<p>I am the least tech savy of my family. The reason? Laziness and no interest in learning the “stuff.” I try, but find it sooooo boring. It’s so, well, technical. Click here, click there and then click here again.</p>
<p>I am not totally “Neanderthal,” but my kids make fun of me. I still pay credit cards via snail mail. But I rarely use credit cards. I do mostly use debit cards.</p>
<p>My employment is teaching and advisement on the college level. I find that most students want to communicate via email. I am trying to accommodate, but it so much easier and more informative to speak personally rather than type everything.</p>
<p>I also had a student, for the first time, complain that all of my info for the class was not online. This was not an on-line course. So are you kidding me? I should do the work to put every thing on line so you do not have to get your a… out of bed and attend my class. </p>
<p>And do not even get me started on promoting on line courses and degrees.</p>
<p>We still have our Mac M00001 (I think) with the soft carry bag from 1983 or 84. I was in grad school and used it for papers, then used to take it to work. It was very heavy.
It might be worth something if it worked, but I think it died at some point. We’re still a Mac family, iPhones, iPads, etc.</p>
<p>I have it all and am an “early adopter.”. I live on Twitter and Facebook. I carry iPhone and Blackberry (work Blackberry about to turn into a Droid, thank God).</p>
<p>Our house is as automated as H can get it. Can be annoying at times and scares the pet sitter when things go on and off.</p>
<p>I have had a cellphone since early 90s. Upgraded the minute I was eligible each year to the latest and greatest.</p>
<p>I run with a Garmin GPS running watch and wirelessly transfer all the data for each run (time, distance, pace for each mile, maps, elevation, heart rate etc) to my online running log.</p>
<p>I am the social networking expert at the major corporation at which I am employed (obviously not a tech company).</p>
<p>We had an electric typewriter that I used during HS and college; I was the envy of my peers. When I started at my job back in 1985, there was one PC for the department. It was parked next to me, so I used it. The company went to a 2/1 ratio for PCs and finally 1/1 somewhere around 1993.
The first cell phone was in 1996 right after my car died at 10pm on the freeway.</p>
<p>FF to the present:
We still have our landline (we live in a cell phone hole, power goes out a lot & also need it for our DSL). </p>
<p>H writes the checks to pay the bills. Some go directly to the Visa, a couple right out of checking, but he likes the manualness of it all. I pay my own accts on line. I did notice this month when a store switched banks, that the debit from my acct is not instantaneous - I need to plan a week or so ahead (Irritating). </p>
<p>I use my debit card all the time & check my account several times a week. Couldn’t live w/o it.</p>
<p>Moved to a Droid the first chance I could. H and the girls have iPhones (girls use theirs for web, apps and texting, little actual talking). </p>
<p>No Flickr acct. No Facebook. No Picasa. No Twitter. Of all, I really need to get on Facebook. My saving grace is that my mom isn’t on Facebook.</p>
<p>The girls use Macs, I’m all PC. Hate Macs (whoever said they’re intuitive - something must be wrong with my intuition!)</p>
<p>The Garmin, w/all its tech wonders, is the best part of my running gig. </p>
<p>I always thought that I was an early adopter, but in the past 3-5 years, things seemed to move in such leaps and bounds that I lost the bubble.</p>
<p>I’ve never used an atm machine - don’t own a smartphone or have cable tv. My wife is trying to get me to get a droid but I find it too confusing and time consuming to figure out which one. We started to look for a large screen tv but with all the different types, I just found it too boring to continue so its something I keep postponing along with the phone.</p>
<p>I’m not a big tv watcher so it doesn’t matter too much to me. I have however had situations where not having internet access with a phone has cost me financially - more than the cost of a phone for many years.</p>
Us, too. H likes to flirt with the bank tellers. Also, S-1 teases me when I say “atm machine” because the word “machine” is redundant. “M” says it all. </p>
<p>We called our PC’s “the machine” for the first 10 years, meanwhile making gentle fun of OUR grandparents whom we remembered called their first cars “the machine.”</p>
