Tuesday, April 13, 2010

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 Of course, back then, technology wasn't moving as fast as today, when a computer is obsolete before it leaves the store.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?

144 comments:

mariska said...

:)

Tawny said...

Wow, quick grab, Mariska :-D Nicely done.

Helen said...

Well done Mariska have fun with him

Tawny

I am so not techno I manage to find my way around a computer and that is about it we have one PC that we share my daughter has her own laptop but prfers to use our PC and here at home we are always asking each other to let us know when they have finished so as the other one can get on LOL. I would love my own laptop to help with this problem but even our modem doesn't have wifi in it LOL. As for E Readers I don't have one but a friend of mine has 3 so I have seen them and I do think that they are great and they are the way of the future but I will wait a bit I still love my paper books. My son has an I Phone and I keep suggesting that I download some books and he lets me have it but seeing as how it belongs to the company he works for I don't think that is going to happen LOL.

Have Fun
Helen

Helen said...

I forgot to say though I would never cope anymore without the internet and email life wouldn't be the same if I couldn't chat with friends that I have made all over the world and yes I would miss The Bandits and Facebook LOL

Have Fun
Helen

PinkPeony said...

Hi Tawny!

I'm not a tech gadget person. I have a Blackberry with net access which is handy when I'm out of the house and have to check emails.

We have two laptops in the house and we're buying a third because I'm paranoid about not having computer access if one crashes...and I'm not good at sharing. :) I bought a wireless laser printer a couple of months ago and I love it. I was spending a fortune on inkjet toners when I printed off my chapters and the laser is faster and more economical. I'm so lazy that I'm thinking about getting another wireless laser to put in the breakfast nook so I won't have to run upstairs to the office to retrieve my printouts.
I've been thinking about getting a Kindle...or a Roomba...now that the cats are shedding their winter coats, I'll probably spend my money on the Roomba.
Congrats, Mariska!

Christine Wells said...

Hi Tawny! Loved your post;) As addictions go, techno addiction isn't too bad, IMO! My CP has an iTouch and I'm madly jealous. I always seem to be on holiday without internet access when something important is going on, like trying to get cover quotes or something. I'd love to have email & internet at my fingertips! Still not convinced about ereaders. I'd rather buy audiobooks and listen on my ipod. Sounds like the nook got you hooked, though. Har har.

congrats, Mariska!

Jane said...

Hi Tawny,
I wouldn't call myself a techno addict. I do love it when the new toys come out, but I usually can't afford to buy all of them. I don't have an ereader yet and would love a Kindle or iPad and hope the prices will drop soon.

Tawny said...

Oh Helen, no wifi? I'm wincing and laughing at myself at the same time.

We used to do the same thing - it got to the point that I'd use my kitchen timer to alot 30 minute usage for each person (which was irritating when they made me do it for myself, let me tell ya).

I haven't gotten the iPhone (I'm afraid to have too many gadgets in one - if I lost it, I'd be inconsolable) but I did download the reader app for my iTouch. Thats what convinced me to get a reader, to be honest. I thought I'd hate it. I went into it with a serious book addict, paper loving bias. But... its nice. Very nice.

And I'm with you on the mandatory internet!!! We even have it up at the family cabin in the mountains now LOL.

Tawny said...

Hey Pink :-)

I do love the Blackberrys - I have serious wishful lusting over them. But so far, I've held out.

LOL on needing that third laptop just in case. My oldest daughter's laptop crashed a couple weeks ago and she's been using mine for school. Tell ya what, its definitely handy to have backups!!!

So you really love the laser printer? I use my printer for photos and scrapbooking so hadn't thought about laser, but it sounds like it's much less expensive? At least, one is *g* Two might not be ;-)

My mom has a Roomba. She swears by it!!!

Tawny said...

Madame, thank you :-D I do have many, many other addictions that are probably worse *g* but that's another blog post, right?

Internet access really really makes me happy. Its not like I'm getting these vital, life-changing emails when I'm on vacation or traveling, either. But I know that if I didn't have internet, I would and I'd miss them. Can't risk it. Just can't.

So c'mon over to the addicted techno side :-) Just one gadget?

and ROFLMAO over the hooked on a nook. Yes. I am. At the moments its the Alice in Wonderland wallpaper that has me loving it the most, though.

Tawny said...

Doh!!! I totally forgot the iPad, Jane!!!

Bad me (Sorry Mr. Jobs). Now that said, I haven't actually touched one (I can resist as long as I don't touch. Just ask my husband... hmm, that didn't sound right). But I've heard great things and so-so things about the iPad. I'm with you on price, though. I often wait until the technology has been around for awhile before I dive in - usually because bugs drive me nuts, but price is always a factor too.

hrdwrkdmom aka Dianna said...

I don't have a lot of gadgets but not because I don't crave them. I have been researching e-readers but not sure I would like it. I like the feel of books. My phone is the Pantech Matrix Pro, it does everything I need plus a lot I don't need. My daughter is a text queen so if I want to talk to her I have to text, the Pantech has a keyboard that slides out sideways for texting.

Unknown said...

Hi Tawny
I have had a computer since 1998 but I wouldn't say I was a techno addict LOL. I originally bought the computer as I bought a sewing/embroidery machine and needed it to put the embroidery designs into the machine..... I have since updated machines and computers as new ones come out..... I have seen the E books but haven't got one yet as I still like paper.... my phone is still a basic one that just take photos and my kids complain as I don't always have it on.... I feel lost if the computer is down... I can't keep in touch with all my sewing or book friends
Barbara

MJFredrick said...

I have an iPhone that I read on, which I love, but like you said, it's too easy to buy books! Adds up QUICKLY!

We have 2 laptops for 3 people and I want another one so I don't have to feel guilty when I'm on it.

Gillian Layne said...

My husband definitely loves his technology. And understands it, as do my daughters, so I can benefit from their knowledge. Technology irritates me because I don't usually know enough to ask the right questions when something goes wrong.

That said, I can't imagine life without a good internet connection. :)

I want a netbook, because they are tiny and I hear other ladies talk about writing on them. And the good battery life. And the fact that I'm always "waiting" somewhere; the doctors, the dentist, school practices. If I could read books on them, too, that would be good.

Minna said...

I'm only a little tech addicted. I only have the most basic things in my cell phone and I don't have all the gadgets one is supposed to have these days. My favorite tech toy is obviously my computer. I listen to music with it, watch DVDs, use it for work and I couldn't live without the internet for so many reasons.

