Let’s be frank here. I’m 52 and frightened. Frightened that technology—digital tech in particular—is leaving me behind like a bad smell in a gas station washroom. This week, I toiled to become conversant with Ford’s SYNC system and Lincoln’s MyLincoln Touch electronic interface.
Further evidence of my techno-peasantry emerged as I consider the purchase of an iPad or some similar tablet device. Although I’m not a complete Luddite when it comes to electronics, determining which device best suits my needs—or even if I have needs—has challenged me to the core.
Do I need 3G? What are the roaming fees? Do I need Flash Player? Should it bridge with my Blackberry? How many megs do I need? Which data plan? Honestly, I’d have fewer questions to answer buying a used nuclear sub from the Ruskies.
It’s not specifically the tablet conundrum that scares me or the complexity of cutting-edge in-car electronics but the cumulative effect of such occurrences that alert me like Vegas-style neon to the fact that electronic technology is advancing beyond my ability to keep pace. It makes me feel like a bit of a “has been.”
Clearly, I was at the top of my game electronically—so to speak—thirty years ago when a pair of ESS AMT 1a (Heil Air Motion Transformer) tower loudspeakers rattled pictures next door thanks to 250 watts per channel. Now a small NAD amplifier pushes a set of Cambridge Audio bookshelf speakers and what I know about digital electronics would fit on the head of a pin.
Perhaps the fountain of youth is digital after all.
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Further evidence of my techno-peasantry emerged as I consider the purchase of an iPad or some similar tablet device. Although I’m not a complete Luddite when it comes to electronics, determining which device best suits my needs—or even if I have needs—has challenged me to the core.
Do I need 3G? What are the roaming fees? Do I need Flash Player? Should it bridge with my Blackberry? How many megs do I need? Which data plan? Honestly, I’d have fewer questions to answer buying a used nuclear sub from the Ruskies.
It’s not specifically the tablet conundrum that scares me or the complexity of cutting-edge in-car electronics but the cumulative effect of such occurrences that alert me like Vegas-style neon to the fact that electronic technology is advancing beyond my ability to keep pace. It makes me feel like a bit of a “has been.”
Clearly, I was at the top of my game electronically—so to speak—thirty years ago when a pair of ESS AMT 1a (Heil Air Motion Transformer) tower loudspeakers rattled pictures next door thanks to 250 watts per channel. Now a small NAD amplifier pushes a set of Cambridge Audio bookshelf speakers and what I know about digital electronics would fit on the head of a pin.
Perhaps the fountain of youth is digital after all.
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