<p>LANDLINES - Don’t cancel yours unless you have a really good plan for ALWAYS having cellphone charged and nearby, ready to call 911. </p>
<p>(It used to be that landline had advantage of providing location info to 911 operator, but perhaps newer cell phones have that function… not sure. I keep the landline, but use cellphone for long distance calls.)</p>
<p>“However, I do like to get my bills on paper so I can file them – I am just not confident that I will be able to retrieve the file in the event of a computer crash or computer upgrade if I want them in a few years.” - I still get many of my bills on paper too, even though much of my payment is done online (either autopay or manually). Perhaps I could go to online statements too… there really is not that much need to retrieve the regular ones (like utilities) on paper. The others like VISA are available online too, so maybe someday I could let them go to online statements (and just print the annual summaries).</p>
<p>I can say this - for the bills that I get only online and handle via autopay (local phone bill, verizon bill - sent to DH, highway tolls)… I don’t miss the paper and the fuss.</p>
<p>DH and I just bought a car today (Honda Accord) and saved around $3,500 by not getting the “package” that includes sunroof, navigator system, and some other stuff. I guess I do however want to buy a Garmin or a TomTom or whatever so I know where I’m going. I still use MapQuest, but as I said when I started this thread – technology is passing me by!!</p>
<p>So, what do I want to buy to put in my new car? (And I’m darn sure it will cost less than $3,500!)</p>
<p>Maybe a Rand McNally Road Atlas? The ones they sell at Wal-Mart even give you the address of every Wal-Mart in the country, and because Wally subsidizes them, they’re very cheap.</p>
<p>Do get a Garmin. My husband absolutely hates technology (except his 50 inch TV) but he is a GPS believer. We’ve used it all over the country. Most recently in Los Angeles. A map just doesn’t cut it when you’re flying down a LA highway and having to make quick decisions. You can get a good Garmin under $100.</p>
<p>There are many different models. I have the Nuvi 265WT but they have newer ones out now that look pretty slick. The 1390LMT looks very nice - it has the exit signs on the screen (lane assist) which would be very helpful especially if you are in a big city like LA or Chicago. Though I wouldn’t upgrade at this point because the one I have works great. I bought son a slightly cheaper version of the 265WT and it is comparable in functionality. </p>
<p>Just beware there are certain features, like the real-time traffic delay and the lane assist that only work in larger cities. They’re great features when you can access them.</p>
<p>I can’t speak to the other brands but I’m sure they are good also. Best buy carries a variety of them but I ordered mine off Amazon.</p>
<p>I have a basic Garmin, as does my H. One thing that he didn’t buy tht he now regrets is the lifetime ability to upgrade the maps. When min is up for upgrades I will certainly buy that feature. The ability to find restaurants, parks, libraries, etc is priceless, as well as finding the way out of a bad part of Chicago when a traffic detour sign is ripped down has been very helpful as well.</p>
<p>Personally, I would recommend you get MAGELLAN from Costco. Get the one with road updates and skip the maps. If & when the GPS dies, take it back to Costco for FULL refund & then purchase the latest model. We have tried many models & Magellan pronounces the names the best (much better than Garmin). It’s a good idea to have a map in the car as a backup, but I LOVE the GPS, especially when there is NO sign or it’s dark and/or you’re in a strange area. One great thing about the Magellan is that it tells you what lane to be in and makes a tone when it’s time to turn, as well as warning you at intervals before a turn.</p>
<p>If you really want the maps, go ahead & buy the one with both lifetime maps & lifetime traffic updates. It is also available & pretty reasonably priced. Many have had better luck with their GPS lasting longer than ours have–not sure why they have died but glad Costco has taken them back, no Qs asked.</p>
<p>I think we are all digital immigrants in search of a sure harbor which can’t possibly exist. The changes keep changing. Today it is all about sharing; there is tremendous value in that and I do mean money as well as learning and creativity. My biggest change was to not be afraid of this wilderness but to carry a big stick and to be aware. Not much different than the world of our ancestors, actually.</p>