How Technologically Savvy Are You?

[Harry P.]

Another thing I wonder about is the whole idea of cell phones possibly causing brain tumors and cancers. Scientists on the one hand say that they think cell phones are safe, then on the other hand say that they haven't been in wide usage long enough to develop any scientifically reliable data.

I wonder what happens if cell phones actually do cause brain tumors or cancer, and 20-30 years from now people start developing cancers related to excessive cell-phone usage. Can you imagine the legal mess that would cause. We'd have lawsuits flying left and right.

[Dr. Cranky]

I find that many of these devices, iPhone included, are very small, they have to put a great strain on the eyes, then comes the idea, hum . . . upgrade to an iPad, and then the idea hum . . . upgrade to a 17 inch computer . . . next thing you know you are surrounded by gadgets and broke.

[Dr. Cranky]

I remember when they said that speed scanners caused policemen testicular cancer . . . but they still use them . . .

[Rob Hall]

I like my iPad...I use it for surfing when watching TV, got tired of the weight of my laptop when watching TV....tablets are great for reading magazines (though for books I prefer my Kindle)...working on switching my print mag subscriptions to electronic form. When I need a bigger screen for work, etc I have a 24 inch monitor that I connect my laptop to (or to the TV to watch movies, etc).

[Harry P.]

Obviously technology (computers) have fundamentally changed our lives (for the better, IMO). And I'm definitely not a technophobe... in fact I rely on technology every day. I couldn't do my job without computers, email and the internet.

But I do think that people who literally can't put the cell phone down, or walk around all day long wearing that silly bluetooth thing, need to rethink their priorities. When your life revolves around texting, facebook and twitter, something is definitely out of whack.

[Harry P.]

I like my iPad...I use it for surfing when watching TV, got tired of the weight of my laptop when watching TV....

A perfect example of my point of people being overly reliant or fixated with technology.

Why do you feel the need to surf the web while you watch TV? Why does one single activity (TV) not "do it" for you anymore? Why do you need to be doing two things at once?

I'm not trying to be judgemental, I'm just curious to get your reasoning on that. I find it fascinating (yet weird) that many people these days literally have to be doing two or even three things at the same time. It's a mindset that I don't have... so I wonder how that sort of thing develops. Maybe a certain personality type is more prone to doing that sort of thing?

[Rob Hall]

A perfect example of my point of people being overly reliant or fixated with technology.

Why do you feel the need to surf the web while you watch TV? Why does one single activity (TV) not "do it" for you anymore? Why do you need to be doing two things at once?

I'm not trying to be judgemental, I'm just curious to get your reasoning on that. I find it fascinating (yet weird) that many people these days literally have to be doing two or even three things at the same time. It's a mindset that I don't have... so I wonder how that sort of thing develops. Maybe a certain personality type is more prone to doing that sort of thing?

Sometimes I like to look up things related to the show I'm watching...look up a particular actor on IMDB or Wikipedia. Now if's it a particularly engrossing movie or Top Gear, then I put down the 'puter....but if it's just junk food TV or a rerun then it's more just background... I'm just comfortable multitasking...no different than listening to the radio while working on a model...or listening to my iPod while on the computer.

[Dr. Cranky]

Many people have indeed become slaves to multi-tasking, and many can apparently handle it because they seem to be Techno-Virtuosos.

I tend to get overwhelmed, and again I think it has a lot to do with the way we are conditioned from an early age.

[samdiego]

The sign industry has been through some radical changes over the last few decades, tech wise. I've adapted as well as I can. My phone is still attached to the house with the trad springy cord, I like it that way. As mentioned, the new tech can be time saving and precise, but that leaves bosses wanting more filling of the idle time spent waiting for the technology to do its job. That lends entirely new aspect to being "busy" as we are assigned a weekload of work that needs to be done today. The downside to most of this is that two machines rarely share software and the different programs rarely resemble each other. That means you have to expunge one from the frontal lobe and replace it with another as you move from one task to another. Complicated.

[Dr. Cranky]

Sam, I feel sorry for folks who got replaced by computers, but I also feel sorry for people who have bosses who know more about computers than they do, or who make endless work squeezed into one day, one week, etc . . .

[Harry P.]

I've read studies done on "multitasking" as it relates to work, that is, actually trying to actively work on two different tasks at the same time that both require critical thinking (not like doing one thing actively while doing a second thing passively, like listening to the radio while washing the dishes).

The data shows that whenever a person's attention is divided between two or more tasks simultaneously, the attention paid to any one of the tasks is less than what would be paid if the person was doing just that one thing (a fairly obvious conclusion, as our brain is wired to focus on one task at a time). That, of course, explains the danger of texting while driving (apart from the obvious danger of looking at a tiny keyboard instead of looking where you're going)!

While people think they can "multitask" (and actually it is possible to walk and chew gum at the same time... ) the reality is that multitasking doesn't result in more work being done well in less time, it actually results in less work being done more poorly in about the same time it would take you to do Task A and then Task B.

[Dirkpitt289]

I don't know how "technically" literate I am but I do have my own computer repair company.

[Harry P.]

One thing that has definitely changed in my business (graphic design) is that client's expectations of what is possible to do in a given time has really changed. A job that would have taken a week to do 20 years ago is now expected to be done in much less time, sometimes even the same day. The problem is, though, that while actually creating a "production ready" file for a brochure, for example, does take less time to do on the computer vs. the old-fashioned paste-up boards, the process of designing... the thinking time needed to come up with the concept, working out the layout and design, picking or creating graphics, typefaces, colors, etc. is still basically done in the designer's head, and goes no faster than it did 20 years ago. It still takes time to come up with a design, but less time to translate ideas to "paper" (digital files).

[Dr. Cranky]

Harry, another great point, which is why a lot of States are enacting laws to prevent people from using their electronics in their cars. At least those of us who photograph on the road do so by stopping and getting out of the car! Gee, I hope so!

Drive-by photography, any body do it?

[SoCalCarCulture]

Why wouldn't you keep up with technology - it's how we all communicate these days.

My years of graphic design, computer graphics and web development not to mention photography all required the constant learning curve to ride the wave. They were all so closely entwined that if you didn't move forward you ceased to be useful.

Photoshop is just another tool, if you need it you will learn how to use it, same with any other software.

My smartphone is in reality a smaller tablet, yet it still is big enough to read magazines on and really fills the need for a tablet while still fitting my pocket. I keep forgetting about it's high quality camera and video capabilities but plan to use the video part more this year.

Besides all the above it's great to learn new stuff everyday, keeps you young, I'm only 61!

[Junkman]

My house has an electric door bell!

I had one since 2003! And it plays tunes. Since last year I even have running water and an indoor toilet.

[Harry P.]

I had one since 2003! And it plays tunes. Since last year I even have running water and an indoor toilet.

Are you trying to make me jealous???

[SoCalCarCulture]

One thing that has definitely changed in my business (graphic design) is that client's expectations of what is possible to do in a given time has really changed. A job that would have taken a week to do 20 years ago is now expected to be done in much less time, sometimes even the same day. The problem is, though, that while actually creating a "production ready" file for a brochure, for example, does take less time to do on the computer vs. the old-fashioned paste-up boards, the process of designing... the thinking time needed to come up with the concept, working out the layout and design, picking or creating graphics, typefaces, colors, etc. is still basically done in the designer's head, and goes no faster than it did 20 years ago. It still takes time to come up with a design, but less time to translate ideas to "paper" (digital files).

Harry makes a great point here, but I don't know if everyone understands the ability to conceptualize in your head, I think most designers work this way. Like having a small tv in your head, now if I could just attach a hard drive to it to capture some of those concepts before the next one knocks tha last one out of memory!

[peter31a]

I don't know how you could read a magazine on a phone. My eyes hurt just thinking about it. I have enought trouble finding a phone number on the thing. If I know the number (usually I'm just calling home) I dial it manually cuz it's faster than trying to find where it's stored on the phone. Of course then again my cell phone only gets turned on 2 or 3 times a month and I keep getting yelled at at work because I keep forgetting to turn the work cell phone on when I get in. And on the work phone, in 18 months I've had about 10 calls and maybe made 3.

Of course as far as I'm concerned magazines are made of paper so I guess in the end I'm a technophobe. But I'm glad there is alternatives for those who like that type of thing.