Minna said...

Weird Al Yankovic - Virus Alert
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xs5HKVWmRc&feature=related

Christie Kelley said...

Tawny, great post!

I'm a little techno addicted. I laughed at your post about the number of PCs. We have four people in this house and 6 working PCs. Plus two that could work in a pinch. That's 8 PCs in my house. My husband has 3. One for work (he works from home), another old laptop that he uses for personal stuff and his desktop for his music studio stuff. And yet he says he hates technology. He still has a flip phone that doesn't even have a camera in it.

I don't have a good internet phone but mostly it's because I don't want to pay for those phone plans. Yikes, they're expensive. I do love my Nano and I'm coveting my son's iTouch. I think I want one of those!

I haven't used an eReader yet. But every time I get onto Amazon I stare at the Kindle. Maybe for Christmas.

And Tawny, I have a friend who bought a Kindle and said the same thing about the ease of buying books and how much she'd spent in the first month. Maybe I'll stick with the old fashioned bookstores.

Mrs. P226 said...

I also purchased a Tandy at Radio Shack but I believe my purchase was in 1993. I LOVED that computer! Mourned it for two weeks when it finally died in 1996.

I am very much tech addicted.

I have my laptop, my desktop, my mini-laptop, my Blackberry, and (most importantly) my Kindle.

I absolutely LOVE my Kindle but I refuse to break my long ago developed love for the feel of a paperback in my hands. The Kindle is great around the house but I will tote paperbacks to the beach and bath forever :)

jo robertson said...

Great topic, Tawny, and very timely. Aren't we all a bit addicted to technology?

Congrats, Mariska. It's been a while for you, hasn't it?

jo robertson said...

I don't think of myself as really addicted to technogoly, not like my SIL who has the latest of EVERYthing imaginable and uses it too!

I do remember telling my husband I'd write a book if I were freed of the old typewriter (YES! Awful, isn't it) and he got me a computer. It was true! Only the swiftness of a computer keyboard could keep up with my mind and ideas. It's was an old Apple and it cost $2000!!! Can you believe it? Had a tiny, tiny screen and only one re-do (which believe me, is essential for a writers).

Kirsten said...

iPad!! I'm dying for it!

Donna MacMeans said...

Hey Tawny!

LOL - I'm a techie from way back. I remember having to punch computer cards to get the room-size computer to reproduce a graphic I'd been hired to design. I believe we bought an apple when they first came out and marveled at the graphics way back when. My work purchased our first PC - mainly so I could work out of my home when I wasn't in the office (like after hours and weekends).
Since then we've always had PCs, laptops and Macs in various combinations in the house. Right now I have a PC for accounting work, a fading laptop, a new MacPro and a netbook. Crazy!

My husband listens to books on his ipod. I haven't gone to an ereader but I've heard from several that they are fabulous. Not sure I'd get any writing done if stories were that convenient (grin).

Unknown said...

Congrats Mariska on getting the rooster! Have fun with him!

With me I am not so techno, computer is about it! I am lucky to make a call on a cell phone, now my son is different he is really into tech stuff! He will have it figuired out in no time!

Deb said...

I have an eMac here at school and do pretty well with it, but our Hewitt-Packard at home makes me feel clueless. I am not too savvy with tech things, but know enough to do what needs to be done on the computer and also think it's hard to live without one. Now, my 10-year-old daughter seems to instinctively know how to work all gadgets!

Terri Osburn said...

I really want a Netbook bad, but I need the price to drop a teensy bit more before I can justify it in my head. Of course, before Nationals, I'm sure I'll give in and get one. But can you just get Word on those things? What software do people use to write on them?

Some coworkers went in and bought me a Sony Reader for graduation last year. This is after they asked if I had one and I said I didn't want one. *sigh* I don't like it, but I feel guilty that I don't use it.

I haven't even met the Nook yet, but I think I'd like it better. It's like I'm cheating on the Reader in my mind. Gah! The guilt.

Nancy said...

Mariska, congrats on the rooster!

Tawny, I love tech, though I discover as I get older that the ins and outs are harder for me to master. I'd like to think that's because the ins and outs get trickier, but I fear it has something to do with brain cells. :-/

I love my computer. My laptop is "reconditioned," but I love it, too. Having net access on the road is a real pleasure.

Of course, I'm a Mac person and so bitterly resent the seemingly endless time my shared PC at school takes to boot. I'd love to have an iPhone (and an airbook and a new desktop), but that will have to wait until tuition payments reach the rear view mirror.

Nancy said...

Helen, I don't have an eReader, either, and that will also have to wait until we're done with tuition payments. Or prices come down. But at the rate they're not dropping, the end of tuition may come first.

Nancy said...

Dianna, I like the feel of a book, too, and I think I'll always want hard copy of some books. Others, though, I'd be willing to have in more ephemeral form.

Of course "always want" could be in the same category as the dh saying, when we got our first Mac, "I'll probably always compose on paper and then type it in." NOT! That lasted a month. As I knew it would.

Nancy said...

PinkPeony, I love my HP laser printer. I liked the old one better--it was quieter--but I'd hate going back to inkjet now.

Nancy said...

Jane, I'm with you on hoping prices drop!

Nancy said...

Barb, my phone doesn't take pictures, either. And it fits my hand. And I know how to use it. I dropped it on a tile floor the other day and had a moment of panic when the back came off, but the back went back on. The only damage seems to be that the green "on" light works intermittently--probably from a wire knocked loose, I'd guess.

Nancy said...

Mrs. p226, nice to see you!

I still have my typewriter, but I've been hooked on computers since the first time I sat down at a Mac. We used PCs, non-Windows, in my old job, and I hated that long code to save documents. Or to open files. I do much better with the graphic user interface.

Also, I see no reason for a mouse to need more than one button.

The dh, as I mentioned to Dianna, was sure he'd continue to compose on paper (and "compose" means write and re-write a paragraph until he was happy with it, then type it into the typewriter) and then type it on the computer. Of course, the easy revision was tailor-made for people like him, and it quickly sucked him in.

Tawny said...

Dianna, my daughters phone has that slide out board - man she's fast on it. I have to use my fingernails and the teeeeeesy little letters on my non-sliding old fashioned keyboard LOL.

Which ereader are you leaning toward?

Tawny said...

Barbara, that is so cool that you use the computer for sewing! Do you create your own designs?

I see those elaborate embroidery kits in magazines, the ones that look like a painting, and envy people who can create something that beautiful. I can barely sew knots.

