Technology that changed my life:
I started to think about the technological advances in the last 35 years that have had a direct effect on my life and the way I live it. As a member of
the much talked about generation X, I am comfortable with technology, and for the most part, I am an early adopter. That being said, I am not a "technology junkie" as I do have a pretty
rigorous set of criteria that any technology must meet:
- It must be relevant to my lifestyle
- It must be relatively simple to figure out and use (as I hate to RTFM).
- It must do what it says it will do every time.
- It must not be obsolete in less then 6 months.
Now that you know my criteria, here is the list of advancements/products that have been influential in my life (and hopefully yours as well):
- The personal computer: When I first laid my hands on my first PC (an Atari 400 with 8k of RAM), I thought that I had died and gone to heaven.
This little bundle of plastic and silicon set me on a path that I am still following today. While the PC doesn't always adhere to rule #2, it has
provided me with a comfortable living, a hobby and a passion.
- The cassette tape: This may seem like a strange piece of technology to call out, but think about it, without the cassette tape (and it's grandfather, the 8-track),
we would have never held a shiny Sony Walkman(tm), or attempted to breakdance to the tunes blaring from my "ghetto blaster". I credit the cassette tape with the introducing
me to my second passion, music.
- The VCR: Ahh, the eternal question, betamax or VHS? I personally think that the beta was the better format, but hey, a million consumer can't be wrong can
they? The VCR allowed the movie theatre (one of my favorite places) to come home with me. I can't say how many times I watched WarGames on my VCR, actually, I watched it
so much that the tape finally cried uncle and broke. The VCR also allowed me to capture my daughter's life story and preserve it for their children to watch (try that with Super-8 film).
- The CD and CD player: Okay, this is the only technology that I did not warm up to immediately. When the CD first hit the market, I was a DJ at a local roller skating rink in Salt
Lake City, Utah, and I was very much in love with my extensive collection of vinyl records. I actually had a large collection of CD's before I owned a player. I would take the CD's with
me to work, play them on the "kick ass" (that was it's brand name) stereo system, and then would not hear them again until my next shift. The reason
for my delay in buying a CD player was price... when they first came out, they cost anywhere from 600-1000 dollars, and a kid of 16 does not have that kind
of scratch, even a hot DJ like myself...
- Tivo: Wow, Tivo... what can be said that has not already been said about this marvelous black box. My best friend Russ actually beat me to the punch with Tivo, which he will never
let me forget. Upon his urging, I plopped down the 199.00 to buy a Tivo series 1 unit (much to the objections of my wife), and brought the little guy home. Of course the expected question
was, "Why do we need this? We already have a VCR?", to which I retorted, "Just wait... you'll see". Now, if a masked gunman was to burst through our door and say that he was either going to
shoot me, or steal our Tivo, my wife would actually pause....
- HDTV: I love my HDTV... the difference between regular TV and HDTV is astounding! I have a large screen Sony unit, and digital cable from Comcast. While
there are only a handful of channels that actually come over in HDTV, I very much enjoy each and every one of them (Discovery and ESPN being among my favorite).
- OnStar: I recently bought my dream car, a Saab 9-3 sport sedan. One of the standard features of this car is that it has OnStar built into it's "Infotainment" system. When I took possession of the
car, I started to read up on the service and decided that I would put forth the $399.00 annual investment to try it out. From the first time I connected to the service, to today when
I called to ask for directions, the service has been a God's send. Not only are the people on the other side of the connection consistently polite and helpful, I just feel safer driving by virtue
of the service being available to me. I know that if my wife and kids were to get into trouble, that they are only a phone call away from help, which provides me with piece of mind that is worth
much more to me then the annual cost of the service.
I guess that is the real point I am trying to make with all of this, is that technology has the power to change our lives. It can be a positive change (ala OnStar) or a negative one, but technology
has always been, and will continue to be, a catalyst for change. I for one intend to be there at the front door waiting on the next wave of technological advancements until I am old and gray and whining about the blinking clock on my betamax....
12:20:54 PM 
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