[eviltwincustoms]

I don't know how you could read a magazine on a phone. My eyes hurt just thinking about it. I have enought trouble finding a phone number on the thing. If I know the number (usually I'm just calling home) I dial it manually cuz it's faster than trying to find where it's stored on the phone. Of course then again my cell phone only gets turned on 2 or 3 times a month and I keep getting yelled at at work because I keep forgetting to turn the work cell phone on when I get in. And on the work phone, in 18 months I've had about 10 calls and maybe made 3.

Of course as far as I'm concerned magazines are made of paper so I guess in the end I'm a technophobe. But I'm glad there is alternatives for those who like that type of thing.

This is why you don't use a phone that has a 3.5" screen! LOL.... I love my 4.5" screen smartphone and use it to access the internet and even post on this forum when away from my computer.

Nothing against anyone just typing in the number from memory, I do this as well with the numbers I dial on a consistent basis. But if you are like myself with Contacts of more then 200+ people (Business and Personal) this is not an option. This is why Smartphones have "Speech to Text", you say the person you want and it automatically dials the number or pulls the number up so you can send a text. I use this actually all the time when driving in my car. Much easier and I don't have to type anything. Just say, "Hi Galaxy" and tell it what I want it to do. If I say text, it will ask who I want to send a text to.

[Rob Hall]

This is why you don't use a phone that has a 3.5" screen! LOL.... I love my 4.5" screen smartphone and use it to access the internet and even post on this forum when away from my computer.

Nothing against anyone just typing in the number from memory, I do this as well with the numbers I dial on a consistent basis. But if you are like myself with Contacts of more then 200+ people (Business and Personal) this is not an option. This is why Smartphones have "Speech to Text", you say the person you want and it automatically dials the number or pulls the number up so you can send a text. I use this actually all the time when driving in my car. Much easier and I don't have to type anything. Just say, "Hi Galaxy" and tell it what I want it to do. If I say text, it will ask who I want to send a text to.

Got the Galaxy Nexus? Pretty sweet phone from what I've read....I've got a Droid 2 currently, thinking my next phone might be a Droid 4, Droid Razr or something from the Galaxy range...waiting to see what Apple does next w/ the iPhone also, I may be doing some iPhone app development soon...

[Rob Hall]

As far as technology and the modern world goes, some people are luddites..my older brother is one...doesn't have a cell phone or computer. Hard to really communicate w/ him...he's not interested in modern cars, modern music, etc.. kind of living in the past in rural Ohio..I find we have very little of common interest to talk about.

Edited January 11, 2012 by Rob Hall

[SoCalCarCulture]

Yeah I use the speech to Text feature all the time - always have with the speech enabled phones, currently using the 4.5" Samsung Galaxy SII

And contrary to what you might think it is large enough to read on!

[Rob Hall]

Speech to text is great...that plus Bluetooth makes my phone easy to use while driving...no more wedging it between my shoulder and ear...

[martinfan5]

A perfect example of my point of people being overly reliant or fixated with technology.

Why do you feel the need to surf the web while you watch TV? Why does one single activity (TV) not "do it" for you anymore? Why do you need to be doing two things at once?

I'm not trying to be judgemental, I'm just curious to get your reasoning on that. I find it fascinating (yet weird) that many people these days literally have to be doing two or even three things at the same time. It's a mindset that I don't have... so I wonder how that sort of thing develops. Maybe a certain personality type is more prone to doing that sort of thing?

Harry, I have that problem, my hands have to be busy all the times or I go nuts, its an ADD thing from when I was a kid, thats one reason why I build models, it keeps my hands busy and has a claming effect for me. But Its very hard for me to sit and watch TV with out doing something else. I will sit and watch a movie with the girlfriend at times, but thats all I can stand.

I do use all of the todays techno things, but the one thing that I really dont like is the whole social media thing, it gets old hearing about it non stop. I have twitter, hardly use it, I dont tweet but use to follow NASCAR drivers and teams and TV people, I logged in to facebook once or twice a week , but thats it.

I keep joking that I feel left out with an Ipod, girlfriend/and her son have pods, but I dont really need one, my BlackBerry has all my music and I can connect it the car( using a tape cassette adaptor ). I am all over the techno stuff, love it, but dont let it run my life.