Nov
9
2008
Five technologies to never use, or else…
Author: Steve MartinThis is my list of technologies that you should never use or you will be in for it. The problem with these technologies is that they are too nice to be without once you have tried them. So, you can either take my word for it and stay far away from these technologies or try them and forever be hooked. They are in no particular order.
Cell Phone – I got my first cell phone back in 1998 when Sprint had a promotion for 100 minutes at only $10 per month. What a deal! I was going to finally have a cell phone and it was going to be so cheap. That is until you find out how long 100 minutes really is. You go through 100 minutes in no time at all. Especially because they didn’t offer any evening weekend minutes or Sprint to Sprint minutes. It was 100 minutes total. When I would check my voicemail, it used up minutes too. I was very careful with my minutes at first, and then I just had to have more so I upgrade my plan and am now up to a family plan with 3,000 minutes shared among 6 phones with unlimited evening weekend and Sprint to Sprint. I also have a Sprint datacard for my laptop. So, while Sprint gave me such a great deal up front, they have probably made plenty of money since. Good marketing Sprint. So, be warned, if you get a cell phone, you will not be able to not have a cell phone.
DVR – A DVR (Digital Video Recorder) changes the way you watch TV. The brand of DVR that you probably know the best is Tivo. They revolutionized the concept and made it so simple for anyone to use. Most of the major manufacturers of electronic equipment have some type of DVR available and you almost can’t subscribe to satellite without them throwing in a free DVR. I am stationed in the Microsoft camp for my DVR using a Windows XP Media Center PC. I find that having a computer be the DVR, I can utilize it for so many other things as well. The concept is very simple, a DVR has a schedule of all of the programs available from your TV provider (you tell it which provider you use). You run through the schedule and tell it what to record and whether to record it just that once or to continue to record that same show whenever it airs. Then you forget about it. When you are ready to watch your show, you go into your recorded shows and push play. You can then fast forward, pause, and rewind that show and keep it as long as you have the space on the DVR. DVRs are also great for live TV as you can hit pause whenever you want and take a potty break (something we have to do frequently for our kids or they’ll wait too long and….). Anyway, you get the idea. You can read about our DVR withdrawals when I fried the TV tuner in the computer. We are now back up and running but it was rough to be without the DVR.
Computers/Internet – Yes, there are still people that have not really used a computer. My mother-in-law is one of them. She actually refuses to use one. I think she’s afraid that if she were to learn to use a computer, that her husband would put her to work. She doesn’t understand that if she were to use one, she could do so much more for herself. Computers are about the most useful and time saving devices that exist. If I can ever get my mother-in-law to actually use one, there’s no going back. She does not understand this. I know that once you learn the basics of the computer your life is forever changed and you are able to do so much more than you could without one. The Internet makes a computer about 1,000 times more useful and time saving. There is nothing that even compares with the Internet with the vast amounts of information at your disposal once you get connected. So this one is kind of a two part technology to never use, a computer with the Internet. You can do a lot with a computer but you can do SO much more with a computer connected to the Internet.
GPS – When I would travel to a place that I had never been to before and try to navigate new streets and find desired destinations, I would get nervous, stressed and frustrated. Even when I would map out my itinerary ahead of time, it was difficult to follow the map and try to keep my eyes on the road. Missing turns and going the wrong way was common back then. Now, I have GPS and won’t be able to be without it. It is a stress reliever. When we bought our van, we chose to get the model with GPS built in and let me tell you, it is so nice to have. I use it more than I ever need to. I turn it on first thing when I get in the van even if I know where I’m going. There’s something about seeing that little red arrow tracking my every movement that gives me comfort. Even if I have no idea where I am, it does. It can find restaurants and stores and gas stations for me. It calculates the best route to any destination I can throw at it. If I miss a turn, it re-calculates the new best route from my new “missed turn” position. Recently Sprint upgraded the firmware on my cell phone and now I get GPS directions on it too. Since I always have my phone with me, I always have GPS. I love it. Travelling will never be the same once you have experienced a GPS unit. One of the best things about it is that once you have purchased the actual GPS unit, it is completely free to use.
Texting – For the longest time, I didn’t see the big deal of texting. I thought it was stupid. I already had several e-mail accounts, what did I need texting for? I touted it as a fad of the younger generation that I must have just barely missed. Well, we just upgraded our Sprint family plan and we now have unlimited texting on all the phones in the plan. I still don’t send a lot of texts but I must admit that there are times when sending a text is the perfect thing. Sometimes you don’t have time or you just don’t want to have a big conversation with someone just to get a tidbit of info from them. A text allows you to get the info you need quickly and unobtrusively. Most people carry their cell phone with them everywhere (except my wife, it drives me crazy). So, when you send someone a text, chances are they will read it very shortly after you sent it. So, you can ask a quick question, make a quick comment or even update your facebook status via a simple text. I do feel there are times when it is NOT appropriate to text in place of an actual phone call. The current high school and college students might not agree but I don’t feel that it is appropriate to send a text message to ask someone out on a date. In fact, this is a technology that should not be abused by replacing real conversations. Many of the young people of today talk more via texting than they do with their mouths. But, it can be fun to be with a group of people and be able to say something to a person there without anyone else knowing what you said. Whispers can be overheard and everyone knows you said something secretive, but if you send a person in the room a text, nobody will necessarily know it was from you, it could have been from anyone anywhere. So, if you do get into texting, text responsibly.
And there you have it. My top 5 technologies that you should never use or you’ll not be able to stop using them. I look forward to future technological developments that we should not take part in so that I can be hooked even more. If you haven’t tried some of the above techologies, think twice before you check them out because once you do, you can’t go back.
