Refusing to upgrade to a new form of technology - Anyone done it?

[Broken Arrow]

Re: Refusing to upgrade to a new form of technology - Anyone done it?

Hehe.

* Bluetooth, don't worry about it unless you need to do something wirelessly, like a wireless headset or wireless syncing with a computer.

* IM, don't worry about unless you actually use that feature. But then, unless the phone actually a full thumb keyboard, I would probably ignore that even if you do use IM.

* Mobile email, don't worry unless you want to be able to read your email from your phone. It's most likely that it would cost you more per month for that feature, by the way.

* Downloadable fun. Probably Java applets. I wouldn't worry about that either unless you like games on your phone.

* Quad Band, I wouldn't worry about that at all. It's a beautiful thing, and it's not something you have to tinker with.

Don't worry, be happy.

[StressLess]

Re: Refusing to upgrade to a new form of technology - Anyone done it?

DH and I have just been talking about this regards HDTV, and I came across this thread because someone mentioned just that. We're debating whether to start a new savings account to save up for the new equipment we'd need in 2009 when the big switch comes, or just let traditional tv go by the wayside. The way I look at it, how much money do I want to spend, how much hassle do I want to go through just to see our favorite local newscasters after work each day?

Beyond that, most of what we watch is from Netflix, the library, and the numerous VHS tapes we have from the years we had cable. We do watch CSI, The OC, and some public tv shows but they all eventually seem to come out on DVD.

If I'm understanding it correctly, you need a special HDTV. Then you have to get a separate tuner, after you decide whether you're going to use an antenna or pay for cable every month (different tuners). Then you have to buy an antenna and put it on your roof, or hire someone to do so. Or, pay the cable company every month. And I'll just bet they won't have a $10 a month option anymore. You may need a newer DVD player to play your old DVDs on the new kind of TV. You may also need a new kind of VCR to play your old tapes on the new TV (made only by JVC and Mitsubishi at this time, and costing well over $200). How does the FCC expect the average person to afford that many upgrades?

[boefixepa]

Re: Refusing to upgrade to a new form of technology - Anyone done it?

I am going out on a limb here as I don't have the complete knowledge, but I have many, many HDTV channels and they play on my normal TV just fine, I just don't get the benifits of the HD stuff...won't the switch be the same?? Like when color come out...if your tv wasn't color, you still saw a black & white picture.

Someone a little more savvy have the details??

[Ima saver]

Re: Refusing to upgrade to a new form of technology - Anyone done it?

I am so much older than you guys and I don't have a clue what you are talking about. My husband finally had to turn in his old cell phone and we got the simpliest one you can get. The book that came with it did not tell you the first thing about how to use the phone, it just assumed that you knew what to do. we still can't figure it out.

[Broken Arrow]

Re: Refusing to upgrade to a new form of technology - Anyone done it?

I am going out on a limb here as I don't have the complete knowledge, but I have many, many HDTV channels and they play on my normal TV just fine, I just don't get the benifits of the HD stuff...won't the switch be the same?? Like when color come out...if your tv wasn't color, you still saw a black & white picture.

*Gasp!*

HDTV is the Next Great Thing Since Sliced Bread! It is the next bastion of the Shiney-Shiney!

It's like BASF. It doesn't let you watch the superbowl in your underwear with your drinking buddies while belching to your six pack and strategizing how you can get your grumbling wife to fetch you the nachos with cheese.

It let's you watch superbowl, in underwear, with buddies, drink, belch, and strategize better! With perfect High Definition clarity!

Honestly, I just can't see why anybody wouldn't want a little piece of this heaven!

Seriously though, once you have the right set of hardware in place, the difference can be stunning. You can glimpse the difference now, by comparing image quality on your computer monitor (already digital) to an image on a regular cable TV (which is generally analog).

Now, whether that is a compelling enough reason to upgrade, I don't know. Personally, I'm going to try to shirk the whole TV thing, including HDTV.

[fairy74]

Re: Refusing to upgrade to a new form of technology - Anyone done it?

I'm foregoing the whole MP3/IPOD thing....

[titi]

Re: Refusing to upgrade to a new form of technology - Anyone done it?

Although I can say I am technically savvy, I often miss upgrading. Sometimes I just wouldn't bother, sometimes I just can't find the money. One of the technologies I completely skipped was VCR - I have never had even a single tape! And now I see that it is not a loss at all.

And now I think I will miss the wireless revolution as well - no wireless networks, no wireless headphones, etc. But this time the reason is purely ecological - all such stuff has radiation and I value my health more than the alleged convenience of being cable free.

