Tag: gifts

January Update #

Welcome back! Now that the holidays are behind us (or in front of us depending upon your perspective), it’s time to decide whether to keep those technology-related gifts or to return them and get something useful (you KNOW I don’t mean that!).

What did you receive that enables you to connect with the digital world? My 86 year young mother-in-law received an iPad Mini. At first, she had no idea what to do with it. When she learned that she could “start” an app that allowed her to “watch” her daughter’s (my wife’s) commute, she was intrigued!

Georgi (my wife) drives a l-o-n-g daily commute. She and her mother are very close. They converse nearly every day. Now, using her iPad, her mother can actually “watch” as Georgi drives the 60 plus miles to work. I guess it makes her feel that she’s contributing to Georgi’s safety by keeping an eye on her during that dreadful commute.

Excuse me for rambling on. It’s NOT about the commute: it’s about my mother-in-law using a device – a computer, if you will – THAT is the exciting event! She’s been a technophobe for the past twenty years. She’s had no use for computers and has had no problem letting us no that. My 94 year young father-in-law however, is quite the opposite. He has a desktop and uses it almost daily. He’s owned an appliance business for 60 plus years and still works in it with his son. He looks up and orders parts, reads various news and generally browses.

Even my 88 year young father uses a desktop. While he was consulting, a practice he stopped dome years back, he made his own travel arrangements using his computer. Who says Senior Citizens don’t embrace technology!?

Somewhere at the beginning of this note I asked you a question: “what did you receive…?” When you have a moment, write and tell me what and what you do with it. I’d like to share you stories in the hope to provide others with some ideas about what they might do using technology. Its fun, it’s safe, and you really can’t break it (very easily anyway! 😉

R.

 

First blog post

Hopefully, you’ve already read Page 1 and About Us and know why we’re here. That said, this blog entry is intended to get you thinking about the holidays ahead; particularly about gifts and giving (well, maybe a bit about gifts and getting!). Seems everyone wants tech stuff: computers, tablets, smartphones, and toys (drones, robots, bluetooth speakers, homes security devices, B-I-G screen TVs, wireless home music systems, multicolor, dim-able LED lights, doorbells with cameras and speakers, … the list goes on …

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT HAVE ANY FINANCIAL INTEREST IN OFFERING THE FOLLOWING OPINION. I have no connection to manufactures, mobile phone service providers (“carriers”), nor any other financial interest. The opinion expressed is my own. Feel free to take it with however many grains of salt you choose! ; )

Do you have a smartphone yet? That really should be on the top of your list! What IS a smartphone, you ask? I’m glad you asked ;). It’s a phone as you know phones AND it’s a computer! That’s right: it’s a computer. Not to worry, though. It’s much easier to operate than a computer: it simply has all the power and capability of a computer. You can write messages with it (email and text). You can take and share photos with it. You can use it as a navigation aid when traveling. You can watch television and movies on it.You can use it on a golf course to see how far the pin is from where you are now, use it to play your favorite music, and you can use it to play games. Oh, and you can use it to summon help in a number of ways so you’re always just a couple buttons press away from help!

One of the challenges of obtaining a smartphone is determining which “carrier” (provider) to use. (Remember when the phone company was “the phone company” and your choice was to have a phone or NOT to have a phone?) Now, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and a host of others want your business and compete vigorously for it. You see, “carriers” earn their income charging you access fees to their communication networks. You phone calls are one charge, your data usage is another charge. (What’s “data usage”? More about that later). Some carriers will GIVE you the phone for FREE provided you agree to, and commit to, an annual (or two year) contract. Costs range considerably and you should conduct a bit of research to determine what’s best for you. (RESEARCH? Yes! Chat with neighbors, family and friends. What phones do they use? What carriers do they use? What do they like most [and least] about their carriers and their phones?)

Smartphones offer peace-of-mind, information, education, and entertainment. They are a small price to pay for some digital involvement in today’s digital world.

Somebody on your list could (probably) use one; and if you don’t have one, you need one!

Check back in a couple days. My next post is about “apps” – they’re the applications (programs) that enable your smartphone to do things. I’ll describe some of the nice-to-have, good-to-have, and need-to-have apps.  See you next time!

Richard