No! I don't want to get with the times!

[Lanie]

So, I'm discovering how "old fashioned" I can be.

I pretty much refused to get a cell phone before I graduated college. Even then, I wouldn't get a lot of fancy services on them. I couldn't afford it. I hated texting. Give me a computer any day. Finally, they came out with the cell phones with a keyboard and I wanted one. Too bad I couldn't afford one. Once I was finally able to afford one, smart phones came out. They seemed intriguing, but I had heard about how easy they were to tear up and I opted for the phone with real buttons. Recently, I upgraded to a smart phone. I had to practice to learn how to text on there. I can't seem to get FB to download on there properly. Surfing internet on that phone or any phone I've ever had always seems to be more trouble than it's worth. I haven't downloaded music on my phone yet. I don't play games on my phone. Honestly, I'd rather do all of this on the computer (something I postponed for a while).

I fought the elimination of VHS.

I like going to the video store to get a DVD. I don't want to go use the Red Box or Netflix all the time.

I love power windows on my car, but find them to be more trouble than they are worth when the motor starts to go.

I still like to use an old fashioned camera. I hate using a cell phone to take pictures. They never come out well.

I miss the use of Microfiche. It's fascinating.

However, I have embraced technology in other areas. I have to remind myself that I should check out books and not just go to google for information.

I use dictionary.com instead of a real dictionary.

I tend to check my phone for the time. Watches are for looks, but I do like having one.

I am so happy for the use of word processors. I cannot imagine using a typewriter with all my mistakes.

Email is so much faster and cheaper than snail mail.

I just feel like I'm still very old fashioned compared to others. Do others get that way?

[Adam]

If it makes you feel any better, there is a microfiche reader on the table in front of my desk, and I have an IBM Selectric II on my desk.

[Lanie]

If it makes you feel any better, there is a microfiche reader on the table in front of my desk, and I have an IBM Selectric II on my desk.

IBM? What's that?

Actually, I've seen IBMs are sometimes cash registers. I know they're still around.

[Adam]

IBM? What's that?

It looks like this:




Oddly enough, we still have to use typewriters from time to time for visa applications, as there are still a few countries out there who demand that their forms be typed, but they do not have the forms loaded on a .pdf that can have the fields typed in.

Actually, I've seen IBMs are sometimes cash registers. I know they're still around.

They used to do a whole lot more than that. Way back when, not quite 20 years ago, I ran a check sorter for a local bank. It looked like this:





That's about sixty feet end-to-end. Took up a whole carefully climate-controlled room (kept about 62°, which suited me just fine), made one hell of a racket when it ran, and could go through about a quarter million documents an hour when it was running at full-tilt. On a busy Friday night, particularly around the holidays, I would run about a million and a half checks through that machine. Unfortunately, the thing never ran at full-tilt for very long because it was about as cantankerous and labor-intensive (and complicated) as an 1876 steam locomotive, and I invariably had to stop it every 15-20 minutes to do something to keep it running properly, most often to advance the very thin stainless steel "head film," a foil far thinner than a human hair that would slice your finger open in a hot second.

I'm guessing that the Federal Reserve Bank in Raleigh still has one of these or something similar. Most, if not all, banks have now gone to imaging machines which take a .jpg of your check as it passes through and eliminates a whole lot of the 10-key entry that was required back when I was doing this.

[scott]

I'm only "old school" on fundamentals and art. Otherwise I have never seen a use for a typewriter, a card catalog, or the Income Tax ().

The difference is that technology doesn't own me, I own it. I type my letters but then sign them and include a piece of personalized expression that takes time if I want to add a nice touch. I shun the "standard" that it's in poor taste to use email or modern methods to communicate. It's very hard for me to hand write a letter that is actually legible. But I can do a video montage that properly expresses and documents my sentiments. Plus since technology makes us much more connected nowadays anyway, embrace it. If quaint older methods are your style, go for it. I still dig ditches for my Dad because I know he appreciates the effort and the gesture when the sprinklers are broken. But when the drain field had a problem I hired a guy with a backhoe. I'm pretty sure he was happy to have the toilets working that evening instead of the 2 days it would have taken me to do it by hand.

The culture shift is abrupt, and I appreciate that. I have a problem with all those websites with posts challenging people to write letters "to show they are important." Make note of the situation that these websites didn't send you a personal letter, they used technology to convey the sentiment. You can do the same.

I can't draw for crap, but I can take some pretty good pictures and use my computer skills to assemble a very nice personal card using my words. When the recipient asks where they could buy "the card" and find out it's a custom creation I did just for them, that's better than I could ever do with a pen and paper.

[Gingersnap]

I looooove the Internet but I treat it the way I would a drunk relative: enjoy the moment, share a few jokes or a little commiseration, and then get the hell out of there when things get sloppy, stupid, or fabricated. I would not loan the Internet money. I would not co-sign for the Internet. The Internet knows that it cannot stay on my couch after it sobers up (I refuse to let the Internet drive).

I feel the same way about a lot of tech. It's fine when it knows its place but I don't need any new ways to waste time, money, cultural capital, etc.

It's all about whether the tech gets you to the end you want. I don't do social networking because I have a real life social network that values slow friendship. Also, I don't have the time to deal with it. I like online account management, though, because it's much faster than dealing a person to make a change or schedule an appointment. I don't listen to audio books or watch many informational videos because I read about 20 times faster than I listen. I do watch videos for things which can only be taught visually - they are amazing for those things.

A lot of my adult life has been dedicated to getting to the point where I can take or leave technology as I please. I am very close to this goal now. Very close.

[phillygirl]

I'm never "cutting edge" on technology (I was hopelessly behind on the cell phone thing for years!) but am also generally never completely "old school".

I still don't own a flat screen or big screen t.v. at my main home. My main t.v. (all 500 pounds of it!) still works, so I've seen no need to replace it with something newer just because. Well, that, and the fact that I can't figure out how the heck I'll get rid of my old t.v.!

[Gingersnap]

I'm never "cutting edge" on technology (I was hopelessly behind on the cell phone thing for years!) but am also generally never completely "old school".

I still don't own a flat screen or big screen t.v. at my main home. My main t.v. (all 500 pounds of it!) still works, so I've seen no need to replace it with something newer just because. Well, that, and the fact that I can't figure out how the heck I'll get rid of my old t.v.!

Freecycle, baby! That said, I still have the French Canadian $25 buck Craigslist TV I bought 9 years ago. Hey, it works.

[Lanie]

Scott, you might have given me some ideas about how to better use technology in the future. Ginger, I've found that social networking can actually be used to better find people in real life. I've found writers groups and Catholic groups on meetup.com. I go see them and then they try to get me to join their group on Google +. I'm getting there eventually.

I would love a flat screen TV. They're so light weight and they look better on screen. I can't say I care for the fact that they're trying to completely do away with buttons or have them where you can't see them though. I remember back before we had cable at home, we had a nice little TV that you turned the knob on. It had a great picture and lasted for years.

On another note, I need to personalize my profile again. I keep thinking I'm reading "Senior Moment" when I look at my user title. lol.