Techno Addict

Hello. My name is Tawny and I'm a Techno Addict.

It all started in 1990 when I bought my very first computer. A Tandy from Radio Shack that took me YEARS to pay for. That sucker was expensive. But I had to have it. I'd touched the keyboard, I'd caught the bug.

Yep, I've been in the game since floppy disks. Would you believe I still have the same email address that I signed up for that first day that I unpacked that baby and got online? Granted, I have a dozen additional emails, but that first one holds a sentimental place in my life.

I was happy with my Tandy for years. Of course, back then, technology wasn't moving as fast as today, when a computer is obsolete before it leaves the store. There weren't as many choices. And slow was the name of the game. Then things changed. The dot-com boom swept us all into a new era of addiction. I mean, of technology.

First it was a better, faster, sleeker computer. A computer that the family all shared, with the bulk of daytime usage going to my daughter who used it for quite a bit of her homeschool work. Yet another reason I write best at night -in those first writing years, that was the only time I had computer access. After a year or so of that, we realized (aka, I nagged until hubby gave in) that we needed separate computers. And I got my own, giving the now-slightly-obsolete one to hubby and kids.

Of course, I couldn't use it when I traveled. When I went to conference. When we vacationed. One fateful Mother's Day, I received a lovely laptop. Then my oldest went to college and needed her own computer. So she got her own laptop. Then we moved and hubby was tired of fighting for computer time on the now creaky PC. So he got his own laptop, and since the youngest does most of her homeschool via computer, she got her own laptop. Yes... (hanging head in shame) We have 4 laptops. We don't share. We're all greedy.

Then there're the smaller techno addictions.

My cell phone. For years, I had a basic, free with your contract but it does no tricks cellphone. Now? It gets internet, it emails, it means I no longer have to find a wifi hotspot when traveling to stay in touch (yes, thats addiction speak for check my email).

iPod? I loved my iPod. I started small, as all things techno tend to do. A simple little Nano. But I filled it up. So I gave it to hubby, who wanted one, and got a bigger one. Then the iTouch came out. Have you seen that sucker? Holy cow, its amazing.

This week's craving? The Nook. I've been looking at ereaders for a year or so. Like all writers, I adore books. I love the crackle of pages, the smell and feel of the paper. Nothing satisfies me more than seeing that colorful line of spines filling my wall-to-wall bookcase. But I still wanted a reader. I researched. I considered. I put off. I played with a Sony. I perused a book via a Kindle. Then I touched the Nook. And like that Tandy, my fingers tingled and I just had to have it. The only downside so far? Its too easy to buy books on!!! I've spent a bundle on books this week!!!

I swear, its an addiction. I don't set out to fall in love with technology. I ignore new toys as long as possible. I pretend I don't lust after them. I appreciate what I have. But... the lure is there. Its a siren's call. Beckoning, teasing, irresistible.

Lucky for me, most of them can be writing related tax write-offs, too LOL.

How about you? You're obviously tech savvy, since you're hanging on a blog, right? Are you a little tech addicted or a lot tech addicted? What's your favorite tech toy? And have you tried an ereader? What did you think?