounds and pence, so I needed to find another way to stay connected and yet at the same time be cost sensitive.
E N T E R
Suburb is one of the coolest cafes in Manchester. Not only does it serve great coffee and food, but also has some of the coolest art and music you can see/listen to and you can also purchase this stuff if you are inspired to do so. Oh I forgot to mention they also provide free wireless access to the internet. So this brings me back to the reason for this post. My coffee consumption has hit an all time high and that's why I can't sleep at night without broadband. On a more positive note, the creative surroundings of Suburb has helped me with some great ideas for working with Microsoft Partners this year, so it's not all bad.
Please <insert leading broadband provider name here> sort my broadband connection out so that when I'm in Manchester I can work more from home and not be tempted by these fine caffeinated beverages from Suburb. I wonder if there is a rehab centre that can get me off coffee (or broadband).
If you are like me and sometimes work from home or run your own business and rely on broadband to work then please make comments on your experiences on this post. Who is the best broadband provider in the UK? Where can you go for free internet access in your area? Do you have a favourite inspirational place you go to? Let me know and I'll collate the comments and publish the results at a later date.
Before I finish this post I just wanted to say thanks Suburb http://www.suburbstore.com/manchester.html
James Akrigg
