Around the World with Telephone Plugs
Today I installed a new printer at home. Every few years you just have to succomb to the hardware industry and risk your entire electronic life by installing drivers, applications and who-knows-what onto your PC which will impact some obscure settings or favorites. This time, the Firefox browser was hit and no longer responds. (This phenononom, btw, is called Schwarz’s Law: Try to upgrade one thing and you will invariably downgrade three others.)
But I digress.
The really amazing thing about installing the printer today (actually it is a multi-functional unit with printer, copier, scanner and fax) was that Canon added telephone plugs for all European countries to the box. (Refer to photo.) I am now the proud owner of plugs for Belgium, Netherlands/Spain/Portugal/Greece, Germany, France and Italy.
This is actually the second time I have owned a collection of telephone plugs like this. Ten years ago you needed this assortment when travelling on business to download emails. I can still hear the screaching sounds as the modem tries to connect.
It’s been years since I stayed at a hotel which didn’t either have WiFi, high-speed in-room connections or at least a “standard” telephone jack (known as “RJ 11″) to hook into. As a matter of fact, it was just a few months ago that I cleaned out my office and dumped my old collection. “Nobody needs these dinosaurs anymore,” I said to myself.
Well, maybe someone does. At least Canon thinks so. It turns out that some countries still use these dinosaurs, even in new buildings. Wiki has a complete list of which plug is used for which country.
Any business travellers out there still lugging around dinosaurs? Where do you need them most? Anybody want my new set?
Tags: RJ11, Schwarz's Law, Telephone plugRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Customs and Culture, Travel
0 opinions for Around the World with Telephone Plugs
No one has left a comment yet. You know what this means, right? You could be first!
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: