Modelers who are not part of the Computer age

[Rob Hall]

A very astute observation. Exactly right... many people who condemn the "evils" of the internet, ebay, etc. are actually doing so to mask their own fear or lack of knowledge. Much easier to act indignant and write off something as "evil" than to try and learn how to use it.

Very true...I'm sure at the turn of the 20th century some people wrote off automobiles as 'evil' and vowed to stay w/ their horse and buggy...

[Harry P.]

Very true...I'm sure at the turn of the 20th century some people wrote off automobiles as 'evil' and vowed to stay w/ their horse and buggy...

It's human nature to cling to what one knows, and to distrust or write off what one doesn't know. Thank God there are those relative few, like Galileo, for instance, that had the nerve and the drive to expand his knowledge base. Without people like that we'd all still be living in caves and shaking our fists at the sky at every flash of lightning...

[Rob Hall]

It's human nature to cling to what one knows, and to distrust or write off what one doesn't know. Thank God there are those relative few, like Galileo, for instance, that had the nerve and the drive to expand his knowledge base. Without people like that we'd all still be living in caves and shaking our fists at the sky at every flash of lightning...

Yes... I know in my line of work I've seen a lot of changes and evolution of technology during my career..most of the basic principles of CS are still the same as when I was in college 20+ years ago, but I've been constantly learning as the technologies have changed and evolved....I wouldn't be employed if I was still using the same technology set as I was using in 1990 or 2000.

Edited June 4, 2013 by Rob Hall

[niteowl7710]

It's human nature to cling to what one knows, and to distrust or write off what one doesn't know. Thank God there are those relative few, like Galileo, for instance, that had the nerve and the drive to expand his knowledge base. Without people like that we'd all still be living in caves and shaking our fists at the sky at every flash of lightning...

I find my clinging to start showing up when to comes to tablet computers. I need something with a keyboard. Touch screen is fine for a phone, but it has to at least have a keyboard like a Surface. The idea of using something like an iPad or other touchscreen computer as my primary device just doesn't make sense. Perhaps it's because I need a real computer to edit my website, but the to me a "pad"/tablet touch-screen is nothing more than an expensive 2nd toy to me, and doesn't do anything my cellphone doesn't - other than the obviously larger screen.

[Art Anderson]

I've been a model car builder since the days when a computer was something seen by most in a weekly cartoon in Saturday Evening Post (a HUGE boxy affair with all manner of pushbuttons and dials, attended to by wizened old men in white coats, long hair around the fringes of their bald domes, "coke bottle bottom" eyeglasses and gray beards). PC's and Mac's of course changed all that gradually but fairly rapidly over the past 20 years or so, particularly with the very internet which is going to transmit what I say here.

All that said, this puter on which I write is nothing more than a tool, perhaps the most used tool in my home, but nonetheless a tool. It has replaced stationery, envelopes and postage stamps almost completely (just ask USPS about that one!), and has become more of my "Window To The World" (with apologies to WTTW, PBS-TV out of Chicago-Ch 21 on my local dial) than TV, tele- or smart phone, or either of the two newspapers I still like to read daily.

While I've ordered model car kits online (have a couple of new releases on order right now), when given the choice I still prefer walking in the door of a hobby shop and then fondling the kit(s) I'm considering adding to my stash. I still prefer buying paint, glue and tools in person, with cash or card, AT a cash register. And supplies such as Evergreen? Sometimes the only way to confirm exactly what it is I need to get is to see the stuff up close and personal.

For me as a modeler, the computer, with internet access, has become a trememdous research tool though. Yes I still pick up magazines which cover the types of vehicles I like to model (or at least dream of modeling), and yes those magazines still do give me pics that don't and won't likely appear online--but at the same time, I keep finding pics of grungy old relics or cars in the shop undergoing restoration that give me this or that bit of information that I would not otherwise gain sans actually going and seeing with my own eyes. In fact, virtually all the research that's going into my current model project has come to me online. The ability to enter search term after search term has turned up information that would otherwise have cost me a lot of money and time going out to find real 1937 Ford pickup trucks for example. There is a learning curve to that, of course--not every picture is correctly labeled, and most weren't shot with a model builder in mind, but they are there. However, nothing beats printed material in a book or magazine IF it has been done in those formats. Each source can suplement the others, much like my needing a left hand to wash my right hand and vice-versa. And in the bargain, the vast landscape of the internet makes it possible to do almost academic research into subjects that interest me, even current and potential model car projects.

