What is useful technology?

[Cindy]

I realise I could end up looking like Grandma Smith in this topic.

But what personal technology is useful rather than being desirable or just plain 'I have to have it because it is available.'

I use a cell phone I have had for years, it receives and send calls and texts. I only occasionally text. Is an Iphone of any benefit over that? I have a laptop, well three, I use email, and Google. On my personal one I am at Susan's and a few other places, I use my personal lap top for entertainment and private correspondence to friends. My work lap tops are just that work. I also have three desk tops which again are solid work.  I have multiples because I do a lot of imaging and I find it easier to isolate stuff.

I have an Ipod which I listen to music when I'm at the gym. I never use it anywhere else.

I cannot think of any other useful product.

What do you use? Where and why? Does it improve your life or act as a distraction? Do you get technology because it is cool, or because it benefits you in some way?

Open slaver

Cindy, The def non-tech junkie.

[jazzie]

Satellite radio   
At a former job, several years ago, I worked 'on the floor' (manufacturing). There were speakers in the cielling that played a local general rock station. I didn't care for that station. Then, a couple weeks before Christmas, that station was playing holiday songs the whole day.   
That week, I decided that satellite radio is my salvation.
Several months later, I got a car unit. It makes long trips a lot nicer!

[Jen61]

Cindy,

You are obvviously not a generation X. Tech is the portal to social networks. Now a day if you are not in the cyber world, well you do not exist.

I know most baby boomers find this hard to accept or understand.
Jen61

[Jennifer]

My cell phone has a rotary dial.

Jennifer

[Aileen]

I cannot say that cellphones are good the way they are now, as they are the modern way of an iron chain with a ball attached as people can reach you everywhere and anytime. On the other hand it makes life easier as you can just call friends in case you need to. So it's a double edged blade for me...

[Medusa]

Cellphone - call, text, photo, navigation (it is really good thing)
Laptop - work, fun, everything  I discard my desktop PC, and use just powerful laptop. It is more expensive than every of my 3 cars 

and that is all, I don't need more devices, sometimes should be useful good camera, but it is heavy and when you need it you not have it with you, so I haven't it

[tekla]

I know most baby boomers find this hard to accept or understand.

Yeah, considering they invented it and all.  I mean I assume you mean baby boomer like Steve Woz, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and the rest of those start-ups like Lotus, Sega, Atari? 

Really, my first web exposure was in 1986 and it was based in SF (there is a reason a huge chunk of the computer industry is here) called The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, or The WELL, (and yeah, that Whole Earth, hippies out front and right again) and we were using it to type in DOS commands over an acoustic coupler to publish Set Lists from shows, so it's not nearly as 'new' as people seem to think.

I was one of the first cell phone users I knew (though half the people I knew had one with-in six to ten months of me getting mine), I was never in one place so it fit my life.  I could be a hippie, gypsy moving around and all that, and still not miss a gig.  It was perfect.  I'm still using the last new phone I got 6 years ago.  It's just a phone.  But I'm getting pangs of wanting email in the phone, so I might have to spring for a smart phone in the next year.  Maybe.

MP3?  Can't stand them.  Just when we developed and produced near perfect sound recordings, as well as state-of-the-art equipment to play it on, everyone went out and got downgraded recordings to play through speakers the size of a dime.  I still use my Sony CD player when I need to travel with something.

My laptop is really my desktop, I rarely move it except to take it on vacation with me or else to haul it out to the pool (the entire complex has Wi-Fi), in which case it's not a desktop, but a table top.  But I don't need to be that much in touch.  I've got machines running at home 24/7, I have them at work - where else do I really need it?

And cyber networking is all cool, but its not going to replace the real thing, because too many people can see what your saying.

My bike has very high-tech hyrdo-formed frame components, awesome gearing, hydraulic disc breaks, and all of those things make for a much better bike.

I can read a map, and most of the hiking/biking I do in the hills are the same hills I was doing that in 40 years ago, a GPS is not going to help me much.

But... The Laser Levels are beyond awesome.  Really helped my life.  So did power drives like my Mikata - really, it beats spending the day screwing screws.

[Padma]

Beard trimmer, epilator, vibrator - end of story .

[Cindy]

Nice comment about MP3's after making them so the sound is crap you can get add ons to improve the sound. Sounds very Henry Ford to me..
Yes I will add cordless tools to the list. I will also add air cooled lasers.

The rest?

I like to socialise face to face. have a drink and a chat. See a persons face and body language.

One of the strangest things I saw last week was a young woman (teen) wearing head phones at a post office. She had her music on. I was behind her and could hear it. She was asking the person behind the counter questions but couldn't hear the replies. And her questions were coming out dumb. What have we done.  I'm a bit young for a baby boomer. more a teen boomer

Cindy

[Cindy]

Now a think for itself vibrator could be fun.
Damn I think they are called men.

