The journey started before Windows 1, before the Apple Mac, before cell phones, and before the Internet, but Steven K. Roberts managed to work ‘on the road’ for 17 months.
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(Image credit: Nomadic Research Labs, Steven K. Roberts) In 1983, writer and computer whizz Steven K. Roberts began his multi-year Computing Across America quest, which would eventually be the basis of a book of the same name . Armed with his recumbent Winnebiko pedal-powered vehicle, solar panels, and the best early 80s portable tech he could lay his hands on, Roberts' journey lasted about 17 months. On the way, he traversed 17,000 miles of the U.S. while staying productive and keeping in touch with clients and publishers.
In many ways, Roberts was the pioneer of digital nomadism, a lifestyle that only gained real traction in the COVID era. However, this travelling trailblazer began his odyssey before Windows 1 , before the Apple Macintosh, before cell phones, and even before the Internet . Roberts used to keep in touch with clients via CompuServe and other early online services.
The Winnebiko was fabricated by Roberts over a six-month period ahead of the Computing Across America trip. The original digital nomad refers to this recumbent cycle as “the elemental form of my technomadic adventure substrate.”
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- https://www.tomshardware.com/laptops/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/laptops/the-winnebiko-travelled-17-000-miles-to-complete-the-computing-across-america-expedition-40-years-ago-solar-and-1980s-portable-gadgets-powered-digital-nomadism-in-its-earliest-and-purest-form#main
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