Tawny said...

Mary, it adds up Crazy Fast, doesn't it? I read on my iTouch for awhile, but the little screen did give me eye strain. Probably the reading at 4am part didn't help, either LOL.

I hear you on the not wanting to share the laptop thing. I'm inherently greedy with mine and its driving me nuts this week while my daughter has it.

*chanting* sharing is good sharing is good sharing is good *sigh*

Tawny said...

Gillian, I know enough to be dangerous, but not enough to actually fix something when it goes wrong (but the danger is I still try LOL).

I've heard great things about the netbooks!! A few people I know that have them adore them.

My husband has the Dell Mini, its about 10 inches and doesn't have a disk drive. He swears by it. He carts it around like a paperback LOL

Tawny said...

Minna, I'm with you. I'm pretty sure there IS no life without internet.

Thats cool that you use yours for DVD watching - I forgot about doing that. I watch my Castle downloads on mine all the time :-)

Tawny said...

Christie, I hear you on the expense of the cell plans. We get a major discount through hubbies work. The cost is such, though, that I keep debating going land-lineless (is that a word?) and losing the house phone. The problem with that is our cable and internet both run off it.

LOL on your hubbies non-tech collection of computers. Isn't it funny how those things add up? I can highly recommend the iTouch if you need a second push, btw *g*

And yeah... the book cost is excruciating this week. Of course, in reality if I'd walked into the bookstore I'd have spent just as much. But I think its the ease of buying from my couch that so weird. Usually I have to actually put shoes on to spend that much money.

Tawny said...

Mrs. P226 :-D HEY!!! Welcome to the Lair.

Wasn't that Tandy sweet? I still have very fond memories of that sucker LOL.

And I so hear you on the Kindle/eReader and the tub, pool, beach issue. Someone suggested I put mine in a ziplock bag to read in the tub and all I could do was stare. Flipping the paper pages with damp fingers is part of the bubble bath reading process and cannot be changed. It just can't.

I'm with you - For all that technology is fab, books are better :-D

Minna said...

No, I really couldn't live without Internet. Only yesterday I got a box filled with books (including Gifts in a Jar book. I love it!) and today I got an envelope filled with stamps, all thanks to swapping sites I've found on the Internet. However, I still haven't managed to get rid of all of those Swedish translations of romance books (or the few German and a couple of Danish ones).

Minna said...

I wonder if that six degrees of separation thing might work here...

Terri Garey said...

I consider myself "semi" techno addicted - I'm not much of a cellphone person (mainly because I'm at home in front of the computer most of the time, so I often forget to turn it off, and it dies in my purse...), but I absolutely, positively cannot do without my computer or the Internet! I think I need an intervention or something!

I've mostly weaned myself off blogging, but become addicted to Facebook and Twitter instead, so I can't really claim that as any kind of accomplishment!

Mrs. P226 said...

Nancy, thanks! Nice to see you too :)

Tawny,
Thanks for the welcome! Yes, the Tandy was sweet, as was the dot matrix printer that I received for free with purchase!

What's sad is that I took it apart the first night that I had it because it did not come with a CD-ROM drive (that was an extra purchase) and I had NO experience with technical things at the time. But, it worked when I put it back together :)

Tawny said...

Jo! That was pricey, huh? I'm pretty sure my Tandy was a little more than that :-) I hear you on the need for a keyboard and computer! I have an ooooold antique typewriter, but believe me, its a decoration, not a tool LOL.

I can't imagine life without my delete key.

You're right, of course -on the true sign of a techno addict being having to have the latest and greatest right away. I'm a few steps below that in my addiction. I hold out, wait to see what bugs there are, let things get upgraded once or twice... then I have to have it LOL

Tawny said...

LOL Kirsten. I can't believe I didn't include iPad addiction in the blog post. Of course, it hasn't bit me yet so that's probably why. Maybe because I'm so in love with my iTouch and would feel like I'd have to trade up?

What makes the iPad OMG have to have for you???

Tawny said...

Commodore 64? Ooh wow, that brings back memories, Drew :-) I worked on one when I helped my bookkeeper mom on weekends LOL. Teeeeeesy screen. I'd be so impressed if you were still keeping one of those babies running 4 years ago ;-)

The iTouch is awesome, huh? I adore the touch screen, and the apps. Oh the apps.

I hear you on loving the feel of real books. I can't see ever giving that up. I've downloaded a couple romances on my Nook and while its nice, its not... right feeling. I'll always buy my fiction in paper, I think. But the non-fiction? I'm reading that by the shelf-full. And my daughter is actually loving reading Percy Jackson on the Nook - she has a visual/spatial issue and the screen really makes it easier for her to focus.

Tawny said...

Donna :-D I should have realized you'd be addicted too!

Nice lineup - does your addiction stick with computers, then?

My daughter listens to audio books on her iPod, too. So much so that we finally got one of those little speaker things that you hook it up to so she doesn't have to wear headphones to bed anymore LOL. I'm not an auditory person, so I don't do well with audio books, but podcasts are great. I can drift off and not miss crucial plot points *g*

The eReader convenience is a definite issue. All I want to do is read now, and not write.

Of course, thats all I wanted to do last week, too ;-)

Nancy said...

Tawny, the boy has a QWERTY keyboard, too. He was vehemently resistant to texting until his girlfriend decreed that it was a great idea, at which point he "needed" a new phone. Luckily we were at a point in our plan where they gave us a very cheap one, or he'd have had to cope.

Tawny said...

Hey Virginia :-)

Isn't it wild how techie our kids are? I was reading something the other day that claimed that because of their exposure to technology, they have totally different brain pathways developing than our generation -what we had to learn now comes naturally to them. Cool, huh?

Tawny said...

Deb :-) I think its like what I just posted to Virginia, our kids are way ahead of us when it comes to all things techno!!!

I've know Mac people who swear by them - and PC people who swear by their format. I do believe that Macs are just more intuitive and easier to work with.

Nancy said...

Donna, I never thought of listening to books on an iPod. But then, I don't like earbuds. Too loud for me, even at the lowest setting.

If I had an iPod, though, audiobooks would be a great use for it.

Nancy said...

Christie, I want the computers-to-people ratio you have at your house! How excellent.

Since the dh moved his books to school, so his work space could become the baby's room, he doesn't write at home. The "baby" is now in his own domain upstairs, and I'd love for the dh to have writing space at home, though I doubt he'd use it much. That room has evolved and has no space for the books, which he uses when he writes articles.

