Doesn't it just seem that the more we learn about technology, the more enslaved we become by that technology?
We have a television that is about 20 years old and still works. I know many of you also have such a television, a big thing set into a wood cabinet and designed to be a piece of furniture that sits on the floor. Currently, it serves only as a stand for the third television in the back bedroom, but if anyone had the patience to watch the terrible picture quality it presents, it absolutely does work.
The irony of having three televisions in the house is that I can remember having no television at all at a certain time in my life. And I can remember well the entry of that first black-and-white set into our home. Its use was restricted, of course, because everyone had work that had to be done before we were allowed to sit around on our rear ends and watch television shows. In addition to that, there just was not much on.
Today, however, you can record a movie, then turn it on in one room, and if your chores take you to another area of the house, pause that movie, and start it up again in that other area on the television in that room, because of course you have a television in every room including the bathroom and kitchen.
Computers, however, do not enjoy such a prolonged life span. It seems the more you use a computer, the more you rely on the thing for your vital life records and activities. And the more you rely on it, the more goes wrong with it. I have yet to have a computer either at a job or at home that has had nothing go wrong with it at all for the space of a full year.
And it seems you have to change major components at least every three to five years. The key word seems to be "compatible." When someone uses that word today, it has nothing to do with a couple of teens contemplating marriage, or coworkers who are paired up to perform a specific task. Today, the word compatible means you can no longer get your e-mail on a certain e-mail-receiving format, or your printer won't work with your new laptop. What it means today is big money coming out of your pocket.
Now, anyone who knows me will tell you that I have always been a little distrustful when it comes to computers. I did not grow up with them, as did everyone younger than age 45. The first computer was built when I was in elementary school, and was the size of a building. Computers today are, of course, small enough to slip into your pants pocket and take along with you. And that makes it even more convenient to become dependent upon them.
I have always tried to print out a hard copy of everything that was really important. Because of this, I have notebook upon notebook of research and notes on just about every subject you can imagine, and racks of CDs with additional resource materials, articles and historical research.
But that just does not seem to matter, because no matter how much you print out, store on discs or place on an external hard drive of some kind, when your computer goes down it takes something vital. Always.
This past week I lost the hard drive in my main desktop computer in my home office. I had done a complete backup of my files that very afternoon, and had printed out all important e-mails as I read them. But I lost all of my bookmarked websites, and my entire address book on my e-mail program.
The websites were no big deal; I can redo that list as I visit the sites, and of course I will visit the important ones a lot. The tragedy was the address book. It will take years to replace all the media contacts in that one storage location.
You see, I stopped using a rolodex several years ago.
So, I am typing my column, thinking of ways to get back to basics again. But I do so love those gadgets and gismos that I really doubt I will. Even if it is inconvenient to lose a little information from time to time, it is just so much faster to push "save" and go on than it is to find space for one more file cabinet in an already packed office.
Have a great week everyone, and send me an e-mail at the address listed below just to say hello.
plenbooks@live.com