Then there are at least 3 of us. I have dropped all but 3 web sites I do for others because time, but also my lack of knowledge in new tech.
I took an avanced web college course in 2004 and it does nothing for me now.
JC Sent from my iPhone On Mar 28, 2010, at 1:48 AM, "Jim" <jdos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
You, are not alone.. ;( jFrom: elky-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:elky-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Ray BuckSent: Sunday, March 28, 2010 12:58 AM To: elky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [elky] Got a smart phoneAs I wrote a while back, I decided to get a "smart phone." I dunno...maybe it wasn't such a smart idea. The learning curve is approximately vertical. It's a Motorola Cliq. It's an "Android" phone which means that it 1) isn't a Mac (good thing,) 2) runs an OS based on a Linux kernel and for numbers three thru forty-eleven, has a bunch of applications available for it, many of which are open- source (this makes a big difference to me over an iPhone) and this one has a discrete keyboard, but much of the control is done with touchpad control on the LCD screen and there's a lot more.The main reason I decided to buy it is to have a way of showing my photography to prospective customers and to use as a tether, in essence a cellular or 3G modem for my laptop instead of that awful thing I used last year on the salt that required a reboot every 2 hours, generally when a real fast car or bike was making a run. I've been working on slide shows and screen savers and I'd like to be able to show those as well.I don't need the GPS (I just bought a Garmin for the Burb) or the camera (who needs a 5 megapixel camera when ya got one camera with 10 and another with 18?)After messing with it most of the evening, I was able to make an update to my FaceBook account from the phone, through the laptop, via my local wifi net, through the linux server, and over the DSL line. I think I forgot "over the river and through the woods."And, strangely enough, I can make phone calls with it.But the rest of the stuff...holy shit. I've been able to connect it as a USB device and copy files to it, but once they're "there"...well, I have yet to figure out how to access 'em from the phone's touch screen controls.Here's where I find myself in a quandary. For most of my adult life, I've been relatively close to the bleeding edge of technology...not exactly out in front, but well-acquainted enough to help other folks who seem to have trouble with technology...one of my friends refers to himself as a "technotard." I've always told myself that I'd never allow said self to get to that "technologically-disadvantaged" state. But this frikkin phone makes me wonder.I didn't grow up playing Nintendo games. Hell, I was writing simple games on a TI-99 when they first came out, then on a Commodore-64 and had one of the first 286 chip/hard drive-based PCs available. But my "learning experience" came from the top down rather than the bottom up like the kids who can handle a remote controller before they can walk. Well, maybe not that much, but you get the point. It's like the "dub wheels" thing. It's my opinion that they became popular because they looked (in the beginning) like Hot Wheels cars, which became popular shortly befor my children were born. I guess you could say that I wasn't "socialized with advanced technology" at the root level.So here I sit with a whole buncha highly technical stuff (an old acquaintance once called me a "technophile" and I countered by calling him a Luddite), but still I feel like I'm just on the event horizon of losing touch with current stuff. I have this fear that once I lose touch, I'll be sucked into the black hole of old-fogey- itis. Then I'll never get back. But is is worth it? I think it is to me at this time, because I need to use technology to further the photography and web development stuff, since I have no idea if I'll have an income when I hit the age of 65, 2.5 years from now. I guess this old dog's gotta learn new tricks.However, this whole concept was shaken when a friend of mine (nearing the age of 80) said that he could no longer read instruction manuals; he couldn't even enjoy reading a novel because by the time he got to chapter 3, he couldn't remember what had happened in chapter 1. Now this guy has a very good education, worked in a field that required him to stay current with advances in many fields and in general is a very sharp dude. But this statement was like a kick to the gut. Is this what lies ahead for me? A complete loss of something that's been an underlying theme for virtually my entire life? That scares me much more than death. Hell, I've been terrified of Alzheimer's Disease for a long time (as has my sister, who just turned 60) and I'm even trying some new "supplements" in hopes of either staving off or reversing the memory problems I already have as the result of heart disease. So not only do I have the fear of AD, but now the statement that my friend made has added another brick in the wall, so to speak.I guess the only thing that can be done is to keep on keepin on. Maybe I'll wander away from my house one day and never come back...except for the fact that I now have 2 GPS devices. :) I may not know where I am, but I'll never be lost...or vice-versa.Ok. I need something to soothe me into blissful slumber. I think a NASCAR race on my DVR will act very nicely as a soporific. But even that's high tech: satellite HDTV, digital video recorder on a 48" screen with stereo sound routed through an amp to external speakers. Maybe I otta pick up those drum sticks Rick D mentioned the other day and go find an animal skin to stretch over a wooden frame and return to the stone age through percussion.I give up. r --Sent from my Dreadnought using that barely tolerable Thunderbird email program