Hmm. I guess he can't ever retire. *g*

Tawny said...

Nancy, since I know for a fact that your brain cells are top-notch, it has to be the technology.

Has to be.

Net access on the road is vital!! A friend has one of those thumbdrives that you plug in for internet, so she gets it all over with her laptop. I'll stick with my phone, I think. That's always in my purse, my laptop isn't LOL.


btw, I just don't turn my PC off :-D That saves the long bootup issue LOL

Nancy said...

Terri, I'm not that much of a cellphone person either. When I'm home, the cell is in my purse and usually turned off. I prefer the landline.

I also really like your books. I won one at one of your guest blogs (so glad you waited to swear off *g*) and enjoyed it a lot. Went and found the others.

Tawny said...

LOL Minna -I have a few of those translations here myself. One does wonder what to do with them.

Nancy said...

Tawny, thanks for the vote of confidence on my brain cells. Lately, they don't all seem to fire. Maybe it's spring fever.

I would love to have one of those thumb drive connectors. Maybe at some point we'll tack that onto our cell plan. Right now, though, I'm managing with Wifi in hotels. Or bookstores.

Nancy said...

Mrs. p226, you took it apart?

Way cool.

I wouldn't even try that, and I'm pretty sure that if I tinkered around in there, it wouldn't work when I closed it up again.

Tawny said...

Terri :-D Hey you!!!

I always have to laugh - I put my cellphone down... somewhere. And when I can't find it, people tell me to call it. Um, by that time, its definitely dead so calling doesn't help :-D

I can't recommend intervention, I'm sorry. If I did, you might not be online and I'd miss you. So no, you'll have to keep your addiction. It'll be okay.

I'll go find you now on FB.

Pat Cochran said...

I am so totally not a tech savvy
person! Honey is the tech expert
in this house. I have just learned
enough to get about on the 'net!
If a problem arises, I am quick to
yell "Honey!" My favorite gadget
is my computer, my gateway to all
my blog friends. I do have an older
ereader but I still am finding my
way with it. I have a 30 count
ereader "library" which waits for
the day I am ereader savvy!

Pat Cochran

Tawny said...

Mrs. P226, You... took it apart? Apart? In pieces? *g* Can you tell the insides of computers scare me?

And ohhh the memories of that ole dot matrix. The sound, the little hole punched feeds on the sides of paper... I'm feeling nostalgic :-D

Tawny said...

Nancy, I'm giggling that all it took to bring your son over to the texting side was a comment from his girlfriend :-D

Now they can, to quote Beckett on Castle the other night, "Text giggle."

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Hey Tawny! WHat a fun post.

I'm a bit of a techno geek, tho' not a total "gadget girl" like a friend of mine. She'll wait in line for new tech. Me? Not so much! Ha!

I've got a laptop, a big extra monitor, an iPod which I love, and a new netbook. I really adore the netbook. It has a 6.5 hour battery life. Wheeeeeeee! It's fab. And I got it on sale.

Since I look at a screen all day long, I didn't want to go for the eReader. My Sis-in-law swears by hers though.

As to cell phones, I have a simple one, but I lust after a blackberry. Grins. I REALLY want one, but can't justify the expense.

Cassondra said...

Hi Tawny!

I am not, by nature, a techno-geek, and what I know about it would not even fill a thimble. But I've fallen in love with technology just in the last year. The thing that did it was my iPod. My husband gave me a purple iPod with a special engraved one-line poem on the back for my birthday last October. I had resisted for SO long--I've crossed that age line where you really don't want to put the effort into learning something new in order to use the new device. But I love it.

I think the key, for me, is that technology has come a LONG way in just the last five years. It has not been long since, each time I wanted to upgrade something, like say my cd read/write drive, it was a total NIGHTMARE. I mean, this jumper vs that jumper and which one did you plug which wire into, and then OMG, we don't have the right DRIVER for this, and you can't FIND it, and when you do, then it would only work with THIS SOFTWARE and not THAT SOFTWARE--so it was a never-ending chain of trouble. It took DAYS of trying and failing and finally going to a tech geek who spent DAYS of trying and failing and then finally made it work. And chances are good that he made it work by doing something he shouldn't, like ghosting a hard drive that actually FUNCTIONED to get yours to function again--which equaled more trouble down the road. It was never ending AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH screams of frustration. I had strings of these bad experiences. It was just too hard. Too stressful. It was not worth it. So I wrote off technology. In particular I wrote of early-market technology and going for the new thing.

But that's all changed. I was not aware of the change until last fall. Now, you buy something, it gets in the vicinity of your other technology, they all find each other and sync up. Once I recognized that the awful scenarios in the graph above were no longer the norm, I loosened up and once again embraced technology.

I still don't go for early market because I want the bugs to get worked out on somebody else's nickel, and with this approach, my frustration level stays at a minimum.

And no, I'm not the techno geek you are, but I work at not becoming that. For the same reason I've never played golf. I will become addicted immediately.

I will say that the latest version of IE drives me batsh*t crazy. As does the latest version of Word. WHO THOUGHT THESE CHANGES WERE A GOOD IDEA? Some engineer who does not do a lot of word processing or search the web much, clearly. *frowny face* Grrrrrrr.

But software interface design is a whole nuther rant. Best not to go there. ;0)

Cassondra said...

Mrs. P226 said:

I absolutely LOVE my Kindle but I refuse to break my long ago developed love for the feel of a paperback in my hands. The Kindle is great around the house but I will tote paperbacks to the beach and bath forever :)

Hi Mrs P! *waving madly*

This is it, I think. Just like with GPS units and other tech gadgetry, I think, "I can drop a paperback on the sidewalk and still read it. If I drop a Kindle, I'm stuck without a book."

And I will drop my Kindle (don't have one, just sayin') and I cannot be stuck without a book.

Can. Not.

So no e-reader for me until I'm forced. :0/

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Cassondra said: I still don't go for early market because I want the bugs to get worked out on somebody else's nickel, and with this approach, my frustration level stays at a minimum.

This would be me. Hey, Evil Twin! We're doing it again. I'm not an early-adopter (waiting in line? Heck no!) for this reason. It's waaaaay too frustrating to be in teh work-out-the-bugs generation of tech. I like second gen when they have it allllll smoooooth. Grins.

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

You know, on the GPS things...I don't like 'em. I like the quiet when I drive, or the music of my choice...

