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So, sell me ...
#14373 02/25/11 03:13 PM
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grelber Offline OP
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As a quasi-reluctant user of modern technology, I'd be interested in hearing how those who actually use same with aplomb might tout such to folk such as me.

Given my relatively archaic computer/OS and browser, I'm continually bombarded with pleas to upgrade to make my using such sites "a faster and better experience" — to which I reply, "For whom?"

When I've used more up-to-date computers and browsers, I find, for example, my webmail surrounded with ads (targeted to the content of the subject line and probably also message content) and with all manner of other distracting "goodies". With my set-up, I view everything in basic HTML, meaning that I see only my email (which is exactly what I desire).

Many have also suggested that I bring myself into the 21st century and get a cell phone (mayhap even a smartphone) and/or an iPad and/or ....

My question is: Why should I?!

The only high tech device which I find in any way useful is a GPS for the car (eg, Garmin nüvi) — great for trips and not half bad for getting around in most cities. And it's a one-time purchase.

Otherwise, every ad I've seen for such devices turns me off; I haven't yet seen an app or a purpose which I would consider desirable. Add to that the outrageous ongoing costs of having such connected to the world and in some cases being connected in ways inimical to my privacy and security (eg, iPhone and iPad), and I can only see downsides to acquiring any of this stuff.

So, if you think I'm really missing something by being somewhat a troglodyte, by all means pretend you're a gadget salesman and sell me ...

(Just to provide a starting point: I use the computer and the Internet for information purposes, receiving and sending email, and the like — ie, activities for my personal benefit and convenience. I don't play computer games [other than MacSolitaire], don't have any interest in the so-called social media, watch perhaps one YouTube video a month which I can view on someone else's equipment, and so on. And I am not hooked up to any type of broadband.)

Re: So, sell me ...
grelber #14374 02/25/11 03:19 PM
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If your present setup meets your needs, why change? The only reason that I can think of would be a situation in which updated apps, websites etc. will no longer work for you because your system is outdated.

FWIW, I refuse to get a cell phone. Both my wife and I are retired, we're home together most of the time, and neither of us wants to bother. If I ever do, it will not be from a company that requires a contract or has a termination fee. Besides, I like being out of touch when I'm away from home.


Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Re: So, sell me ...
jchuzi #14375 02/25/11 04:42 PM
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grelber Offline OP
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My sentiments exactly. That's also why I was inquiring about a "burner" cell phone in an earlier post.

Re: So, sell me ...
jchuzi #14376 02/25/11 05:52 PM
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> Besides, I like being out of touch when I'm away from home.

In the early days of cell phones one provider used the tag line "Are you one of the unreachables?"

Every time I heard it I smiled to myself and said "Yep!" smile


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: So, sell me ...
grelber #14377 02/25/11 05:54 PM
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> Many have also suggested that I bring myself into the 21st century and get a cell phone (mayhap even a smartphone) and/or an iPad and/or ....

My question is: Why should I?!


Because many have suggested it? grin


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: So, sell me ...
grelber #14379 02/25/11 10:46 PM
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You can't think of any reason a smart phone would be handy? confused Really?

It doesn't sound as if you're sincerely interested in the first place, so i won't put much effort into this post. I had to go to the bank today and wait (over) 40 minutes to see a manager. While waiting i listened to a few of the (over) 4000 songs i carry around in my pocket, and afterwards read a bit from one of the (over) 30 books i carry around in my pocket -- all of which are on my iPod. (the book was Conrad's "Tales of Unrest" -- free on iBooks, as are the rest i own... but bestseller-type books can be also purchased as well. According to system preferences, i have 187 apps on my iPod. (it would take a while to detail what i find them useful for... but i can say that over 80% of them were free). If it were an iPhone and if i needed to tell someone i would be late, then (obviously) having a phone would be extremely useful. (i also have a cell phone, but it's not an iPhone... long story). Some apps are for fun and some are purely productive.

Seriously, i could probably post for hours about all those other apps i have... but, just like you said:

Why should I?!


Edit: everything i said about Skype & sipgate on my iPad in <this post> applies to my iPod as well.

Some apps might be useful only on rare occasions... but invaluable nonetheless. (SoundHound comes to mind).

Final words: life is short, have fun, do what makes you happy.

