Friday, September 24, 2010

A Dinosaur Vs. Technology -

OK, I am not on the cutting edge of technology. When computers are working smoothly I think they are the greatest thing since sliced bread. But should an error pop up, if the screen freezes like a deer in headlights, should it slow down like Eeyore with a hangover, my patience is quickly tested. If I cant fix it (the odds are always highly stacked against that) in a few minutes I immediately search out my son Travis, the family Tech Guru. With the clock ticking the race is on as to whether he shows up before I lift the offending piece of equipment over my head and hurl it as far as possible. Granted, I doubt the result of a movable object (my laptop) meeting an immovable object (the fireplace) would bring about favorable results, but the immediate satisfaction might just be worth it.

So, when I brought home the Apple I-Pad, my family once again questioned my sanity. Now my sanity check is usually a weekly occurrence  but this time I felt justified -  "I got a good deal", I told them. Regardless of the cost involved they thought I was nuts. And Travis? Well he did his best impersonation of my beloved Boston Red Sox, he tried to fade quickly into the sunset.

Now I have to admit, I have been a Dell man my whole life. Don't know why, have never met Michael Dell and I doubt he needs any more of my hard earned but quickly decreasing income. But I am a creature of habit, and not a bright one at that. But I do have an Apple I-Pod which I love. Just use it for tunes, no photos, no videos and no podcasts, don't even know what the Hell a podcast is! So I figured, if I can use one Apple product I was sure I could manage another.

As I opened the box I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. I did it privately, wanted to prove I could get it up and running alone, without the help of the family Tech Guru. Well, I opened it at work and you need to have access to your Apple account to get it cranking so I had to wait till I got home. But damn, once I got home, hooked it up to my Dell (thankfully interracial relationships are accepted these days), logged into I-Tunes and it fired up like a '68 Firebird!

This thing is pretty cool! Yes, a lot of what you can do on it can be done on a lap top. There are countless video games you can download (look at me with the lingo) but the last video games I played were Space Invaders and Pacman at the Brownstone. You can manage pictures the same, email and search the internet. And yes, those TV commercials comparing it to a Kindle, showing the problems reading with sun glare are true. Still I love this sucker.

It's much smaller than a lap top, easier to carry around. There is an endless amount of "Apps" you can download, many free. You want to read the paper, a magazine, check the weather or see what wine goes best with a Buffalo Chicken dish? That would be a Riesling. That took me less than 10 seconds to find out. You can watch your stocks ( might not be a good idea), check out eBay, buy tickets on Stub Hub or catch up with friends on Facebook.  And you can do this from pretty much anywhere.

The books cost about the same as they do on a Kindle, so don't but it for this feature. All my music is downloaded, as are my photos. I'm putting in my contacts, you might be able to download them, not sure since I misplaced the instruction manual (what a surprise). The great feature is that all applications are just a touch away. Not new to you I-Phone users (still a Blackberry man), but those of you who are Apple virgins, it might be time to pop your cherry. It navigates quickly and so far I have not had the desire to make it into the worlds most expensive Frisbee!

Check it out. I'm not promoting it at all, just think if a dinosaur like me can find enjoyment and benefits from it, those with a wee bit more computer expertise would really enjoy it. Now please excuse me as I sit back with my morning cup of coffee and catch up with Opus and Bill the Cat - did I mention the free Comic App?

1 comment:

  1. may or may not need to ask santa for this bad boy come december 25th..

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