[nfb-talk] Convention in Orlando for 5 years

Wm. Ritchhart william.ritchhart at sbcglobal.net
Wed Jul 13 10:57:56 UTC 2011


I do not have much sympathy over the 9.95 per day hotel internet.  These places use the extras to generate a huge part of their revenue.  Many have stated there were many businesses near the main hotel.  Why not locate a Starbucks or McDonalds or one of the growing number of businesses that provide free or low-cost WIFI for its customers?  I would not expect people to go off during sessions.  However sessions generally start at 9:00 A.M. always end around 5:00 P.M.  Which leaves sometime to care for checking the bank balance or reading email.  

It's a different issue for people who are working.  I've been pulled out of a session once or twice and asked to accomplish a task during a presentation I wanted to hear.  An internet connection would have been nice.  

   

Thanks, William

-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of T. Joseph Carter
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2011 4:22 AM
To: NFB Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Convention in Orlando for 5 years

$10 per day, with a half-mile hike from the meeting rooms to the 
nearest place it could be used.  Wifi in hotel lobby, ethernet in 
your room.  If you just needed to arrange a meeting, you had to walk 
all that way and hope that the person at the other end had a way of 
receiving the message.  Not everyone did.

You couldn’t call if one or both parties were on certain cellphone 
carriers, because one or both of you were unlikely to have service.

And more than one person at convention was discussing the need to 
connect to the Internet to monitor their bank account or similar (I 
can’t recommend being dependent on that, however.)

I personally had a package delivered while I was away that I wasn’t 
sure actually got delivered until I got home.  I’m glad my neighbor 
was able to sign for it, because my apartment manager was out last 
week while I was in Orlando.

There would have been a lot more coverage of convention on sites like 
Twitter and Facebook, including drawing attention to the sub-minimum 
wage stuff if people could have accessed those services.  In 2009 
there was an attempt to organize a Tweet-up which half the twitter 
users at convention didn’t know about because they didn’t have 
access to Twitter.  If there was one in 2011, I never heard about it.

Those of us working during session outside of the session hall would 
have loved to have access to the stream.  We tried, of course, but it 
didn’t work either because of poor cellular reception, the issues 
with the stream, or both.

The big sponsor for the convention this year was eBay.  It would’ve 
been a lot easier in the eBay sessions (aside from the first one) if 
people could’ve actually gotten on eBay to see and try the things 
suggested.

The Internet is part of how people do business in the modern world.  
It’s an even bigger part of how the average younger blind person does 
business.  Not having it available for eight days hobbled those of us 
who could have done a lot more if we’d had it.

Joseph


On Tue, Jul 12, 2011 at 11:44:04PM -0400, d m gina wrote:
>yes it is nice to check email though when you would wish.
>What was the cost to use their system?
>Five dollars?
>Would that be a day?
>Jim likes to check things out like that.
>Me, I would rather use my new system with Verizon.
>I have worked hard to do email by the phone, and even if I say so 
>myself, I plum don't do that bad.
>My lists laugh at me if they get a blank message.
>I even hit the wrong keys on this computer trying to do something else.
>Keeps me thinking.
>
>Original message:
>>Of course, the question is *why?* After all, one presumably goes to
>>conventions to attend meetings, not dabble on the Internet. <<putting on
>>fire-resistant suit>>
>
>>Mike
>
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>Behalf Of T. Joseph Carter
>>Sent: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 5:35 PM
>>To: NFB Talk Mailing List
>>Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Convention in Orlando for 5 years
>
>>More frustrating was that there was no wifi at any price anywhere in
>>the area of the meeting rooms.  Were I to make one request of the
>>national office when we return, it would be to obtain internet access
>>for the meeting rooms and set up a few wifi routers at selected
>>locations for basic access.
>
>>Joseph
>
>
>>On Tue, Jul 12, 2011 at 04:01:59PM -0400, Marsha Drenth wrote:
>>>Just my two cents on this convention. The hotel was nice, very clean, nice
>>>rooms, and the staff was great. It was huge, people thought we walked a lot
>>>in Dallas, folks that is NOTHING! The food in the hotel was very very
>>>expensive, way way more than any of the restaurants in Dallas. It did help
>>>greatly to have the Publics across the street. If and when I go back, I
>>must
>>>remember to take good walking shoes. In regards to the WiFi, yes it totally
>>>sucked there was no free access any where in the hotel. And yet again I am
>>>too cheap to buy it. As far as the cell coverage, I have Verizon and had
>>>converage every where in the hotel and rooms. So I think that really
>>depends
>>>on your carrier.
>
>>>Marsha
>
>
>
>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>>Behalf Of T. Joseph Carter
>>>Sent: Sunday, July 10, 2011 12:43 AM
>>>To: NFB Talk Mailing List
>>>Subject: Re: [nfb-talk] Convention in Orlando for 5 years
>
>>>Yes, Mr. Rosen was REALLY impressed with the NFB, and Dr. Maurer was
>>>really impressed with the facility.  Hopefully the two of them can
>>>work something out to reduce the nickel-and-dime effects somewhat.  I
>>>certainly have no objection to the hotel making money-but the
>>>incidental fees are both too high and too frequent to be comfortable.
>>>There isn't even lobby wifi access without a fee, and the hotel is
>>>full of cellular dead zones.
>
>>>Joseph
>
>
>>>On Sat, Jul 09, 2011 at 11:43:17PM -0400, Brian Miller wrote:
>>>>Did they say if it was to be at the same hotel all those years?
>
>>>>Brian M
>
>
>>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>>From: nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
>>>>Behalf Of Sherri
>>>>Sent: Saturday, July 09, 2011 8:00 PM
>>>>To: NFB Talk Mailing List; blindtlk at nfbnet.org
>>>>Subject: [nfb-talk] Convention in Orlando for 5 years
>
>>>>It was announced at the convention that conventions from 2013 through 2017
>>>>will be held in Orlando. I wish we could extend the length of the
>>>convention
>>>>back to how it was and NFB would organize tours for Wednesday afternoon.
>>>>That way, people could get excited about Orlando and have time to go
>>>places.
>>>>I liked the old schedule much better. If we are going to keep people here
>>>>for five years in a row, we need to give them ample opportunity to take
>>>>advantage of all there is to do in Orlando. Besides, I like the banquet
>>the
>>>>night before the last day of convention.
>
>
>>>>Sherri Brun
>>>>"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." John
>>>>Lennon
>
>>>>Check out http://www.raceforindependence.org/goto/Sherri.Brun
>
>>>>E-mail: flmom2006 at gmail.com
>>>>NFBF NewslineR chair
>>>>www.nfbnewsline.org
>>>>Vice-president NFB Greater Orlando Chapter http://nfbfgoc.org Secretary
>>>FDCP
>>>>INC www.fdcp.org Chair Orange County Disability Advisory Committee
>
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>>0
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>>>>iowa.edu
>
>
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>-- 
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