I don't know why, but I find this topic fascinating: how far removed from the normal web experience some environments are - specifically, secure environments. Take this Slashdot post, which says in part:

I work routinely in environments where a camera cannot physically be present (e.g., federal court), which really limits what I can carry with me. For instance, I'm a Mac guy, but there's no way to order a MacBook without a built-in webcam

A bunch of us ran into this problem during a customer meeting in Germany last year: due to (very real) concerns about industrial espionage, there was a "no camera" policy. There we all were, with out MacBooks - and no way to give a demo or presentation. We got someone to vouch for us, but it was an interesting problem.

Going back to the article, people who work in these environments do have a problem. Getting a modern phone or laptop without a camera is a hard. In some environments, people work mostly on closed networks with no internet access - can you imagine trying to attract a fresh out of college kid to deal with that? No net, no iPod, no portable devices that can record audio, video, or data, period. In other words, your work day is like a day in 1990 :)

It's an interesting divide to me, and I know it's not one I'd be able to deal with easily :)

Technorati Tags: security, gadgets