[Aleta]

Re: Refusing to upgrade to a new form of technology - Anyone done it?

You could have a point there. I'm more than a little concerned about the iPods next to your brain and when did we all have to listen to music all of the time. Sometimes I'm in a store and I think that someone is talking to me and they are listening and reacting to the music. Although I wish my neighbors would use them. They drive us crazy with the boom boom music and I'm talking mega bass in the back yard and sometimes it goes on all day long. We live in zero lot line houses and you can only imagine how close that house is to mine.

[Broken Arrow]

Re: Refusing to upgrade to a new form of technology - Anyone done it?

I'm not going to lie. While I am willing to go to quite an extreme in getting rid of most technology from my life, I have to have my music. Especially right now. Where I live can be eeriely quiet at times, and that's something I haven't quite adjusted to yet. I never thought I'd actually say this, but I kind of miss all the yelling and screaming that my kids make in the background. Anyways, music helps me calm my nerves and forget that I'm actually... alone now. Helps me sleep better too.

With that in mind, converting everything to MP3 is just plain convenient to me. It's quite amazing how versatile and convenient they are. A single gig (which is quite low nowadays) can have up to 200 songs, and in a package no bigger than a stick of gum. More importantly, instead of lugging around dozens of CDs with you everywhere, and changing them all the time, you can manage it all on a computer.

I think this technology is wonderful, but that's just me.

Having said that, I currently do not even own an iPod player right now. Rather, I'm looking for MP3 players that can play songs straight off of any generic flash drive. It isn't easy finding ones that will suit me, but they're out there. To me, it's all about versatility and freedom. Just like CDs.

I'll stop rambling now, but yeah, I love my MP3s.

[veronak]

Re: Refusing to upgrade to a new form of technology - Anyone done it?

I held off for a long time when I purchased my first dvd player...originally selling for $200+ when I finally bought one I got it for $63 so I was happy no regrets. and now I am waiting on the prices of iPods to drop

[scfr]

Re: Refusing to upgrade to a new form of technology - Anyone done it?

Okay, maybe I'm weird but I'm now actually EXCITED about the prospect of skipping the MP3/IPOD phase. Maybe in 20 years when the next best thing comes along I'll buy in, but not this time around. Sorry Apple.

But I have to admit there are times when upgrading makes a lot of sense. We have just started converting our old family 8mm films (you youngsters on the board may not know what those are!) to DVD and it's really great. Not only have we preserved film that was starting to degrade, but now we can watch an hours worth of memories at one time instead of having to rewind and start a new film every 3 minutes.

[scfr]

Re: Refusing to upgrade to a new form of technology - Anyone done it?

I am so much older than you guys and I don't have a clue what you are talking about. My husband finally had to turn in his old cell phone and we got the simpliest one you can get. The book that came with it did not tell you the first thing about how to use the phone, it just assumed that you knew what to do. we still can't figure it out.

What kind of phone is it? Maybe we can help ...

[tabbycat31]

Re: Refusing to upgrade to a new form of technology - Anyone done it?

It may be a generational thing, but I've got more "toys" than most do. I have a cellphone (my only phone), ipod (I got it for my birthday), digital camera, tv/vcr/dvd combo, and computer.

I have no desire for any other tech toys at this point except a new cellphone because the one I have is on it's last strings (I got it as a gift in 2004). I'm keeping this one as long as I can though.

[titi]

Re: Refusing to upgrade to a new form of technology - Anyone done it?

Okay, maybe I'm weird but I'm now actually EXCITED about the prospect of skipping the MP3/IPOD phase. Maybe in 20 years when the next best thing comes along I'll buy in, but not this time around. Sorry Apple.

But I have to admit there are times when upgrading makes a lot of sense. We have just started converting our old family 8mm films (you youngsters on the board may not know what those are!) to DVD and it's really great. Not only have we preserved film that was starting to degrade, but now we can watch an hours worth of memories at one time instead of having to rewind and start a new film every 3 minutes.

Well, in your case the jump makes sense because the convenience of dealing with digital disks is really important. How is the quality of the produced film? A couple of years ago I wanted to convert some of my cassettes to a digital audio format but the result was very discouraging, a don't think that even a professional soundmaster could have made the converted audio listenable - there were so many hisses, noises, the voices were distorted and so on that it just didn't work for me.

[baking23]

Re: Refusing to upgrade to a new form of technology - Anyone done it?

I wouldn't use it if I had it, like a lot of gizmos, so I'm not getting an ipod, mp3, any of that stuff. I'm looking at gettign a refurbished laptop but that's just to make things easier when I move out.