Top 10 technologies to help gain independence

It's that time of the year again; the first week in July when North Americans celebrate throwing out the British and choosing to spell 'color' any damn way they please.

As a subject of Her Majesty, it's a bittersweet sort of a long weekend. Yes, having Monday off is nice, but you know you're going to be subjected to endless fireworks, barbeques and comments about mad King George III and how he lost the colonies.

This is true, but it wasn't that long ago that the US had its own unwise leader called George who got the job because his daddy had it, and hasn't that worked out well.

Leaving aside piffling points of history, however, we decided to use the opportunity to look at some of the technologies that have given us independence, either from the office, the home or just the freedom to code what we want.

The IT world has offered some marvellous opportunities to free ourselves from the ties that bind. But it has also offered new ways to lock up our time and reduce our privacy. We've drawn up a list of those technologies most likely to make you feel free.

Shaun and I didn't agree on a lot of these, just as our ancestors didn't agree on taxation without representation, but let us know if any are missing, and enjoy the break.

Honourable Mention: Land-line phones
Shaun Nichols: This one sounds pretty counter-intuitive at first glance. After all, a land-line phone will keep you tethered to the house if you want to receive a call.

But that is the beauty of the thing. If you have a land-line phone as your primary contact number, you can actually do things like go to lunch or head out of the office without having to worry about taking a call.

There are plenty of advantages that have come with the rise of the mobile phone, but we've also lost a lot of the freedom we had outside work. It seems like these days, everyone is on call from the moment they wake up until the moment they turn out the lights and go to sleep.

There is something very liberating in the modern era about having a land-line phone and being able to actually step away when need be.

Iain Thomson: We'll have to disagree, Shaun. I'm currently fighting the installation of a landline because it's the very essence of being tied down.

Are you free from a land-line when you're out of the home? Maybe, but the winking light of the answering machine is just as unstoppable as a text message, and the old excuse that you accidentally erased the message just doesn't cut it in the modern world. You're still beholden to return a call, it's just less convenient than doing it with a mobile.

The only reason I can see for a land-line these days is for emergencies. Living in a major earthquake zone makes you think of such things, but to be honest it's the only reason I can see.

Honourable mention: Faraday cage
Iain Thomson: OK, so it's slightly silly, but I had one of these growing up and still hanker to build another.

The Faraday cage was named after British inventor Michael Faraday - without whom you'd probably not be reading this since his discoveries laid the foundation for the modern electronics industry. Basically, a Faraday cage will do a great job at shielding anything inside it from electromagnetic interference.

Now why would a teenager need one of these things you might well ask? Well, I grew up at the height of the Cold War and, after watching Threads, we decided to build a Faraday cage to protect our electronics from the electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) that would presage the start of global thermonuclear war.

My ZX-81 and bouncing babies platform game went into the cage, along with two 5 1/4in floppies containing the code for Elite. Quite what we thought we were going to do with these in the event of an apocalypse I don't know, but it made sense at the time.

But now that the threat of nuclear war is gone, why would you need one? Well, EMP weapons are still out there, Faraday cages are also very good at blocking signal interception, and anyway I'm a geek. I just want one.

Shaun Nichols: OK, I hate to be the one that asks, but if a global thermonuclear war breaks out, are you really going to need your tax returns and eBay receipts?

I know most people get uneasy with the thought of a weapon that can wipe out electronic devices over a large area, but that's not much of a worry when you consider that the EMP charge is accompanied by a flesh-melting explosive wave and a large cloud of highly lethal radiation.

Aside from that, if the EMP blast does hit and all electronics systems in your immediate area are disabled, you're not going to have the electricity to power your computer, let alone the ability to get online and check your Facebook status.

It's a fun idea but, in terms of Cold War practicality, the Faraday cage makes about as much sense as the duck and cover drill.