Cindy

[V M]

I've had the same cell phone for nearly six years, my desktop is a 2004 model, I have an mp3 player but don't use it very much

[kelly_aus]

Now a think for itself vibrator could be fun.
Damn I think they are called men.

Cindy

This gave me a much needed giggle, thanks Cindy..

[mimpi]

Not a massive technology freak myself but some is useful.

Satellite dish to watch italian tv, my computer, digital radio in the car to listen to the football while south of London after dark in winter (AM gets washed out from Europe), that's about it apart from an industrial strength 'Hitachi Magic Wand' vibrator forgotten by my ex! I swear it wasn't mine, it looks like a small baseball bat and runs off mains electricity. And a beautiful '70's Brionvega radio in tasteful orange plastic that's probably worth a bit now.

[tekla]

I saw last week was a young woman (teen) wearing head phones at a post office. She had her music on.

Maybe, but I find the ear-buds to be great for putting in and then people assume you are not listening, so they quit talking to you.  That's a pretty awesome bonus.

And I'm also pretty sure that half the people you see walking down the street with ear-buds on are listening to "Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot..."


But technology does change things, and sometimes pretty radically.  Back in the day (kids...lawn...mine...get off it) before cell phones and email I'd get job offers.  They would go to my home phone and the message machine would take them (and I'm having a hard time remembering what the hell we did before message machines, so there).  I'd go home at night, listen to them, get back to people the next day or so...  Ah, luxury.  Within a few years of me (and everyone else in my biz) getting cell phones that 24+ business cycle had shrunk to about an hour, then to about five minutes.  Now if you don't pick up (or call right back) they are not going to wait for an answer, they just call the next person on the list.  Now, with email on phones, what once was about a 12 hour cycle, became a 4 hour cycle with laptops, and now with SmartPhones, a five second cycle, if your not responding almost RightThe>-bleeped-<Now, they are off to the next person. 

And cars keep on going faster all the time...And the beat goes on.

[MarinaM]

Now a think for itself vibrator could be fun.
Damn I think they are called men.

Cindy

Or incessant and incredibly obnoxious. 

I saw last week was a young woman (teen) wearing head phones at a post office. She had her music on.

Maybe, but I find the ear-buds to be great for putting in and then people assume you are not listening, so they quit talking to you.  That's a pretty awesome bonus.

And I'm also pretty sure that half the people you see walking down the street with ear-buds on are listening to "Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot..."

And cars keep on going faster all the time...And the beat goes on.

Exactly what I do half the time. I like people not bothering me.

I have an android phone with lots of memory that acts as my mp3 player, GPS, watch, miniature computer, phone, notepad, voice recorder, secretary, alarm... Get one, they're amazing, the only drawback is what Tekla says, everyone has instant access to you at all times.

I have a wireless router at home, a netbook, a tv and netflix streaming to a blue ray player. My communications bills run about $70 a month and I'm good.

[MarinaM]

The best technolgies are the ones that allow me to cut things out of my life. Commerce doesn't agree. I have what the state assumes I need to get me off the system plus the TV. Funny. TV has become obsolete, I just kinda like having a big monitor.

[tekla]

everyone has instant access to you at all times

It's not so much that they have it, as that - because it's available - they pretty much demand it.

[Alexmakenoise]

I work in a tech field, and it's a good fit for me.  I enjoy being a part of innovations that are changing the way people do things, and being paid to analyze things and come up with new ideas.

Outside of work, though, I'm really "low tech".  I listen to vinyl records, barely use my cell phone, mostly stay away from social networking sites, have never owned a TV, etc.  I'm an active person - I like to make things, not consume things.  So I build things digitally at work and then go climb mountains, sail boats, write songs, and go out and listen to friends' music. 

People I work with contact me at my work email address, or on my office phone.  People I know outside of work know where to find me.  I do a lot of "See you next week," and very few emails or phone calls.

For me, it's a very low-stress way to live.

[StaceyC]

I'm a little tardy posting to this thread.  but I use my cell a lot. Its an Android and I use it as for 1) phone (no home phone), 2) text (not real conversations, just quick bites.. hey I'm on the way etc.), 3) MP3 (virtually my entire music library is on a 16GB micro SD with tons of space left over), 4) podcasts (listening to news downloads from BBC, CNN etc.), and 5) listening to audiobooks (to and from work etc.).  I have a facebook and linked in, but rarely post on those.  I'm not real big on social media right now.

[tekla]

I like my android too.  To have instant access to phone, messages, text stuff and gmail is pretty efficient.  I love having my music, I just stuff the thing, put it on random and let it rip.  I use the camera a little, and I like the maps/nav feature, it's detailed enough to show most of the major trails and fire-roads in my area and it knows were I am by GPS, so that's been nice.  I use Google on occasion, it's not really built to surf the web - but it's nice to have access.