# Technology Adopting

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-adopting/519713>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [December 2, 2009, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-adopting/519713 "2009-12-02T16:17:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\
**Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-adopting/519713/21 "2009-12-04T23:10:15Z")

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I love my iPod but I think Cell Phones are still a Fad and I rarely use mine.  
It’s more like a portable answering machine for me…  
So I’m a late adopter. I fear change.

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**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\
**Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-adopting/519713/22 "2009-12-05T02:28:11Z")

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> [@Umbriel2](#):
>
> We generally don’t replace gratuitously, though we can make an exception when increased functionality makes something arguably more than a replacement.
> 
> There’s also the issue of whether the new features of a technology seem useful enough to justify the cost.

This pretty much sums up how I do it.

I used to be an early adopter, but I got burned too many times: breakthroughs drop prices by 80% within 1 year; new features for less money within 1 year, poor construction on first models, etc.

Since then I tend to wait 2-3 years before adopting, and then really only when my old item is worn out or the increased functionality makes it very worth doing.

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**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-adopting/519713/23 "2009-12-07T23:04:45Z")

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I generally buy when I think the price is right. While this is never option 1, it is often option 2 or 3.

I mean, if I wanted to, I could still use my computer from 1999.

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**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/technology-adopting/519713/24 "2009-12-09T02:20:49Z")

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I was an early adopter of computers (1982) because I had a serious need for it. I got a cell phone only a year and a half ago, again that was the first time I had a serious need for it. My CRT TV just fagged out last summer and now I have a shiny new LCD TV (but only 26", the old one was 20"). I was late to get a DVD player (about five years ago) and didn’t have cable TV till around 1990. I got DSL in 2000, which is probably a bit early, but I had an obvious need.

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