Technology is our friend ... sometimes

I have a love/hate relationship with technology. I love what it can do for me, but I document it on a daily basis. It's also work. So ... good and bad.

I cut my teeth, professionally speaking, on the truly original Mac: a Xerox graphic arts workstation. Xerox was in the market years before Apple took their icons and their desktop design and made it their own. So I've been around high-tech for years. I was a guinea pig for the first Netscape prototype (I know the guys who designed it).

I don't know if it's age or a lack of time, but it feels like technologyhas sped up a lot in recent years. I think the proliferation of places like MySpace and YouTube are what make me feel this way. It was one thing to 'hang out' on a newsgroup or bulletin board, cyber-chatting, but MS and YT take this to a whole new level.

Of course, I felt that way about blogging once, too. And I still don't know if blogging has any value, really, except for allowing me to be bossy now and again.

But on the question: how comfortable am I? It all depends on my mood. If I'm on a deadline, I don't want to mess around with anything new. I'll stick to my Windows XP and Word 2000, thank you. I do add new software now and again (Virtual Thesaurus, for example), but in general all I need is an Internet browser, a photo editor, and a word processor and I'm set.

Which brings me to my gadgets. I have 2 handheld PCs that I love --they're just big enough for a 90% keyboard, and are perfect for editing my work. I love my Palm Pilot, which stores appointments for me years and years into the future, and reminding me in a timely way about events (like, 'post to blog tonight'). I've got a couple of desktop computers which are serviceable and do what I need. I've got 2 or 3 e-book readers, which I love.

I guess as long as the software I use will work with all of those gadgets, I'm happy. If I upgrade and lose that connectivity -- forget it. I'll step back three versions if needed. Nothing can replace being able to be productive, when and where I want it.

Speaking of which: I'm out of town for a few days, so you'll have to soldier on without me. I'll post a new topic on Sunday night if I get ambitious, and on Monday if I get lazy. It's a tossup which it will be.

J