This may change once my kids are older and I don't feel like my house is a constant and neverending version of WWE RAW! UNLEASHED! and the Westminster Kennel Club Dog show crossed with some garden show.

Grins.

Nancy said...

Tawny wrote: Now they can, to quote Beckett on Castle the other night, "Text giggle."

And they do. Believe me, they do. During our trip to Disneyland, it was almost like having a 4th person along. Meanwhile, the GF's mom said she received up-to-the-minute bulletins on everything the boy rode.

Nancy said...

Pat, I don't think I'm much more tech-savvy than you are, but I'm the "honey" who gets yelled for around here.

This demonstrates the general level of tech-savvy in our home. Unless it's iTunes, which the boy knows cold.

Cassondra said...

Tawny said:

LOL Kirsten. I can't believe I didn't include iPad addiction in the blog post. Of course, it hasn't bit me yet so that's probably why. Maybe because I'm so in love with my iTouch and would feel like I'd have to trade up?


See??? I just can't do the iPad thing because I want my data in MY hands--not somewhere in the sky. I want to be able to carry my data around with me and touch it and feel it--even if it's only a thumb drive. I want to know I HAVE IT WITH ME. It's a security thing for me. I want total control over my book manuscripts and to be able to get to them and know that nobody else can.

Some of that is illusion, I realize, but the data storage in the sky--I am just not going to go there if I don't have to do so.

Mrs. P226 said...

Hi Cassondra! *waving wildly* and hi to your evil twin! :)

Nancy said...

Cassondra, software updates? Gak. Hate them.

iTunes now will not support the audio files from meetings, so I have to convert them to play on the laptop (the boy updated it without inquiring as to whether I wanted it updated, thank you!). At least they still play on the desktop, with its older iTunes software. Anyone who updates THAT is toast!

And the new version of Word? Please! It takes way too much upon itself, and figuring out how to save and name a document was arduous. The new Outlook on our computers at school does not confirm attachments. You can tell it to attach something, but the little paper clip icon doesn't appear on your screen, nor does the file name appear anywhere on the email. You have to copy yourself on it to see whether it actually attached. Ack!

Nancy said...

Oh, and data storage in the sky (or the Apple server, whichever) is so very much not for me. I want my stuff, as Cassondra wants hers, in my personal possession.

Cassondra said...

Nancy said:

And the new version of Word? Please! It takes way too much upon itself, and figuring out how to save and name a document was arduous.

YES! I had to call Duchesse Jeanne after I got the new WORD to ask how to save a freakin' file!!!!!

I went through the entire menu looking for a SAVE or SAVE AS function. Nada. Zip. Nothing.

She said, "click on the little squiggly graphic in the corner."

WTF???

What was wrong with the old, self-explanatory, sensible, easy-to understand word "File"????

Oh, and you want to have single-spacing in a document? Just freakin' forget it. Oh...wait. You have to click on "No paragraphs" to get that? OHHHHHHH! Yes, that makes PERFECT sense. *eyeroll* Wouldn't want to put it under "line spacing"--in particular "single space" or anything like that. Oh no, that would be ridiculous. Sheesh.

Oh and the new IE? OH DON'T GET ME STARTED. When you click on the little down arrow beside the URL address line in the browser....you know how all your most-recently visited sites pop up on a drop-down menu? Well just move the cursor down to the one you want and click and do you go there?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Where you just clicked is an X which deletes that site from the list. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

After almost a year of using this *&$%# program, I'm still deleting and having to re-type the address for my different email sites.

What. Were. They. Thinking?

My theory is that they were NOT.

GRRRRRRRR.

Okay. Rant off. Told ya I should not go there. *sigh

Cassondra said...

Okay I'll just say it. I think the Microsoft engineers were smoking some really good stuff when they did the last version.

Apologies to anybody who works for them. They've brought us a LOOOOOONG way from the days of the first Apple and the BASIC language I learned in my first programming class, but this last incarnation? I want to smack them kind of hard for that.

Minna said...

Well, besides Finnish and English I read my romance books in Swedish and German, but once I've read them, it's not easy to get rid of them (I only have so much space for books here). I know one person who reads books in English and Swedish and I send her books I've already read and don't wish to keep and she sends me books she has read, but then I'm stuck with those. The ones that are in English I can get rid of through BookMooch, but so far I haven't been so lucky with my Swedish, German and Danish (I got a couple of those, too) books.

Nancy said...

Cassondra, we used to say that the people who indexed our state's statute books were smoking funny stuff. Maybe it's all the same people.

I have avoided acquiring new Word for myself. So far. I have no control over what goes on the PC at school, alas. And I know that sooner or later, I'll have to upgrade, and I dread it.

I use a very specific page format, 1.1 inch margins top and bottom, line spacing 25 pts, widow/orphan control OFF, thank you, and NO extra freakin' space between paragraphs (like, why would you need that?). This yields 25 lines/page, and I'm very compulsive about that. If I can't make the page do that, it's screaming time.

Minna said...

And when I saw this documentary six degrees of separation yesterday, I thought "why not, it's worth a try". So, if any one of you knows someone who knows someone who...knows someone in Finland who loves to read books in English, Swedish and/or German, let me know.

p226 said...

Mrs. P226 was an earlier adopter of technology than I. It was her purchase of that old Tandy that drug me into my career. Or at least set the primer in place.

Now I'm surrounded by it. I keep it running. I break it. I dig through it to find evidence.

Sooooo many ones and zeros.

Nancy said...

p226, it's funny how spouses influence us. It was the dh who pushed me to go back to writing in my own worlds, though I'm the one who pushed getting a computer.

OTOH, despite my early acquisition of a cell phone, he resisted until we had to get a family plan as the cheapest way to acquire one for the boy when he was going off on a trip and had to have either a cell or a phone card. The dh now knows how to place a call but not receive one. Every time he goes out of town, he requires a tutorial from the boy.

He calls his phone "an accessory for [his] glove compartment."

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Mrs. P226 said: Hi Cassondra! *waving wildly* and hi to your evil twin! :)

*Very Evil Grin* Waving wildly back!

(Cassondra's Evil Twin)

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Nancy said: He calls his phone "an accessory for [his] glove compartment."

Snork. My DH is pretty much the same way. He likes the cell for one thing though....he never wears a watch, so he actually has a way to know the time without asking someone who IS wearing one...

Nancy said...

Jeanne, since my watch died, I use my cell as a bedside clock when I'm away from home. It also has the virtue of being backlit, which my watch was not.

PinkPeony said...

