On Thursday evening I depart to Italy for a long overdue vacation. I bought a new camera planning to photograph and download no less than 3,000 pictures onto my computer, and hopefully we will have the time to see them one day.

Getting packed and ready is critical, but not important. What is really important is how I'll maintain email and text “connectivity”? What if Mount Etna erupts and access is disrupted or, worse yet, airlines cancel flights like they did when Iceland volcanoes erupted a few years ago, and I won't be able to get back to work and email?

Alas, I do not work for German automaker Daimler (AKA Mercedes) who gave its 100,000 German employees the chance to be free from work constraints this summer. If they opt into the "mail on holiday" scheme, then all of their incoming emails will be deleted automatically, with the sender informed immediately.