I love technology and gadgets and am at least willing to try new stuff.
Music:
From about 1973 - 1986, I bought music on vinyl. In late '86, I accepted the fact that CDs were going to replace vinyl (with a few exceptions), so I switched. Now, it seems that it won’t be long until downloading will be the new way to buy music (of course, I haven’t heard much new music I like) and I have been buying tracks online to replace old vinyl (I hate buying a CD just for one or two songs). Now I’ve ditched the portable CD player for an MP3 player.
Video:
I bought my first VCR in 1984 (a 2 head mono top loader since 4 head stereo front loaders were more expensive). When the prices came down, I got stereo 4 head front loaders. About 3 years ago I bought a DVD recorder and in the past year, have completely switched over to DVD recording.
I didn’t have a lot of pre-recorded videotapes, so the switch to DVDs was easy.
Computers:
My first computer was a Leading Edge Model D with two 5¼" floppies w/256K memory. I couldn’t afford the 10Mb (yes, Megabyte) hard drive option at $500. I was using DOS 5.0. My second computer was a 386 machine I built with a friend. This time I WAS able to afford the 450Mb drive (only $250!), but I was still running DOS (6.0). I finally gave in and got Windows 3.11. Depsite some reservations, I eventually moved to XP and have a 3.2Ghz P4 computer.
As time goes by, I find myself more likely to embrace new (actually replacement) technology.
I’m still going to give HDTV time to settle before I cough up big bucks for a new TV, though.
I think “You Scan IT” machines at Kroger and Wal Mart are very cool.
You don’t have to talk to anyone. I’m male, and we never buy more than five items and we always pay cash,
They are based on Windows NT, I believe.
I’m scared to death that when I’m an old guy, the new game technology that uses mental waves will operate the U Scan Its, and I won’t be able to use it.
Grew up with computers, with Dos & Win 3.1. Gradually finding my way in Linux.
As a young child, it was all vinyl, then CD. I still have tapes in my car, although when I get around to it I’ll get an adaptor for my MP3 player. Apple’s obsession with image is the main reason I don’t want to get an iPod (I had a chuckle at the warning from the police in London that people sporting the white headphones were rapidly becoming the biggest single target for muggers). I’ve got a digital TV adaptor, but they were right when they said the reception here wasn’t quite good enough. And I stubbornly refuse to hand over wadfuls to Murdoch to get satellite.
My ‘modern technology’ gripe is with over-helpful applications and systems. I didn’t need a ‘personal planner’ before now to remind me when TV programmes are, so why now? Especially when I’ve pressed a button which, by any logic, would switch channels?! (I never liked VideoPlus for the same reason ) Everything on my computer is in folders which I decided on, not Microsoft’s defaults. My Windows drive is H: (kinda by accident) - one piece of crapware made itself known by causing an error when it couldn’t find the C: drive. I also hate driving automatics - it’s my car, so I will choose when to change gears, OK?!
I like new technology if it serves me on a per dollar basis. I waited patiently for digital printers and camera’s to become affordable. I can’t wait to get a digital projector so I can relegate my slide projector to “antiques” status.
My first VCR was $800 but I usually wait for new technology to come down in price. I still don’t have a stand-alone DVD burner and I’ve yet to burn a DVD with my laptop. I’m also still using dial-up.
The next cheap toy I would like to get is a CD player for my car that reads MP3 files. I think it would be great to burn a zillion songs on a couple CD’s (which would be worthless to theives). I’m wondering why bar juke boxes don’t do that now.
There are strategies one can use to extend bulb life. I’d recommend that if you are going to go all-out, make your entertainment room as dark as possible. This includes tight shuttering of all windows and trim around doors, the idea being to absolutely minimize all stray light. Also, keep your screen as clean as possible. You’ll be able to run the projector at less than maximum brightness. Keeping the unit dust-free is a must, also.
