I've Got A Technology Headache

[puffy]

Let me start this by saying that I'm almost 70 years.I remember when a lot of folks here in Carolina didn't have electricity or runing water.To the point..These days computers and phones are being combined.I'm told that pc's are on the way out.Pretty soon something called clouding will store your data for you and you log on with a hand held devise and your info will be there for you.I am still trying to learn how post pictures.Today I went to the phone company to see what's involved in learning how to text.Only to be told that I should get a phone with a key board.I know this is easy for a great many younger folks.It's not easy at all for an old man who doesn't want to be left behind.There's a theory that says if something has been here for your whole life you tend to think it's been here for ever.Believe today's technology hasn't been here for ever.It hasn't been here my whole life.It's changing almost faster than my tired old brain can cope with.I've got a headache.It's time to get a cup of coffee,light up a bowl and,relax.

 

[crpntr1]

When we all got new smart phones, I didn't even have to read the instructions...I got my kids to show me how to use it.

 

[kyletheaviator]

I Can't imagine how you feel! I'm 20 and I have a hard time keeping up! If you're looking for texting or overall ease, I'd recommend an iPhone 4s. Siri makes things very easy using voice commands alone! Need to send a text? Tell her "text John: I'll be there in10 minute" and it types the message out, reads it back to you, and sends it upon your command. You can tell Siri to find a business or location and she pulls up the ones closest to you as well as doing web searches if you ask. It's pretty damn handy and simple to use.

 

[jonahtke]

I'm a professional IT guy. Technology headaches keep me employed . That said I make a concerted effort to keep my phone as simple as I can. Texting can be handy if someone is out of pocket and you want to make sure they get a message. I fail to see the purpose of texting an entire conversation though, when a quick phone call will handle the whole thing. In any case, don't feel pressured to get yourself into anything more complicated than you are comfortable with. It's usually not necessary and often times more headache than it's worth.

 

[crpntr1]

Kyle, I have android not iPhone but has a siri type app. For laughs I told it I wanted to get drunk, it looked up sports bars, said it again, reg bars came up, again, taxi services, again and I got the directions to my local AA club.

 

[spartan]

People make money by making you think that things are more complex than they really are. Ugh.
I'll have the pleasure of teaching my grandmother how to use a computer within the coming months.
All you need is someone that can talk you through the motions. Most teens don't know how something works, they just know that they click these 5 buttons and they can send a picture to their friend Joe.
Ask them where they saved the file and they'll look at you confused...
"It found it for me... what do you mean?"

 

[photoman13]

You are a 70 year old man using a pipe forum. I think you are ahead of the game IMHO.

 

[waznyf]

You are a 70 year old man using a pipe forum. I think you are ahead of the game IMHO.

Hahahaa I agree! Although you may feel overwhelmed, you're doing better than most!

My 52 year old dad has learned to log onto a computer and has yet to get the Internet figured out.....

NOW THAT'S SAD!

 

[philip]

Half of teens send 50 or more text messages a day, or 1,500 texts a month, and one in three send more than 100 texts a day, or more than 3,000 texts a month.

I found that statistic at this web site. If that is true, I think I'd be happy to be left behind.
I'm just glad my phone doesn't have a rotary dial.

 

[kyletheaviator]

Crpntr1, that hilarious! I told Siri I wanted to get drunk and she said "don't expect me to get you home"

Maybe she's not as nice as I though!
Philip, I send an average of 9,000 messages a day and I'm among the top 5 percentile for data usage of all AT&T members who have unlimited data. On average, members with unlimited data plans use 12 times more data than those who have paid plans. I need a life... 8O

 

[ssjones]

I'm on vacation, but thanks to my smart phone, I've answered six emails today and know there are 19 more in my box.....thanks technology!
But I also bid and lost a pipe on Ebay yesterday, standing in line at a grocery store with the wife, I guess we'll call it even.

 

[markw4mms]

Well, I guess I'm kinda middle of the road with all this. I'm 55, and have had a computer of some sort since 1982 (Commodore 64), so I'm pretty comfortable with them. However, I don't own a smart phone, or even a reasonably bright one. I can't really afford them, and aside from being able to play on the internet would be a waste of money since I rarely go out other than to work and the store, and I don't like texting. As for the headaches, I get them myself from time to time, and I'm fighting one right now trying to find a way to hack the stupid router I have so I can control it with Router Commander through telnet. I have to admit, all the networking stuff we have now is pretty cool, but sometimes I miss the way it was back in the day when 1200 baud dial-up was living large...LOL!

 

[pstlpkr]

Slow day for me...

50-something texts

4 long distance phone calls

400+ twitter reads... 3 posts

1 lengthy online lecture

20 or so visits to PM.com

130+ email read... 20 or 30 sent.

Full entry cycle on PCH. (Red Neck Retirement Fund)

And 3 more hours left in the day...

3 pipes.

Make that four... ::

 

[briarbird]

@Lawrence: Impressive my friend.

 

[tokerpipes]

Hell I am 34 and send about 4k text's a month and hardly use the 700 min my wife and I share on our plan.

 

[gungnir]

I agree with waznyf your pretty much ahead of the curve, if you can do basic stuff on the computer what more do you need all the rest are just things to "make" life easier, though it doesn't always work out that way. Otherwise keep it up your doing great for someone who is 70 :D

 

[martiniman]

@.
If you can post here, you can text. The recommendation of the keyboard smart phone is a good thing. Keyboard makes it more like a computer for typing, nothing more/nothing less. The "smartphone" doesn't bring anything to the party for texting but it does bring mobile computing to the table, picture everything you do with your computer on your phone from anywhere at anytime. The iphone is wonderful. It can be as simple or complex as you like. Siri is voice recognition that eliminates the need to type. Good for us with failing eyesight and sausage fingers.
Don't get caught up in all of the capabilities, focus on what you want or need.

 

[crpntr1]

Don't get caught up in all of the capabilities, focus on what you want or need.
+1...heck half the time, or more, that I'm on pm.com its from my phone..like right now.

 

[cyndi]

shoot, I'd be lost without my smartphone! I prefer a slide out keyboard because I don't get along very well with phone size touch screens (I have naturally long fingernails) and I like being able to text like I type. I'm a total grammar nazi, so I get sick if I see text-speak - which My Dad is so bad about using! The man is like a teenage girl over text.
I'm one of those folks like Lawrence, normally. I love Sprint's unlimited data plan since if I'm not online, all my friends disappear. My friends live in the computer!
Today at Best Buy I played with the touch screen computers. They're like 23" tablets but they're still too new to work very well. I'd like to have one once they tweak the interface to work well with all shapes and sizes of fingers.

 

[dochudson]

I'm on vacation, but thanks to my smart phone, I've answered six emails today and know there are 19 more in my box.....thanks technology!
But I also bid and lost a pipe on Ebay yesterday, standing in line at a grocery store with the wife, I guess we'll call it even.
Al
Sure don't sound like vacation to me!
I'm 62 and a retired IT guy that started sorting punched cards in 1970 and ended being the Hospital group's top wireless internet engineer. I have the basic Samsung Intensity. I text maybe5 or 6 times in a busy week and maybe the same number of calls.