I'd be just as lost today without a computer and internet access as I would be without a well-stocked magazine rack or a good bookstore.

Art

[Ace-Garageguy]

For me as a modeler, the computer, with internet access, has become a trememdous research tool though. Yes I still pick up magazines which cover the types of vehicles I like to model (or at least dream of modeling), and yes those magazines still do give me pics that don't and won't likely appear online--but at the same time, I keep finding pics of grungy old relics or cars in the shop undergoing restoration that give me this or that bit of information that I would not otherwise gain sans actually going and seeing with my own eyes. In fact, virtually all the research that's going into my current model project has come to me online. The ability to enter search term after search term has turned up information that would otherwise have cost me a lot of money and time going out to find real 1937 Ford pickup trucks for example. There is a learning curve to that, of course--not every picture is correctly labeled, and most weren't shot with a model builder in mind, but they are there. However, nothing beats printed material in a book or magazine IF it has been done in those formats. Each source can suplement the others, much like my needing a left hand to wash my right hand and vice-versa. And in the bargain, the vast landscape of the internet makes it possible to do almost academic research into subjects that interest me, even current and potential model car projects.

I'd be just as lost today without a computer and internet access as I would be without a well-stocked magazine rack or a good bookstore.

Art

Well said. Amen.

[disabled modeler]

We joined the computer age about 10 years ago and really still learning...but it has given me many great friends at distances with the same interests as me...very happy to have them.

[sjordan2]

When I go to a hospice in my final days, the only thing I would want to take with me is a laptop with WiFi and a full-size keyboard.

[Rob Hall]

I find my clinging to start showing up when to comes to tablet computers. I need something with a keyboard. Touch screen is fine for a phone, but it has to at least have a keyboard like a Surface. The idea of using something like an iPad or other touchscreen computer as my primary device just doesn't make sense. Perhaps it's because I need a real computer to edit my website, but the to me a "pad"/tablet touch-screen is nothing more than an expensive 2nd toy to me, and doesn't do anything my cellphone doesn't - other than the obviously larger screen.

Yeah, anything that requires typing I prefer using my laptop for... the use cases for my tablet are definitely different...I use mine to read magazines on (I've gone to digital mags for everything except Collectible Automobile and MCM), watch videos (though I often use an hdmi cable to hook to an HDTV)--so much content for streaming is available through Amazon Prime and Netflix, read email, Twitter, and Facebook from bed in the evening and early morning. I used to do most of that from my phone, but the tabby gives me a larger screen. But for any kind of work or when I have to type a lot (Excel, Word, Quicken, etc) I need my laptop. I've started taking my tablet when I go out of town on vacations, though, instead of lugging around my laptop. A laptop works well for content consumption and creation, whilst my phone, tablet, Kindle and iPod are for content consumption.

Edited June 4, 2013 by Rob Hall

[Tom Geiger]

For me as a modeler, the computer, with internet access, has become a trememdous research tool though. Yes I still pick up magazines which cover the types of vehicles I like to model (or at least dream of modeling), and yes those magazines still do give me pics that don't and won't likely appear online--

A funny thing. About 30 years ago I started my car brochure collection as a resource file for all things car. When I got into modeling, I saw that as my first line of research and soon found out that they weren't all that trust worthy. For instance, in the earlier days, the artists actually distorted the drawings of the cars to make them look longer, lower and sleeker! Take a look at the late 30s Mopar brochures. I also found that you couldn't trust color etc from the brochures. They would have a drawing of the engines, each one a different color even though in real life they were all Chevy red. Ask me why I have a Jeep V6 painted gold!

Today I can put my fingers on very good photos of whatever I need in minutes. And if I can't find it, I use my "ask the audience" card and post the question on the boards.

[southpier]

I think people lacking some computer literacy are placing themselves at a disadvantage.

[von Zipper]

[James2]

I'm waiting for my computer to stop buffering, then I can read this post...

[1930fordpickup]

Most of the good point have been stated about the internet, but lets be real about the need for it.

I have been wondering when the line for jumping off the bridge is going to start, everyone else is doing it ?

[philo426]

It would not do to become ossified in your thinking.I know several older people who love the internet but my Mom refuses to even consider it!I try to tell her that the new computers are easy to use but she will have none of it!Oh well to each his own!

[Guest Johnny]

I don't know. But I only got on line in 2004. Never had any use for a computer before that.

Some times though, I wish I had never got one!