Crazy connectivity

So while I was working on the project this morning I got to thinking about how ridiculously connected things are now. Over the course of this trip I have moved data on an off my machine through the following methods: Wired LAN(no big surprise here), WI-FI to access point, direct ethernet connection to another computer (without a crossover cable, thanks to my sweet ibm laptop), bluetooth to gprs phone, bluetooth to another computer, IR to another computer, memory stick to anohter computer, dialup (to access vpn from customer site). Also used bluetooth, or direct ethernet connection to another computer to share internet access through wifi, bluetooth to gprs phone, UMTS card (this 3g stuff is amazingly fast), and dialup(one jack we both needed vpn access). This technology stuff is getting out of hand, we've probably swapped about a gig of stuff back and forth, and the previous list only covers the hardware and transports, it doesn't even begin to cover the types of protocols we've used (everything from ftp, to JMS, to direct sockets). Just about the only thing we haven't used is serial. The thng that amazes me is that people have been able to function without this stuff for so long. So many last minute patches or file syncs, or crucial emails have been possible because of all of this. What did people do 10 years ago if they needed a driver update, if the were missing documentation for an API, or just if they needed to email a stack trace to someone for help? It just boggles my mind, and leads me to believe I would have a hard time working in another industry, I dig this stuff. I dig this stuff a lot. If you guys have any interesting stories of connection derring do or clever uses of technology I'd love to see something in the comments.