Cassondra/Nancy...are you talking about Word 2007? I took a workshop- MS Word for writers a few months ago which was helpful. Learned what I needed to know and hoped there would be better version out there before I needed to know anything else! I'm not tech savvy and I almost had a breakdown (and used unladylike words) when I found out I was stuck with the new version. Still can't get the widow/orphan control to stick.

Nancy said...

PinkPeony, I don't even know what version of Word the university has inflicted on me. I only know I don't like it! I'm running Office 2003 for Mac here at home and plan to stick with it as long as possible.

hrdwrkdmom aka Dianna said...

Tawny said...


Which ereader are you leaning toward?

I have been looking at the Kindle, it is just so much money I am really slow about taking the plunge.

hrdwrkdmom aka Dianna said...

PinkPeony said...
Cassondra/Nancy...are you talking about Word 2007?

Oh, it is so ugly and 2010 is just as bad.

Anna Campbell said...

Have to laugh, Tawny? Why are we friends? I'm a complete Luddite. Had to be dragged kicking and screaming to get my first desktop around the year 2001 - then wondered how I'd lived without it. I don't own a digital camera although with the price of developing film going up hand over fist, I think I will get one soon. Had to be dragged kicking and screaming to get a mobile and still only use it to make or receive the occasional call. Have no idea how to store numbers or SMS or anything fancy. I had a long discussion with a rather geeky boy at the local grocery shop on Tuesday about how I had to buy different batteries for my new radio. He was horrified that I'd bought a RADIO!!!! Didn't I know about Ipods? So, see? Clearly you got all the techie atoms I missed out on!

Tawny said...

Nancy, I just HATE paying hotel wifi fees. Hate it *g* That comes from being spoiled and able to check my email while shopping at Target. So I think that little thumb drive thingy is a cool idea for sure!!

Tawny said...

LOL Pat - Hey Honey is a great repair gambit!!!

I actually don't know what a 30 count ereader is... off to Google...

jo robertson said...

Terri O., I want a Sony readers so bad I can taste it. I love the touch and smell of real books, but when I travel I end up taking about 8-10 books with me; it'd be much easier to take the reader.

Hi, Mrs. P-226, I believe you're a mite prettier than P226 JK!

Yes, Tawny, very expensive. I believe that Apple "sold" schools on the Mac being the creme de la creme of puters back in the day. And once you start . . . I'm just saying. Now we have PC's, although my old Mac is gumming up my garage LOL.

Tawny said...

Jeanne, I hate waiting in line for anything :-D I'll wait a week for something to not be 'new' and get it then, just to avoid lines.

I'll join you in the blackberry lust, but do have to say -the Nook isn't backlit. Like someone said to me last night, its like someone slipped a page from a book behind the screen. Its just the same reading feel.

Of course, that means I still need a booklight at night LOL

Tawny said...

Ooooh, a purple iPod. I'd be in love, too, Cassondra :-D

I'm actually getting stomach cramps reading about your software and driver woes. Oh man, that is a nightmare for sure. Like you say, gadgets that are friendly with each other definitely make our lives MUCH nicer!!!

btw, I refuse to use IE *g* Just hate it. Hate hate hate. And yeah, software interface as a topic would make us all cry.

Tawny said...

Jeanne, you can turn the voice off on a GPS.

I do love our GPS(s). The truck has one in dash, but I got the portable kind for my Mini. Its great for booksignings, too - you get to your destination, sign books, then where do you go? Hmm, any other bookstores nearby? Push a couple buttons and tada! Okay, replace bookstore with chocolate store and you know how I really end signings *g*

Tawny said...

ROFLMAO Nancy. What a fun way to explore Disneyland - via texts :-D

Its amazingly handy to have texting there, though. When we visited last winter, there were 9 of us with phones, able to know who was in what line and which ones were moving and where they were all waiting during the parade while I got popcorn ;-)

Tawny said...

Cassondra, are the iPad books really stored in a data storage in the sky? That'd drive me batty too - I mean, what if I was up in the mountains, trying to escape the endless family drama by reading a book and I finished the one loaded on my reader? I'd have to have another one immediately or go join the endless family drama.

Oh no, give me constant access to my toys, thankyouverymuch.

Tawny said...

Nancy, One thing I'm not loving with the iPod/iTouch is that it won't let me load my own movies or dvds onto it. I can download them from iTunes, yes, but the ones I already own? Nope.

Which means I'm stuck with (although I do love) Castle to watch when I run on the treadmill, instead of Shrek or Friends or anything Johnny. Cuz, you know, I'm just not paying twice for a movie.

Tawny said...

LOL, its sounding like I really really don't want to update my version of Word!

Tawny said...

Minna, I get a few copies of all my translations and haven't figured out what to do with the German and Swedish ones. Nor the French or Spanish, actually LOL. I think I can donate them to libraries, maybe.

Tawny said...

So... really, P226, you're telling us that who you are today is totally due to your wonderful wife?

:-D

Tawny said...

LOL about the hubbies and technology. Five years ago, mine cussed at the computer on a daily basis and broke his cell phone regularly (he says it was always an accident, but hmmm).

Now he's the texting King, he tucks his mini Dell under his arm and totes it around and his iPod is his best friend.

Tawny said...

Pink, that widow/orphan thingy is just evil. I don't know why its even there in the first place!!! Ick.

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Tawny, I had to update my version of word when I took Vista off my machine and put Windows 7 on. Frankly, it's a small price to pay for being rid of Vista.

Unknown said...

Tawny said:

Cassondra, are the iPad books really stored in a data storage in the sky? That'd drive me batty too - I mean, what if I was up in the mountains, trying to escape the endless family drama by reading a book and I finished the one loaded on my reader? I'd have to have another one immediately or go join the endless family drama.

Oh no, give me constant access to my toys, thankyouverymuch.


Oh, I don't know anything about the book readers. I'm talking about the new generation of laptop/notebook computers from Mac. Maybe I called it the wrong name. They have a large version of a laptop which has a hard drive, but a lot of people going to the smaller laptops--they're fast and powerful--but have no hard drive. Data and programs are stored "in the sky"--which means unless you do a manual save on an external storage device, you carry no data with you. You access it on their server. It's the wave of the future. I just don't want to ride that wave. I want my data in my possession.

Beth Andrews said...

You know, there are days when I wonder if you and I share a brain because we have so much in common...but today isn't one of those days ;-)

I'm not much of a techno addict. We have a couple of desktops and a laptop and that's it. My son has interent access on his iTouch and pays for it on his cell phone.

