Technology Love it/Hate it

Today I have been on the Merry Go Round of Technology. Yes, I am among the many who have a love/hate relationship with technology and all it's numerous devices. I have a Toshiba lap top, an i phone, a Blue-tooth printer, a HP office jet wireless printer and my husband has or shares all of the above and a new Android tablet he just got. We even have dongles. When it all works it is amazing and wonderful. When it fails, stalls, hiccups,sends error messages or crashes I want to throw things. You would think that all these genus computer geeks could make things that just work. That are easy to use and have clear and complete directions, but NO.

My theory is the companies are too big with too many people doing things and not talking to each other. So the Geek that creates the thing doesn't write the directions and the guy who writes the directions can't have ever used it or the directions would be better because with his directions you sure can't make it work. The sales people at the store are energetic and enthusiastic and, for a small fortune, will help you get started with actually using the stuff you just bought in addition to the extra warranties. No problem they say!

Tech support is in India, the Philippines, Mexico, or some other foreign country where the folks on the phone have never used or seen the device and are trying to use the same directions written for you to fix your problem. Please, can someone just make it all work?

We are stuck with it. No going back now the genie is out of the bottle.

I once had dinner with astronaut Alan Bean and he was telling the story of how they figured out how to write in space. After numerous pens, technical devices etc. they finally settled on the old fashioned pencil. It never ran out of batteries, didn't need gravity and yes, it just worked. We are creating lots of new stuff that has lots of whiz bang features but just doesn't do what they say it will do when the average consumer, unlike my 12 year old neighbor, gets their hands on it.

Of all the devices I use the best, easiest and most reliable is my I phone. It works, I can figure it out and the directions are written by someone who actually uses the device. It is even Cool, according to my grandchildren. So, for future purchases I my stick with Apple.

2011 Another New Year

Taken with my i phone in NY.

I am welcoming the new year today and thinking back, as us old folks do, to how things have changed throughout our lives. Let's take radio. When I was growing up in Estes Park CO we couldn't get the Denver radio stations because we were in the mountains but at night we listened to KOMA in Oklahoma City that played the latest Rock and Roll! We missed a few curfews because of the time difference but we loved the music. Now we have I phones, that with a clever app, we can tune in radio stations throughout the world. Last night we were listening to a jazz station in Paris.

How about photography. I began taking pictures with a brownie box camera. Over the years I have used all sorts of cameras including slide cameras and even 8mm movie cameras as the kids were growing up. Now I use only digital cameras and the camera in my i phone that can send photos in a matter of seconds to friends and family. In order to salvage the early years of photos I now have to find someone to convert the slides to digital format, many are so old the film has darkened to just black blurs.

Then there is TV. The first television show I saw was the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. One hotel in Estes Park had a TV and everyone was invited to come see this exciting broadcast. It was grainy black and white but we all thought it was amazing and wonderful. Now we are about to hook up a device to our HD TV that will allow us to use the internet on the TV so my husband can watch live streaming Nebraska football and other things we haven't even considered yet, because over 300 TV channels just isn't enough.

With the advent of Bluetooth we can have wireless keyboards and mice for our computers, ear roaches and hands free conversations in the car. We can have tiny stereo systems that will play the music or radio stations on our iphones.

We keep in touch with friends and family via facebook, email and digital photos. I even play scrabble with my daughter, who can be far away even traveling in foreign countries. I do have a couple of friends who don't own computers so we stay in touch the old fashioned way, letters written by hand and phone calls.

We are moving so fast that technology we buy today will be passe by Christmas. I wonder what new things these clever 20 something inventors will bring us this year.