automated society

[Jocephus]

use one of these jim

[jim]

use one of these jim

U r 2 funny. #cellPhone @jocephus.

[Jocephus]

lol

[Arthur Dent]

I was actually kind of a late adopter on cell phones and smartphones. I got my first mobile phone in 2003, and my first smart phone in 2011. I think I was about 4 years behind the curve on both of those. I did (and do) like the idea that I'm not expected to be "home" when somebody calls me (which is why I often don't answer after work or when I'm driving). I also didn't see any need for all the smartphone features and I thought they were expensive. But once I got them I saw the usefulness and I can't imagine not having it. Everyone has their own comfort level, but I'd say it's made life easier in a lot of ways.

Me too. I held out on cell phones until 2005. Before I got one, I was quite proud of this, thinking I was avoiding an irritating and not all that helpful piece of technology. I had the same thoughts about the dudes in the grocery stores asking their wives what to buy. When I finally got one, the motivation was mostly to avoid paying for long distance. After getting a cell phone, I realized that there was really no important principle I was protecting. I was not impaired in any way by the thing, and there were many circumstances in which it turned out to be extremely handy.

I've kept that experience in mind. I'm still wary of new technology, and I always think it's a good idea to think about your choices, but when people think deliberatively about technology, the bias is overwhelmingly against anything new. It's very easy to think of reasons why change is bad. To actually know, you have to try.

[jim]

I tend to lose/misplace/forget things alot ... like I'm famous for it with my circle of friends. In college as well, because whenever we went to eat in the dorm it was a regular occurrence to have to wait for me to find my id. Well when I got into this feeling that I had to have my phone with me when I left the house it was just one more thing to keep me from getting out of the door. Maybe the thing I liked the least was just keeping track of it. How many trips down the block only to realize my phone was at home, or even worse looking for it on a Monday morning only to realize then that it was at my parents house 200 miles away.

Maybe if they had an app for that.

Another thought on technology. 40,000 year old cave drawings that can still be read today, but the movies I took of my kids 20 years ago had to be converted to another format because I feared I would not be able to read them soon. I don't know how long this format will last, but not 40,000 years for sure. Probably not 40.

[ghostrunner]

I tend to lose/misplace/forget things alot ... like I'm famous for it with my circle of friends. In college as well, because whenever we went to eat in the dorm it was a regular occurrence to have to wait for me to find my id. Well when I got into this feeling that I had to have my phone with me when I left the house it was just one more thing to keep me from getting out of the door. Maybe the thing I liked the least was just keeping track of it. How many trips down the block only to realize my phone was at home, or even worse looking for it on a Monday morning only to realize then that it was at my parents house 200 miles away.

Maybe if they had an app for that.

Another thought on technology. 40,000 year old cave drawings that can still be read today, but the movies I took of my kids 20 years ago had to be converted to another format because I feared I would not be able to read them soon. I don't know how long this format will last, but not 40,000 years for sure. Probably not 40.

I have an app on the iPad that locates the iPhone and vice versa. Or you can find either from the computer. So see, you just need another device.

[jim]

I tend to lose/misplace/forget things alot ... like I'm famous for it with my circle of friends. In college as well, because whenever we went to eat in the dorm it was a regular occurrence to have to wait for me to find my id. Well when I got into this feeling that I had to have my phone with me when I left the house it was just one more thing to keep me from getting out of the door. Maybe the thing I liked the least was just keeping track of it. How many trips down the block only to realize my phone was at home, or even worse looking for it on a Monday morning only to realize then that it was at my parents house 200 miles away.

Maybe if they had an app for that.

Another thought on technology. 40,000 year old cave drawings that can still be read today, but the movies I took of my kids 20 years ago had to be converted to another format because I feared I would not be able to read them soon. I don't know how long this format will last, but not 40,000 years for sure. Probably not 40.

