Confessions of a Non-Techie — Part 1
When it comes to technology, there’s jumping on the bandwagon, and then there’s missing the boat completely. Unfortunately, I think I fall under the latter category. You may wonder why someone who works at a fairly technologically intensive company has little understanding of it, however that is because, simply enough, I do not have a technological job. I don’t have to understand technology, I just have to be able to use it. This gives me a unique perspective amongst people who are so used to building technology and finding the newest of the new that they don’t have any problem using or understanding it. (Although admittedly, no one can avoid the occasional server/internet provider/system crash and all the trials and tribulations thereof.) When I thought about writing this I came up with a lot of different topics. So I split this into several parts, and I’ll post one a week. First I wanted to share my own likes and dislikes about what technology I use everyday, and a little bit of my background in technology.
As far as my background in technology, I was born well before the Internet Generation in the Boomerang Generation. I grew up with a lot of outdoor time, playing games, reading, going to Girl Scout camp, and fighting with my brother and sister in person, instead of through text messages. I do remember a good bit of early computer technology though, mostly games. The earliest I remember had pixels about ¼ inch wide. I loved Oregon Trail, and all the classic Sierra games that you can’t even find anymore but for which I often yearn. I miss those 5-inch floppies. Heck, I miss the 3-inch floppies. I had my first e-mail address (AOL) in 9th grade and still have it, although I have since added gmail. I still have my old school Nintendo, and I still rock at it.
Now I’m struggling to keep up with technology, trying to decide between needless luxuries and useful tools, and I have developed various opinions of how technology impacts my life. It took me about a year and a half to finally get a skype account (and I don’t understand half the features); I like AIM but only a version that is no newer than at least two updates old (why I love oldversion.com); html, url, mp3, both bits and bytes, and all such words are pretty much Greek to me; I hate the latest version of Internet Explorer (not to mention it actually took me a day or two to realize that IE was short for Internet Explorer); I’ve been known to insult tag clouds; don’t get me started on the fights I have with the office printer; and since I still love VHS I’m bitter over the evolvement of DVDs.
On the other hand, I love the ability to IM or e-mail my friend overseas; while I’m writing I’m listening to my brand-new ipod; and even though my cell phone is 2 years old, it is one of my most used gadgets. I also enjoy the convenience of the internet to look up information quickly, such as a definition, or the telephone number, menu, and address of a restaurant. I like doing basic research on various topics (as you can tell I’m a wikipedia fan) and I almost always stop by imdb.com to get trivia or information on movies I watch. I also have been known to shop online from time to time. QuickBooks is a lifesaver for the accounting side of my job; scanners save time; Excel sheets are great for organization, and the phone system lets me page everyone in the office at the same time. That’s most of the big stuff, and I think it’s a long list.
So that’s an overview of me and technology. What do you think? Please be sure to come back next week when I will discuss my thoughts on the Tech Race and Digital Divide.