From 1962 to the present, I have bought music on vinyl. When CDs came around, I swore that I wouldn’t replace my record collection. But hearing all those old songs with no scratches and noise, and seeing the CDs with bonus tracks changed my mind. 3800 CDs later…I’m still buying them. I have no use for mp3s. As a professional recordist, I am not interested in hearing an approximation of music, in which up to 80% of the constituent parts have been removed to make the filesize smaller, perceptual coding or not.
I got my first VCR in 1991 - a two-head stereo machine. I must have recorded 400 tapes on it. Now I have a discontinued JVC 6-head machine with flying erase head, insert editing, etc. that has about 6 hours of play on the heads, for the purpose of future archiving. I own about six prerecorded ones, the rest are what I preserved from TV. I still have more to learn about how to archive the good stuff on DVD. Rendering and frameserving are alien concepts to me at the moment. I watch approximately two hours of TV on purpose per year, so I don’t need a LCD giant-screen HDTV and surround sound system. In fact, I have never heard what surround sound, sounds like. Not even when it was just quadrophonic! That’s mostly due to every person I know having no reason to buy all that gear, either. (My brother, who is clueless about audio and its gear, has all of his surround speakers on the same wall. He’s on the other side of the continent, so it doesn’t bother me. Much.)
I didn’t know anyone personally who owned a computer before I did, and that was 1999. It was a Sony VAIO microtower. My wife still uses it. I bought a CD writer when 4x was $300, because this was a format that I wanted to get into! My latest is a CDRW/DVDRW that runs 52x and cost $55. My current box is a custom P4, 2.7GHz with 512 MB DDR. I use the computer to record and restore audio, to communicate with the world, to keep track of my record library, to make CD jewel case inserts, to restore old photos, and not much more. I don’t know the first thing about coding anything or operating systems, except that having experienced all the Windows flavors, I would not part with Win2K. I don’t have a website because a) what would I need one for? and b) I don’t know anything about how to make one.
I’m interested in new techology, but very little of what most consumers want applies to me or what I want. Wafer-thin wall-panel holographic TV? Meh. 27 gigs on one DVD? Bring it on!
Amen. New technology I like, especially when it’s a seamless, superior drop-in replacement. Interfaces with a learning curve, especially interfaces with an unecessary learning curve, I don’t like. Neal Stephenson has a few things to say on the subject.
Hell, I’d buy one like this now!
I’m not a “blinking 12” person. But I do resent products with manuals bigger than they are (digital camera, anyone?) and products where perfectly good user interfaces have been replaced with poorer ones. What’s wrong with a volume knob and tuning dial, for heaven’s sake? I want to tune in with a dial, then hold the pre-set button till it bleeps to store. Not consult the bloody instructions to navigate my way around Seek Mode and Store Mode.
Never had the displeasure. But do you also retard your own ignition and alter your own fuel mix?
I Couldn’t agree more. I use to buy digital watches with all kinds of bells and whistles and finally got tired of having to relearn everything just to know wht time it is. I now have a Timex anolog watch that keeps better time than any digital watch owned. The last time I went to buy a headset for my phone the salesperson tried to sell me a new one. I asked him if the new phone had a better range than mine and he said no. Blank stare on my face. I really want to spend extra money to be annoyed.
I love my digital camera and have been willing to learn how to use it because I use a lot of the features. the stuff I can do with it far outstrips film photography.
I love technology and gadgets, too, but usually can’t afford to play with any of the new stuff. It takes me a few years to be able to buy things. Even now, my lone DVD player is still an Apex – one of the “with rebate it’s practically free” models that the bulk wholesalers stocked up on a few years ago. Also, sometimes I buy things but don’t take advantage of every capability: I have a Palm Tungsten T3 PDA but I don’t use the Bluetooth, and I have an awesome new cellphone but I never access the internet with it (though I find that I’m using the camera more often than I ever imagined I would).
Still, there are many “toys” that I lust after in my heart, and usually when I get something new it doesn’t take me long to figure out how to use it.
) Everything on my computer is in folders which I decided on, not Microsoft’s defaults. My Windows drive is H: (kinda by accident) - one piece of crapware made itself known by causing an error when it couldn’t find the C: drive. I also hate driving automatics - it’s my car, so I will choose when to change gears, OK?!