Balance of technologies
01/11/13 05:03
No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. There is a bit of a different look to the blog, and all of my website today. I have just migrated to a new computer and somehow I didn’t take all of the plug-ins for my website authoring program with me. I’ll get it figured out before long and probably will end up with a new look along the way. For now it is functional and I am able to publish my blog from my new computer.
In the past, I have used a notebook computer that belongs to the church under an agreement with the church. However, I have decided that it is time to have two different machines: one for work and one for my personal use. So, instead of using the migration assistant to move everything from the old computer to the new one, I am going through the old computer file by file, sifting and sorting. It isn’t a lot different from cleaning out an office that I have occupied for a long time. There are things that belong to the church and things that belong to me and they need to be untangled. And, since I’m a bit of a collector, there are a lot of things that just need to be trashed. I’m giving the old computer a good cleaning out while I am at it. It should improve its performance and longevity for church use now that I’m dong the blog and other personal business on the new computer.
The new computer has the advantage of being smaller, more portable, and lighter than the old machine and it has a much longer battery life, allowing me to take it with me where I want and to publish my blog from any place that I like. I am looking forward to being ably to use it outdoors when the weather improves and to sit where I like as I do my work.
So, I apologize for the somewhat rough appearance of the web site. I’ll have things back up to speed soon.
It probably won’t be long before the personal computer is a thing of the past. The great portability and functionality of tablets, smartphones and other devices means that already fewer people are turning to notebook and desktop computers to do their work. But I still like the combination of functionality and portability afforded by a notebook computer. So far we haven’t gotten a tablet computer. My smart phone, however, has a much faster processor, more memory and even more storage than did the laptop that I was using a decade ago. In terms of raw computing power, it is a marvel.
I remember buying a pocket transistor radio with money I had saved from my newspaper route when I was a kid. It was an AM-FM model, even though we had no FM stations that we could receive in our town. If I remember accurately it had 9 transistors. The radio was sold as a pocket radio, but it was a bit too big to fit into my pockets. The processor in my cell phone has the equivalent of 1 billion transistors. The phone easily slides into my pocket.
I’ve written many times about the struggle of looking for balance in a rapidly changing world. On the one hand, one wants to keep up. The world is changing and it demands change from us as well. On the other hand, the rapid pace of change produces much that doesn’t last. I find that with devices such as phones and computers there is no need to keep up with every new model. You can skip several generations before making the change. I no longer worry whether or not my devices are state of the art. The question is not whether they are the latest and best, but whether they can do the work that I need them to do. The best technology isn’t always the latest technology.
One example is a simple notepad. My cell phone has a notepad that automatically synchronizes with my computer. By using cloud technology, I can have access to those notes from any of my devices. I could pull out my phone and make notes on it for all of the things that I need. I do use that application and know how to make it work. However I find myself in situations where the use of any device such as a phone or tablet is simply inappropriate. When I visit a family in the hospital or in their home the use of my devices can be distracting and out of place. It seems as if I am not paying attention to the matters at hand. I realize that feeling is a bit generational. Youth often don’t feel the same problem with their electronic devices. So I still carry a small note pad and a pen in my pocket. If there is something important I need to remember, I can pull out the pad and write a note. The technology of a pad and pen is ancient. but it remains appropriate technology for my use.
I use the calendar function on my phone and computer, but I know others who use paper calendars. They work fine. They may not be stat-of-the-art, but they are appropriate technology for many uses.
Not every item that is useful needs to light up, have an off and on switch, be powered by electricity, and wear out quickly. Sometimes the old technologies are just fine for our use.
And there are some technologies that are combinations of old and new designs. Virtually every canoe that is available is a shape that has been around for centuries. There really aren’t any improvements in shape that need to be made with canoes. Modern canoes use new materials that can make them more durable and lightweight, but the classic shapes remain the best. One of my favorite canoes is 50 years old and if it is properly maintained there is no reason why it won’t last another century or more.
So I continue to seek balance of old and new. And for now, my brand-new notebook computer has the keys in the same order as did my portable Olympia manual typewriter that got two of us through college and graduate school before we knew we might one day feel we needed a computer.
The typewriter, by the way, still works fine.
In the past, I have used a notebook computer that belongs to the church under an agreement with the church. However, I have decided that it is time to have two different machines: one for work and one for my personal use. So, instead of using the migration assistant to move everything from the old computer to the new one, I am going through the old computer file by file, sifting and sorting. It isn’t a lot different from cleaning out an office that I have occupied for a long time. There are things that belong to the church and things that belong to me and they need to be untangled. And, since I’m a bit of a collector, there are a lot of things that just need to be trashed. I’m giving the old computer a good cleaning out while I am at it. It should improve its performance and longevity for church use now that I’m dong the blog and other personal business on the new computer.
So, I apologize for the somewhat rough appearance of the web site. I’ll have things back up to speed soon.
It probably won’t be long before the personal computer is a thing of the past. The great portability and functionality of tablets, smartphones and other devices means that already fewer people are turning to notebook and desktop computers to do their work. But I still like the combination of functionality and portability afforded by a notebook computer. So far we haven’t gotten a tablet computer. My smart phone, however, has a much faster processor, more memory and even more storage than did the laptop that I was using a decade ago. In terms of raw computing power, it is a marvel.
I remember buying a pocket transistor radio with money I had saved from my newspaper route when I was a kid. It was an AM-FM model, even though we had no FM stations that we could receive in our town. If I remember accurately it had 9 transistors. The radio was sold as a pocket radio, but it was a bit too big to fit into my pockets. The processor in my cell phone has the equivalent of 1 billion transistors. The phone easily slides into my pocket.
I’ve written many times about the struggle of looking for balance in a rapidly changing world. On the one hand, one wants to keep up. The world is changing and it demands change from us as well. On the other hand, the rapid pace of change produces much that doesn’t last. I find that with devices such as phones and computers there is no need to keep up with every new model. You can skip several generations before making the change. I no longer worry whether or not my devices are state of the art. The question is not whether they are the latest and best, but whether they can do the work that I need them to do. The best technology isn’t always the latest technology.
One example is a simple notepad. My cell phone has a notepad that automatically synchronizes with my computer. By using cloud technology, I can have access to those notes from any of my devices. I could pull out my phone and make notes on it for all of the things that I need. I do use that application and know how to make it work. However I find myself in situations where the use of any device such as a phone or tablet is simply inappropriate. When I visit a family in the hospital or in their home the use of my devices can be distracting and out of place. It seems as if I am not paying attention to the matters at hand. I realize that feeling is a bit generational. Youth often don’t feel the same problem with their electronic devices. So I still carry a small note pad and a pen in my pocket. If there is something important I need to remember, I can pull out the pad and write a note. The technology of a pad and pen is ancient. but it remains appropriate technology for my use.
I use the calendar function on my phone and computer, but I know others who use paper calendars. They work fine. They may not be stat-of-the-art, but they are appropriate technology for many uses.
Not every item that is useful needs to light up, have an off and on switch, be powered by electricity, and wear out quickly. Sometimes the old technologies are just fine for our use.
And there are some technologies that are combinations of old and new designs. Virtually every canoe that is available is a shape that has been around for centuries. There really aren’t any improvements in shape that need to be made with canoes. Modern canoes use new materials that can make them more durable and lightweight, but the classic shapes remain the best. One of my favorite canoes is 50 years old and if it is properly maintained there is no reason why it won’t last another century or more.
The typewriter, by the way, still works fine.