» Thanks to tech, Gilligan couldn't happen today | IP Telephony, VoIP, Broadband | ZDNet.com

» Thanks to tech, Gilligan couldn't happen today | IP Telephony, VoIP, Broadband | ZDNet.com: "Thanks to tech, Gilligan couldn't happen today
-Posted by Russell Shaw @ 2:12 pm

* General

Sad to hear that Bob Denver, who played Gilligan on 'Gilligan's Island,' passed away today at the age of 70.

The 1964-1967 series, as you probably know, involved passengers on the SS Minnow, a tour boat that hit a storm, got marooned on a deserted island, and spent years trying to escape or get rescued.

Yet could a protracted 3+ year castaway fate happen today? Probably not.

I don't recall if the Minnow's radio washed overboard, failed or even if one was on board. But I do know that today's 'Minnow' would have had:

* Hand-held GPS to pinpoint their position;
* Hand-held satellite phone to call for help;
* Satellite-delivered Internet access,such as through an Iridium sat phone;
* Maybe even Skype or other Internet telephony, reachable through a sat phone or a High Speed Satellite Internet Solution from InfoSat;
* Better radar, drawing on the efficiency of geosynchronous weather satellites not fully deployed at the time.

And do I even need to mention satellites that cover most of the earth's surface, and could surely zoom in on a deserted island along the presumed sailin"