And I really don't want any type of ebook reading device exactly for the reason you mentioned - it'd be way too easy to spend too much money *ggg*

But, all that being said, I adore the Internet and am especially thankful for the TV shows and movies I can watch from Netflix instantly :-)

Unknown said...

Jeanne said:

I had to update my version of word when I took Vista off my machine and put Windows 7 on. Frankly, it's a small price to pay for being rid of Vista.

Oh yes. Fortunately I was warned about Vista and have been able to avoid it. I was in the "gap". I bought a Dell laptop because it was the last company holding out and putting XP on their new machines. My old desktop is still going strong. (Windows 2003 FTW!!!!). So I have managed to avoid Vista. If I'm lucky, I'll avoid the next version too, and maybe they'll get a clue and some sense before I buy again.

If I could have XP pro and Word 2003 forever, I would be a happy camper. Word 2003 was a kick-ass powerful program, and could unlock just about any other word processing program's text, and it worked in a way that made sense.

Word 2007? It's just full of useless stuff that slows you down, makes you curse, is the opposite of intuitive, and that I suspect only .005 percent of their users actually USE. It is a regression in softward interface, in my opinion. ANd you can tell, I'm somewhat opinionated about this. *scuffs toe in dirt, embarrassed*

Nancy said...

Tawny, I've seen Cassondra's purple iPod, and it's way cool.

The cells came in handy at Disneyland. The boy is old enough to go off on his own, and since he and I both know how to both place and receive calls, we were able to use the phones to smooth out the reuniting process. Especially on the weekend when the Magic Kingdom strongly resembled one of the inner rings of Dante's Inferno.

If I can avoid it, I am never, ever going there on a weekend again. The crowds remind me of Times Square at rush hour, and line-breaking, which is still considered extremely rude here in the South, is epidemic. The nearest amusement park to us has signs posted saying that groups who want to ride together should enter together. And they enforce that. I wish Disney did.

Nancy said...

Cassondra, Vista creates additional problems for me (or maybe it's the new Word) because documents save automatically as .docx, which I can't open. Nothing was wrong with .doc, imho. I have to email people and ask for .doc, even at the university, since only some of the computers add the x.

Unknown said...

Nancy said:

Cassondra, Vista creates additional problems for me (or maybe it's the new Word) because documents save automatically as .docx, which I can't open. Nothing was wrong with .doc, imho. I have to email people and ask for .doc, even at the university, since only some of the computers add the x.

Nancy, that's Word. .docx is Word 2007. I have to remember to save it as a Word 2003 file for most of my friends. There may be setting somewhere buried deep in the preferences that would cause my default "save" to be .doc rather than .docx, but like most other things in Word 2007, I can't find it.

I think the thing that irritates me about some of these changes is that (like clicking on the squiggly graphic to access the "file" menu)a lot of it is made for the sake of change and not for any other reason inherent to making it better. Which pisses me off. When they have an entire segment of the population dependent on using their programs to do work, why switch it up just for the sake of switching it up? If it's a whole new process and something internal has been made better which then requires an interface change, that's one thing. But just changing it to be new and different?

Asinine.

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Cassondra said: When they have an entire segment of the population dependent on using their programs to do work, why switch it up just for the sake of switching it up? If it's a whole new process and something internal has been made better which then requires an interface change, that's one thing. But just changing it to be new and different?

Ahhh, but then they couldn't sell you classes and books and "how to guides" and all that smack, now could they? Hmmm? All in the name of commerce, my pretty...

Unknown said...

Jeanne said:

Ahhh, but then they couldn't sell you classes and books and "how to guides" and all that smack, now could they? Hmmm? All in the name of commerce, my pretty...

*sigh*

You're right.

But I have this theory about that. One day there will be competition--competition which does not abuse its customer base in these ways. And when that happens, Microsoft can kiss its butt goodbye because of all the ill will it has engendered.

Yes, I do believe that. Companies which have win-win at the core of their business philosophies will come out ahead in the long run.

Nancy said...

Cassondra, Jeanne has a point about selling guides, etc., but then there are people like me who just grouse about it to our friends until we find one who can tell us how to fix it.

Remember when software came with a guide?

Trish Milburn said...

Tawny, I'm sorry I'm late commenting today because this is a cool topic. There are only two of us in our house, and we have five computers between us. I alone have a desktop, a laptop and a mini netbook. I have an iPod Nano, and I finally got a phone that actually texts, but I've resisted an e-reader mainly because I already have more than 1,000 books in my house, the vast majority of them unread.

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

WOO HOO!! Sorry to be late to the party, Tawny. Ummm... I was writing another blog post and checking my email. Honest to goodness!

Yes, I may not be quite as addicted as SOME people I could name, but I'm an addict nonetheless. :-P

AC

mariska said...

Gonna post something before i go to hospital :)

I have a pc with internet access in our house (that's why i can blog *g*)

Got a mobile phone with 'web' future, which is i used a lot when we didn't have pc last time.

I'd really like to have an e-reader, but living in here (you know where i live right ?) that gadget sounds so exclusive. that's why my 30 plus Books (mostly new books that i won from blogs) in Pdf. still in my pc, i haven't had the chance to read them :(

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Mariska said: Gonna post something before i go to hospital :)

Is it baby time, Mariska?

Joan said...

Well, Jeanne aka Evil Twin wooed me by showing me her netbook.....

I came home to KY and bought one!

Course...I don't have a ROUTER to use the wireless yet so I just go by and stroke it now and again..

Suzanne Ferrell said...

Aw, Tawny, I see an intervention in your future!

I was a techno resister. Until 3 years ago I didn't have a digital camera or phone. Now I won't leave home without them. Watching my co workers not go 5 minutes without touching, texting, checking or flipping their iPhones, I'm doing my damndest to resist that. But I fell like the Borg is talking to me, "Resistance is futile"!

Suzanne Ferrell said...

Kirsten, one of our patient's husbands works for Apple and he had an iPad Tuesday at work. I seriously think some of my co-workers got high just touching the dang thing!!

Tawny said...

Dianna, I've heard really good things about the Kindle :-) Let me know if you get one -and what you think!

Tawny said...

ROFLMAO Anna ;-)

We are friends based on the compatibility of our wonderful personalities and our mutual admiration for the other's writing.

How's that?

And with that in mind, I'll keep my radio shock quiet :-D

Tawny said...

Jo, traveling with books is a major selling point for the readers. If I'm leaving home for more than an hour, I almost always have a book with me.