Last edited by Hal Itosis; 02/25/11 11:06 PM.
Re: So, sell me ...
grelber #14380 02/25/11 10:55 PM
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My take on it is that the tools serve you, rather than the other way around. If you are content with the tools you have now, then there's no compelling need to change. If you change merely to get 'better' tools (for some value of 'better'), then you are serving the tools, rather than the tools serving you.

Now, having said that...

I used a regular, plain-jane, "dumb" cell phone for a very long time. To me, a cell phone was a way to talk to people (mostly clients), that's it. Had I not needed to be able to talk to my clients when I was out of the office, I might not even have gotten a cell phone.

Then I finally upgraded to an iPhone, several years after it came out. It changed my life.

I have an epically lousy sense of direction. The GPS functionality alone was a huge, and I mean huge, game-changer for me. It really opened up my ability to get around, in ways that I didn't even realize were missing before then. The Internet functionality is really nice for a wide range of reasons, ranging from information ("Where is the closest gas station to me? What time does the movie start?") to communication (it's easier to keep in touch with friends and lovers in different countries) to entertainment (being stuck in a waiting room will never be the same now that I have Angry Birds!). I would have gotten one much sooner had I known what an improvement in my life it'd make.

One of the interesting things about disruptive tools is that they can have effects that are far-reaching and hard to understand before you use them, which is precisely what makes them disruptive. Having a smart phone extends my reach in ways I wouldn't have predicted before I had one. Good tools extend the person who uses them.

People are asking more and more of Web sites--more interactivity, more functionality, more ability to interact with a Web site like it's an application. That means changes in browsers and Web standards. As time goes on, more and more Web sites simply won't work with old browsers, so at some point moving to newer operating systems and browsers is inevitable.


Photo gallery, all about me, and more: www.xeromag.com/franklin.html
Re: So, sell me ...
jchuzi #14382 02/25/11 11:16 PM
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Originally Posted By: jchuzi
FWIW, I refuse to get a cell phone. Both my wife and I are retired, we're home together most of the time, and neither of us wants to bother.

We are also retired but have a cell phone. However, it is basic (doesn't bake pizzas or change flat tires) although it has a camera function. For us it's mostly two things:

1) A way to make a phone call (how novel) only if necessary (even more novel) and:

2) It's a safety device. If we are ever stranded we can call the auto club or, if it's something worse, we can call 911.

The camera function (no, not even close for serious shooters) would come in handy if we were ever in a jam and needed to take evidentiary shots.

Originally Posted By: jchuzi
If I ever do, it will not be from a company that requires a contract or has a termination fee

We're just coming off a two year contract that, all in, mostly ran about $27 per month so I guess we essentially paid for the phone - two threes or a six. However, we will be changing over to one of the outfits that just charges for actual usage, which will drop the cost dramatically - probably 7 or 8 bucks a month.

Originally Posted By: jchuzi
Besides, I like being out of touch when I'm away from home.

Ditto. If we aren't making a call, or expecting one, it's turned off.

ryck

Last edited by ryck; 02/25/11 11:18 PM.

ryck

"What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits" The Doobie Brothers

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Re: So, sell me ...
tacit #14403 02/27/11 10:30 AM
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Originally Posted By: tacit
I have an epically lousy sense of direction. The GPS functionality alone...

That's me. I'm pretty sure I could get lost in an elevator. That's why, when we travel, I handle the driving and my wife does maps. It's sort of like having a GPS that throws in a zinger when I make the wrong turn anyway.

ryck

Last edited by ryck; 02/27/11 10:31 AM.

ryck

"What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits" The Doobie Brothers

iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2020), 3.8 GHz 8 Core Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 2667 MHz DDR4
OS Ventura 13.6.3
Canon Pixma TR 8520 Printer
Epson Perfection V500 Photo Scanner c/w VueScan software
TM on 1TB LaCie USB-C
Re: So, sell me ...
grelber #14543 03/05/11 03:36 AM
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Re: So, sell me ...
Hal Itosis #14545 03/05/11 07:04 AM
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grelber Offline OP
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Merci for pointing to that special section on retirement in Thursday's New York Times; I missed it entirely.
Several good articles in there for potential and actual retirees. The article on Making the Most Out of Less is a particularly good piece — a cautionary tale and a wake-up call for many.

As for the specific article on technology for oldsters, each and every item is exactly what I neither desire nor require. So, moving right along ....


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