[Bristol-Birds] Re: checking from field
- From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "bristol-birds" <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:49:10 -0400
I accidentally disconnected my laptop at the end of that last post.
I was attempting to say that on the scene photos, taken by almost
anyone one with a variety of cameras and lenses, can be sent
within minutes when a very rare bird is observed.
During the passage of the hurricane force winds at South Holston
Lake Mike Sanders, Rob Biller and I all made simultaneous
internet connection with a single smart phone by each using a
3G hotspot connection to the cellphone.
This is not new breaking technology. Probably a half-dozen
birders are now posting directly to Bristol-Birds net from the field
and a dozen or more to TN- Birds. Jeff Wilson in West Tennessee
frequently reports directly from the field.
This approach is not simply for person-to-person communications.
That is what many birders are doing with text messages.
Text message are being widely used to confirm ID of birds, make
minute-to-minute connections to meet each other in the field or
give live directions to a rare spotting. Bird photos are being
quickly shared with text message directly between birders in the
field to share photos.
What is being shared here is widely used and often among
local birders in the field.
Hoarding bird observations, bird knowledge, birding information
no longer provides the birder the previously-enjoyed “power of
possessing knowledge and information.” In fact it is causing a
wider gap of influence by those that are falling further and
further behind by trying to cling to such vanishing security.
This remote wireless keyboard technology is just one among
may ways to share connection to a more real-time communication
platform for birding.
Rack Cross made the first cellphone report to Bristol-Birds Net
about eight years ago. Rob Biller posts frequently with a
smart phone. Mike Sanders reports from the field with such
a phone.
They might tell you that I could continue to post from my
phone and not need a laptop keyboard in the field. But
there are many tools to do many things and I am putting
one more tool in place.
from the field.....
Wallace Coffey
Bristol TN
From: Wallace Coffey
Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 3:02 PM
To: bristol-birds
Subject: [Bristol-Birds] checking from field
testing remote keyboard report from field site in bristol tn.
Had this been an actual observation of birds seen in the field at a
particular birding site such as Paddle Creek or Musicks and
such you would read the repot here.
The value of this test is to establish capabilities of posting
directly from Mendota Fire Tower minute-to-minute by
wireless keyboard when needed.
It also allows posts directly from such areas as Orchard Bog
during a foray such as we had in June in Shady Valley.
We might also post lists from a field trip directly to a list
serve such as TN-Birds during the 2012 Joint TOS/VSO .
This message is testing the capability to connect a notebook
laptop to the internet thru the 3G Mobile Hotspot capabilities
of a Verizon Android Galaxy S smart phone. Thus the
laptop is provided internet connection and email with a
wireless connection to the laptop in the field.
Some birders from the Knoxville area used somewhat
similar approaches during the big shorebird show at
Rankin Bottoms a few weeks ago. Most were relying
on posting on the scene simply using smart phones.
Such connectivity will remove the third party relay
of sudden finds from being telephoned to someone
with a landline connection from a home computer.
It could not only save an hour or two but also remove
the translation of the report thru a third party.
This approach also provides the capability of taking
a digital photo with a variety of camera and lens
options and sending many useful images within
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