I used to be an early adopter of technology (I bought one of the very first iMacs!) but lately I've begun to feel completely out of fashion. My only consolation is that if I hang onto my old technology long enough, it will become retro-chic and make me feel trendy again. Sort of like the people you see on the street wearing out-of-date clothing and hairstyles--you can't tell if they're leading-edge and ironic or just so out of it they don't realize the fashion train has left the station.
Built-in obsolescence really bugs me. I have a completely functioning iMac--with a turquoise monitor and hockey-puck mouse--that's now incompatible with all updated software and Internet browsers. Plus, it rejects my new iPod. Almost everything launched after 2003 makes my computer crash. I can't even download video from my video camera to my iMac. But that's another story, with a lesson for anyone considering making a major technology purchase after going out for drinks: don't do it!
As for my TV, until a month ago I had three sets of bunny-ear antennae set up to tune in about six TV channels. Then all the TV stations went digital, forcing me to spend $67 on a special box to convert digital signals to analog for my old TV. Sometimes the box works, and sometimes it doesn't. When the signal isn't strong enough, the broken mosaic images on my screen make everyone look like monsters in a horror movie, with disintegrating flesh and unidentifiable things crawling on them.
Not owning a mobile phone has become one of my personality quirks that I'm proud of. However, as a freelancer, I now realize I need to be accessible to clients. So last month I went to Wind Mobile for their special smartphone deal, and was ignored by the sales people. I walked out. Down the street at Public Mobile, no one was even in the store. Should I just give up?
A friend of mine may have the right idea. He's simply dropped out of the computer age. This week I got a typewritten note from him in the mail! I'm not sure where he's going to find replacement ribbons for his typewriter, but there must be some somewhere mouldering in someone's basement.
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