I have an app on the iPad that locates the iPhone and vice versa. Or you can find either from the computer. So see, you just need another device.

But does the battery have to be charged on the phone for the tablet that I don't own yet but sound like I need because it will make my life easier to be able to find it? Because charging my phone is problem #1. It's dead half the time. I need an app to find a completely dead phone. I had an app called "Wife", but there was some corruption or something because now when I try to fire it up it just makes this weird noise that almost sounds like "Find it yourself".

Seriously, remembering to attach my phone to a charger is just not something I have gotten the hang of yet.

[jim]

I tend to lose/misplace/forget things alot ... like I'm famous for it with my circle of friends. In college as well, because whenever we went to eat in the dorm it was a regular occurrence to have to wait for me to find my id. Well when I got into this feeling that I had to have my phone with me when I left the house it was just one more thing to keep me from getting out of the door. Maybe the thing I liked the least was just keeping track of it. How many trips down the block only to realize my phone was at home, or even worse looking for it on a Monday morning only to realize then that it was at my parents house 200 miles away.

Maybe if they had an app for that.

Another thought on technology. 40,000 year old cave drawings that can still be read today, but the movies I took of my kids 20 years ago had to be converted to another format because I feared I would not be able to read them soon. I don't know how long this format will last, but not 40,000 years for sure. Probably not 40.

I have an app on the iPad that locates the iPhone and vice versa. Or you can find either from the computer. So see, you just need another device.

But does the battery have to be charged on the phone for the tablet that I don't own yet but sound like I need because it will make my life easier to be able to find it? Because charging my phone is problem #1. It's dead half the time. I need an app to find a completely dead phone. I had an app called "Wife", but there was some corruption or something because now when I try to fire it up it just makes this weird noise that almost sounds like "Find it yourself".

Seriously, remembering to attach my phone to a charger is just not something I have gotten the hang of yet.

[planet planet]

I was actually kind of a late adopter on cell phones and smartphones. I got my first mobile phone in 2003, and my first smart phone in 2011. I think I was about 4 years behind the curve on both of those. I did (and do) like the idea that I'm not expected to be "home" when somebody calls me (which is why I often don't answer after work or when I'm driving). I also didn't see any need for all the smartphone features and I thought they were expensive. But once I got them I saw the usefulness and I can't imagine not having it. Everyone has their own comfort level, but I'd say it's made life easier in a lot of ways.

Me too. I held out on cell phones until 2005. Before I got one, I was quite proud of this, thinking I was avoiding an irritating and not all that helpful piece of technology. I had the same thoughts about the dudes in the grocery stores asking their wives what to buy. When I finally got one, the motivation was mostly to avoid paying for long distance. After getting a cell phone, I realized that there was really no important principle I was protecting. I was not impaired in any way by the thing, and there were many circumstances in which it turned out to be extremely handy.

I've kept that experience in mind. I'm still wary of new technology, and I always think it's a good idea to think about your choices, but when people think deliberatively about technology, the bias is overwhelmingly against anything new. It's very easy to think of reasons why change is bad. To actually know, you have to try.

I started my career when email wasn't even widespread in the workplace. I actually didn't understand the point when you could just walk over and talk to the person in the office and I SOLD messaging platforms! The same thing has happened time after time - couldn't understand the smart phone advantages over regular cell phones, never understood why you'd have wireless when cables were already in place (that one was valid until wireless speeds were better), didn't get the tablet, etc. I really can't think of one major technology development that I didn't feel was a massive improvement eventually.

[jim]

Most modern tools I see are worse because they focus on fluff. I just used dc (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dc_(computer_program) to do a bunch of salary adjustment calculations for my group because I care about function and speed, not fluff. vi is my editor of choice, and if I had to create a large document and was given my choice I would use LaTeX. DiamondMind baseball is the best simulation out there, although OOTP is prettier and snazzier.

Function and speed over pink ponies. Most development I see with technology is just more pink ponies.