Columbus Tech ’92

Happy Columbus Day!

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As you all know, today we celebrate Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the new world, but we’d also like to take a chance to celebrate his humbling technology of the time.

When’s the last time you went anywhere without a GPS device in your hand? Would you embark on an extremely dangerous voyage across the Atlantic Ocean into the unknown without it? Christopher did.

Columbus was undoubtedly one of the boldest men in his time, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t bring along some solid tech tools along on the journey which made things a little bit easier…

Mariner’s Astrolabe

Wiki

Popular in the late 15th century, the mariner’s astrolabe was a circular plate with graduated angle measurements. Fastened on top, was a rotating site/aperture that you would line up with the sun or a star. To find your current latitude (the distance north or south of the equator), you would use the astrolabe to measure the sun or a star’s angle north or south of the equator. Columbus used this instrument to find his way along the journey, borrowing the technique from the Moors.

Lodestone Compass

Gizmodo

Arguably one of the oldest navigational tools, a lodestone compass uses lodestone (magnetite rock) to show the traveler true north. In the earliest designs, a lodestone would be attached to a piece of string which would act as a magnet pulling towards the North Pole. No doubt, Columbus would always sail with one of these handy to make sure he was on the right path.

In 1492, these basic, yet essential tools were highly valued and seen as truly necessary to survive any journey. Today, with so many gadgets and services out there, it’s important for us to identify those basic, yet incredibly essential tools that enable us to function in our day-to-day businesses. As telecom is no exception to this, we’re excited to provide cutting edge solutions to keep your operations on course.

Interested in checking out some modern tech tools that can make your journey easier? Check out our tech of the month video for Hosted Desktop and stay tuned for more tech posts.

sources: Gizmodo, Wiki, Astrolabes.org