Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Technology...How Did We Ever Live Without It?




IPOD's. MP3 players. Smart phones. Laptops. E-readers.

What would our lives be like without all that? Nowadays, could you even imagine a world without microwave ovens?

Without home computers?

My grandmother could.

Grandma, who passed away a few years ago, was born very close to the turn of the century. Not this century, of course—the previous one! And according to my favorite online encyclopedia, she was born before all of the above.

Also before the jet plane.

Before the airplane.

Before TELEVISION!

That's hard to believe, isn't it?

In a relatively few decades, so many new things have been invented that have changed our world forever. In just a few short recent years, technology has evolved so rapidly that even my twentysomething nieces and nephews were born before many of the inventions listed above.

Sometimes, I'm not so sure that "new" necessarily equates to "new and improved"—but I do know there are some things I can't imagine living without.

Number One, no doubt about it, is my desktop computer.

As a full-time writer who spends most of her day alone in a room with the imaginary characters from her books, I'd have to say my computer's a lifeline. I'd be lost without it!

How about you? What piece of modern technology could you absolutely not live without?


All my best to you,

Barbara

~~~~~~

Barbara White Daille
http://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille
https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'd have to go with my computer too. I could do without the cell phone (don't even have a 'smart' one) and I don't download music so no on the iPod. I have a Kindle but rarely use it so I don't really need that either!

MarcieR

Laney4 said...

I'm on the pc bandwagon too.
I type for a living, and most customers have their reports, resumes, letters, etc. emailed to them. In years gone by, some customers said that documents couldn't be emailed due to privacy/confidentiality concerns (so I'd save to floppy/USB instead), but I haven't heard that lately. (They used to say the same thing about fax machine transmissions too, LOL!)
I could live without the cell phone (but enjoy texting my kids re who is where at what time) ... and you said, "IPOD's. MP3 players. Smart phones. Laptops. E-readers." I don't own any of them. I also am not on FB and I don't tweet. I blog. That is my "vice", if you will.

Amanda Renee said...

I have to say my iPhone. I wrote an entire 50,000 word manuscript on it using two apps. I find myself doing more and more research on it, in the strangest of places. It's been 2 days since I used it to make a phone call. Yet here I am responding to your blog post on it. Am I one of those freakazoid iPhone addicts? Hardly. I have last years model and I'm content. But live without it? I can't. I just can't.

Thanks, Barbara. I just realized how technology addicted I have become :)

CrystalGB said...

I would have to say computer. I love surfing the net. :)

Barbara White Daille said...

Hi, Marcie - the computer does seem to be a good all-in-one device, doesn't it?

Thanks for commenting!

Barbara White Daille said...

Laney - I know a lot of people who do more talking with their kids via text than verbally. LOL

The cell phone really *is* a great invention for parents to keep track of their kids.

But like you and Marcie, I'm happy with my computer.

Barbara White Daille said...

Hi, Amanda - I can't even begin to imagine writing on a phone. I do a lot of texting for various reasons, and after a while my thumbs rebel!

I hear you on the technology addiction, though. The computer may still be my #1, but I'm getting to the point I really need my phone, too, for the texting. or at least that's what my friends seem to think. LOL

Barbara White Daille said...

Crystal - ohhh, you said a bad word. LOL (Just kidding!)

That Internet is a big, big place...and it's so easy for me to get lost in it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Amanda Renee said...

I use Dragon Dictation on my iPhone. I almost feel like I'm cheating. I speak it, it writes it for me, then I cut and paste it into the My Writing Spot app. It's not the best setup, but when I'm on the go, it works.

Barbara White Daille said...

Amanda - that sounds great! Now I'm *really* wishing I had a smart phone.

On mine, I think I can leave a message that lasts a minute or so, that's it. But maybe that would be enough--after all, books are written one sentence at a time. ;)