Bringing wireless to the disconnected: internet tales from the
South Pacific  "We only have dial-up here. You'd be shocked at
the speeds. [Laughs.] But it's okay -- as long as I can send and
reply to email, I'm fine with it."  Those were the words spoken
to me just weeks ago by the absolutely precious owner of Litia
Sini Beach Resort on the extreme southeastern tip of Upolu. For
those unaware, that's Samoa's most populous island (~135,000
people) -- a sliver of lush, mountainous land dropped almost
perfectly in the center of the Pacific Ocean. I chuckled a bit
upon hearing it, immediately realizing that I had a connection
in the palm of my hand that was 20, 30, perhaps even 40 times
quicker than what this business owner was relying on. She
paused, as if to collect her thoughts before going into a
familiar spiel about the resort's amenities, and then drew my
attention to the display of her laptop.  "It's still a draft for
now, but this is the new tsunami evacuation plan that we're
working on. Soon, we'll have