Thursday, February 23, 2012

The Year of Technology

I've always been behind the curve on technology.  When the original Nintendo came out, and my friends were all playing this new game called Super Mario Bros., I was racing Pole Position on my Atari 2600, on a black-and-white TV none the less.  By the time I got a Nintendo I believe the Super Nintendo was already growing old.  I didn't have a TV in my bedroom or access to a computer until I got married.

It's not that I have a problem with technology.  Video games remain one of the greatest threats to my writing.  I'm just somehow always slow to get on the bandwagon.  For Christmas I got my very own Kindle Touch and recently I traded in my Motorola Razr (that I had been carrying for almost 5 years) for an iPhone.

My point?  I don't know, does there have to be one?  Oh, okay.

Technology is awesome.

The late Steve Jobs truly was the Thomas Edison of our time.  His inventions revolutionized they way we live and interact.  I grew up with a rotary land-line phone.  We didn't have cable.  I remember when we got our first VCR (it was the size of a boombox and had a remote tethered to it by a 10 foot cord) and I can recall a time before microwaves.  And now we have a pocket sized portable computers that give us instant access to just about anything we want and connects us to people all around the globe.  It's so ingrained in our lives that most people can't function without it (I mean smart phones in general, not just iPhones).  I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, but it sure is a fun toy.

I fought the idea of e-books with all of my writerly dignity until a saucy, out-spoken scribbler named Joe Konrath converted me.  Self publishing has given me a whole new look on writing and I love reading on my Kindle.  I'm right in the middle of The Game of Thrones: A Clash of Kings, but it's the dead tree, hardback version.  Every time I lug that turtle-cracker around I lament that it's not on my sweet little Kindle.  I'm not saying that I'm giving up paper books completely, but I can't see myself spending $20 - $30 for a hardback anytime soon.

4 comments:

JDub said...

Interesting prospective. I've always been the opposite. Always one of the first to have a new technology, but I'm kicking and screaming agains E-readers... I may have to look at one afterall.

Unknown said...

Hey J. I think you would love an e-reader or even a tablet. The reading experience is the same, no bulky books, and you can buy books for way cheaper (especially if you buy self pubbed books).

Thanks for stopping by. It's good to hear from you.

James Garcia Jr said...

I'm trying to think if I have ever heard of anyone getting an e-reader and giving it away because it didn't work for them. I'm sure there are some, but for the most part it is one heck of a conversion to witness as they fall in love with them! Both my wife and I are reading so much more than we ever did before thanks to our Kindles.

-Jimmy
http://jamesgarciajr.blogspot.com/

Charity Kountz said...

Nice post - I'm not necessarily the first adapter of new technology (not quite that brave I guess) but I'm probably in among the average. I got an iPhone 4 last March, and have been drooling over the iPad 3 since the iPad 2 came out. I have a new computer I bought last year which has all the latest bells and whistles but I waited until the new Intel processors came down in price before being willing to buy. For me it's all about value - my iPhone brings so much value with it that the price tag is a vague memory - it's paid for itself several times over in the past year. Same thing with my computer, my car (bought new in 2010). I guess I've been doing my part to stimulate the economy the last few years. lol That being said, I'll use the things until they stop working, however long that might take.

By the way, you might want to check out the book about Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson - it gives a ton of great info about Steve Jobs, Apple, and technology over the last 30 years. The book makes it easy to see just how much of a genius Jobs was. I'm a huge fan of his work now as a result of reading the book. I did a book review on my blog if you're interested: http://www.charitykountz.com/book_review_steve_jobs/
No sweat if you're not. :)