2 posts tagged “technology”

Over the past weeks, I've had to admit that my life's completely entwined to the whims and whatnots of a certain someone, and realizing now that I have to live without this lil' red string for about a month starting Friday is making me slightly nervous.

I am, of course, talking about my laptop.

Having had a busted monitor light for quite some time now, I finally got the determination together to admit that I have to send it off for repairs, because there isn't going to be a point in my immediate future when I wouldn't be completely and utterly dependant on it.

So the UPS-guy's picking it up on Friday.

It's funny to realize just how dependant you actually are of a functioning computer: notwithstanding the fact that I need an internet connection and a functioning office-setup to be able to work effectively on my courses and whatnot, but without a computer I'm also without the means for any graphical design or computer aided design whatsoever, meaning I'll be spending long hours at the university in the near future instead.

Apart from losing a means to work, I'm also losing my TV, since it's setup via my laptop ( though, if you'd ask, I wouldn't admit having one - pseudolegal reasons). Away goes my music library as well, my means to watch DVD:s or other movies for that matter, the only machine nearby with enough 'oomph' to be able to render the stuff I'm working on and a means to recharge my mp3-player.

That's right.

It didn't hit me until yesterday, but I don't have your usual AC-output for my mp3-player, since it's charged straight via the computer. Which means I'll be losing my other lifeline as well. Taking into consideration that I also live in a single-room apartment, I'm pretty sure my friends'll be getting quite a lot of "I'm bored" -phonecalls in the meantime.

Silly dependance on technology. Bah.

Few things make me feel as useless as modern technology ( well, that and ready-made dinners).

Speaking of food, the first time I really felt as an unneeded human layer in the mesh of modern techno-society was when my parents had their kitchen redone. While it did turn into quite a nice kitchen, the overall moderno-cleanliness and streamlined appliances constantly kept me on my toes, waiting for a mechanical arm to come at me through the roof, grab me by the throat and tell me in a very HAL-like voice that "You are superfluous." - after which it'd crush my esophagus because, well, that's what kitchens do, right?

In a slightly ironic way, the only real thing halting technology from going forward is the fact that most of it has to be ( or is) dumbed down for your Average Joe. Cars have now become so simple to use that most of us don't even have to do anything except turn the wheel - that is, until the day you try to take a left and the car says "No" ( which it pretty much does already, thanks to modern GPS).

And if it's not dumbed down, it's up there like captain Kirk; have you ever tried to configure a computer's BIOS settings just so you'd be able to install a program required by your task at hand? Yeah, well, it's come to this.

*sigh* I still remember the days when folks didn't walk around with three different Internet-enabled devices constantly at hand.

I still remember Napster - and that stupid 'de-doo-doo-kssshhh' noise that our dial-up would do...

Now it's all automated lighting, Wifi, fusion power [ we're still working on that one] and mp3-players

At the very least, my toaster still burns my toast like it always has...

... but the minute it starts taking voice commands is the day I show it gravity's still kicking it old school.