And with a reader, the person sitting in the dr's office with you won't realize you're reading The Joy of Kinky Sexual Positions with Chocolate, or researching ancient torture methods or something *g*

Tawny said...

Ewwww, Vista!!! Jeanne, I refused to have that icky thing. My girls both have it had hate it with untold passions.

Tawny said...

Uck. I'm with you, Cassondra. I wouldn't touch that deal with a ten foot pole. No way, I want ownership and access to my documents and files and photos and everything. Just me, all me, whenever I want.

I do use an offsite backup subscription (that stopped working 5 months ago - of course) but thats as letting go of my stuff as I'll get.

Tawny said...

Heehehhehee, I'll bet we still share the brain, Beth. I just get greedy and hog up all the techie stuff :-D

Now see, me, I have no clue how Netflix works :-) So we're sorta even, right?

Tawny said...

Nancy, I hear you on the line jumping rudeness. I hate that. We've done Disney twice in the last 3 years and both times went during the week, with only one weekend day included. Night and day!!!!! I'll take the less crowded, less rude, less overwhelming times, thanks!

Tawny said...

Oh see, now my techie addicted eyes are crossing. You are all talking about program stuff and that makes me itchy. I do have Word set to automatically save in rtf. I got in the habit years ago when one of my cps used a Mac, and never quit. No clue why LOL

Tawny said...

Cassondra said: Yes, I do believe that. Companies which have win-win at the core of their business philosophies will come out ahead in the long run.

Oh yeah, baby!!!! I hear ya!

Tawny said...

ROFL Nancy. Software AND hardware used to come with guides. Now you have to go online to find the pdf yourself. Heck, even my car required I go online and get the car manual via pdf... now that actually irked me :-) I mean, yes, a computer program that you have to go online for a guide almost makes sense - obviously you have a computer. But until they install one in the dash of the car, its not a given that you have a computer so they should give me the freaking manual on paper!!!!

hmmm, I think I'm still grumpy about that.

Tawny said...

Trish, you're not late :-) I play all night!!!

I'm impressed, you out computer me *g*

I had to laugh. When I got the Nook, my husband asked if that meant more room on the house - aka, would I have less books lining all the walls and using all the shelves in the closets? I said of course not. Not unless I go buy all the books I already own in eformat instead, because we both know I'll continue to buy new paper books.

He actually considered it. He said the authors could probably use the royalties, because he could definitely use space to put his shoes in the closet *g*

So, nope, it definitely doesn't look like it'll cut back on the number of books. But it sure makes reading some of them easier :-D

Tawny said...

ROFL, Auntie :-D Not that your addicted or anything...

We can meet in an online chat room and discuss it! Thats where they hold all the tech addict programs.

Nancy said...

Tawny, I used to have cps with PCs send me .rtf files, but now either the mail program or Word strips out the formatting, so now I need .doc.

Very annoying, all this changing around!

Tawny said...

Mariska, Hospital?

Ooooh boy!!!

Yes, I've noticed that a lot of the technology takes awhile to make its way around the world. I hope it does soon- and I hope you get time to read all those books!

Tawny said...

Oh Joanie, get the router.

You'll love the freedom. The joy. The absolute wonderfulness of writing anywhere, everywhere.

Or, you know, checking email while making dinner or sitting on the couch *g*

Tawny said...

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

No intervention, Suz. No no no.

*squinting suspiciously* Did my husband pay you to suggest that, btw?

How about we lure you over to the techno side instead? Think of the convenience! The ease and joy of instant communication. The fun of being able to text your kids with a cute joke, or hubby with a quick proposition (or a grocery list *g*) Its a good life. It really is.

Please don't intervene it away from me :-D

BTW, LOL on the iPad love. I'm not surprised.

Tawny said...

Nancy said: Tawny, I used to have cps with PCs send me .rtf files, but now either the mail program or Word strips out the formatting, so now I need .doc.

Oh see, now that would seriously piss me off. I want to be in charge of my technology. Not the other way around!!

limecello said...

I soooooooooo want a nook now :X I'm so jealous it plays nice with ADE. I don't think of myself as a technogeek, but considering some of the toys I have [macbookpro, etc - and a 10" dell laptop - which is actually quite old!] ... maybe I'm kinda one?

Tawny said...

Lime, the first step is accepting the addiction.

That makes it easier for the second step - getting more toys :-)

Not that I'm trying to tempt you or anything, but I am totally in love with the Nook. Totally. It lets me upload SO much. DRM, PDF, etc.

And... I can read it while running (on the treadmill, not the street). I can't even do that with a regular book, the page turning and all that drives me nuts, and the small print bouncing all over the place makes me a little nauseous *g* But the Nook? No problem.

So... c'mon, admit your addiction, then go touch a Nook. I was able to resist, and probably would have kept on resisiting, if they didn't have them in stock at the B&N the other day. Once I touched... that was it.

Well that and the free Disney Alice and Wonderland art for the screensavers. The Mad Hatter looks so dementedly sweet :-)

Pat Cochran said...

Tawny,

I told you that I was not very
tech savvy and I've now proved
it! What I was referring to is
a folder or directory which
contains 30 ebooks. They await
the day that I fully acquaint
myself either my older ereader
or purchase a new one!

Pat Cochran

Tawny said...

Oooooh :-) I get it, Pat!

And I'm not very e-book savvy yet. I know what format my own books are released in, and understand pdf, but the rest is still a new world to explore :-)

Anna Campbell said...

Tawny, I didn't realise a radio was such a naff thing to buy, but clearly it is. And your shock would have to be enormous to match that of this young guy! Sigh. Sometimes I think I'm still living in the Regency!

Tawny said...

Anna, maybe thats why you write such amazing historicals? You can actually imagine the life, without all the techno gadgetry and contemporary trappings *g*

Me? I'm so contemporary I couldn't write anything but. Slang, techno toys, all that fun stuff. I can't imagine living without it.

I do think I need to get a radio, though. My brother is sure we'll be having an earthquake someday and said I have to have radio for... um, something or other. Kinda like I keep my old fashioned, plug into the wall phone with a cord on hand for electrical outages.

mariska said...

" Is it baby time, Mariska?"

Yeap, i still need to go to My doctor once in two weeks.
Just came back from Hospital, my doctor said that the baby is only 8w and 6d old :D still tiny in my tummy.

Tawny said...

Awwww, just a wee lil thing, still, Mariska :-)

So glad you're doing well!!!