Okay, since 2000-ish, what new technology do normal people use?

[RoughCollie]

My kids are dying laughing all because I asked two simple questions. They are:

 

Do they make cell phones now that can take videos?

 

Is there sound with those videos?

 

Then my marvelous children remembered a couple of years ago when we got a cable box with a DVR. I was so excited to get this brand new technology.

 

I figured I'd come here to ask -- What else am I missing that everyone else takes for granted?

 

(I know about text messaging, although I don't know how to do it. I know about iPods. And laptops.)

 

Thanks,

RC

[Jen500]

I frequently video chat with family members on my mac.

[elegantlion]

Wireless printing, my favorite.

 

The DVD player remembers where you were in a movie, even if you take out the movie and play another in between. I think that's fascinating.

[Beth in SW WA]

 

(I know about text messaging, although I don't know how to do it. I know about iPods.

 

But have you touched/seen/experienced an iPad? I'm convinced the internet was meant to be experienced with touch-screen technology in that shape/size. You can listen to an audio book (free) whist reading said book (free) whilst emailing, surfing, gaming, texting, shopping, etc. (As if one wanted to do all those actions simultaneously.)

 

I'm most impressed with instant photo/video uploads to Facebook. Everything is so 'now' :).

[Truscifi]

Not just the iPad. Touch screen tablets in general are the jam.

 

Also, surfing the internet on your cell phone is now common.

 

Ooh, and syncing your mp3 player with your car radio so it plays through your car speakers. Much better sound that way (plus you're not supposed to drive with earphones in).

[RoughCollie]

Thank you very much.

 

Now I won't feel so dumb, at least for a few days until the next new thing comes out. :)

 

RC

[Laura Corin]

Not much has changed since 2000 for me. I still use my mobile for talking to people - I know how to send texts but I don't do it much. I don't have an MP3 player, although others in the family do. I use a laptop that has a camera, but I've only ever taken a few photos with it. I like our Sky (satellite TV) box, which records programmes and series for me and allows me to search for titles. I have a digital radio, but I'm not very impressed by it. That's about it.

 

Laura

[RoughCollie]

Not much has changed since 2000 for me. I still use my mobile for talking to people - I know how to send texts but I don't do it much. I don't have an MP3 player, although others in the family do. I use a laptop that has a camera, but I've only ever taken a few photos with it. I like our Sky (satellite TV) box, which records programmes and series for me and allows me to search for titles. I have a digital radio, but I'm not very impressed by it. That's about it. Laura

 

Are you normal? Of course you are! But take that with a grain of salt, as I am a person who has always been called "weird", and it doesn't bother me one whit!

 

I take my cell phone with me when I leave the house, so my kids and I can stay in contact, and in case of emergency. I don't see the point of using a cell phone to go on the internet, send texts, and so forth. The screen and keys are too small, and messing around with that stuff annoys me. I feel quite high tech since I bought cordless phones for our house last year. I like phones that hold on to the phone numbers of calls that are made and received. My mother and my sister have been after me for a couple of years to get Skype -- then they upped the ante by trying to talk me into some kind of video phone calls. So far, the regular phone is good enough for me.

 

I have an MP3 player, but I rarely use it. For one thing, when I start dancing around to KC & The Sunshine Band, my dog barks at me and tries to herd me. For another, its existence rarely crosses my mind. I used to listen to the car radio, but where we live now, the songs are about things like Big Green Tractors -- those songs don't resonate with me, and we get only a couple of radio stations out here in the sticks.

 

I don't have a laptop. I dislike using one because they don't have a mouse and they get hot (well, warm -- I've never been close to being burned). I do have a desktop, which suits my purposes just fine. It won't play WOW very well, but that's all to the good -- no one else wants to use my computer. We do have wireless internet at our house, thanks to me figuring out how to do it, so I'm not a complete Luddite. I do have a wireless printer that also scans, faxes, and copies. I use it for printing. I haven't figured out how to make the rest of the features work, mostly due to lack of interest.

 

I read SpyCar's thread about the iPad he won -- it sounded neat, but didn't make me want one. I looked at a friend's Kindle last week. Still don't want one, although it would be convenient to have if I took trips frequently. I'm going to hold out for version 4 -- by then, maybe Amazon will find a way to make it do the dishes, too.

 

We have a DVR, DirecTv, a TV, a PS3, a Wii, and a DVD player -- but I never use those. DH watches all the Red Sox games, but he has to wait until DS3 turns on the t.v. Neither DH or I know how to operate all those boxes without help. I don't use them, so I don't need help.

 

Basically, when we went to Lancaster County, PA, last week, I decided that making the transition to being Amish would not be difficult for me. There aren't very many differences between the women's lives and mine. I'd have to learn to can food, to operate a washer that runs using propane, to drive a horse & buggy, to grow vegetable plants that actually produce more than 3 veggies each, and I'd have to give up my computer and my car. That's it. The Amish people I talked to said "everyone" uses cell phones and people are allowed to read any books they want.

 

DH and my kids are a different story -- DH could not practice his profession if he were Amish and my kids are horrified at the thought (for very good reasons), and no one in this family besides me is interested in being self-sufficient to that degree (some days I think to any degree).

 

RC

Edited July 4, 2010 by RoughCollie

[Sahamamama]

Last weekend we went to my husband's company picnic. There was a surreal moment when, in the middle of eating corn-on-the-cob, I looked around and EVERY employee of the company -- there were at least 30 of them -- was simultaneously checking their Blackberries. The office staff had sent them all the same email, at the same time, to let them know that power had been restored to the office, and they could now receive email! :lol: To see that many mature adults dutifully putting down their food, wiping their fingers, and pulling out their "Brains" was hilarious. Like little robots, responding to a signal.....

[abbeyej]

What about "on demand" movies? ;) Either through your cable company/box or through Netflix. I think the fact that I can sit down and order 1,000s of movies and tv episodes instantly (and "free", considering I've already paid for them either through my cable or Netflix account) is pretty amazing.

[Sahamamama]

The songs are about things like Big Green Tractors -- those songs don't resonate with me.

 

:lol::lol::lol:

[JFSinIL]

 

The DVD player remembers where you were in a movie, even if you take out the movie and play another in between. I think that's fascinating.

 

I am convinced it is magic!

[Peela]

I have an amazing computerised machine in my kitchen called a Thermomix (I am not sure if they have been released in the U.S. yet. They have been in Europe for years though, apparently).

 

thermomix.com.au

 

It cooks, grinds,is a very highpowered blender, it weighs, and it is easy to clean. So I can put the cake ingredients into it, weigh them as I go, whizz it for a few seconds, pour it into a tin, then put the cake in the oven.

I can make a soup or curry and cook it, including weighing ingredients.

I can whip cream in about 15 seconds. I can make butter if I keep it going another few seconds.

 

It grinds wheat into flour, rice into rice flour etc, in about one minute.

It grates my parmeson or normal cheese in about 10 seconds.

It grates carrots or beetroot in 7 seconds. Cabbage in 5.

It is a rice cooker. It has a steamer that sits on top.

It is better than a breadmaker (IMO) because I can measure then grind the grain, then add the other ingredients and knead, then take it out, let it rise, then cook it. The measuring/ kneading part takes a couple of minutes.

 

It makes our green smoothies in seconds. The blender is very powerful. It can also make juices by blending fruit and/or vegies with water, then straining.

 

I love technology that helps me to also be more creative. I cook things I would never have tried before. I make my own spelt puff pastry and vegetarian sausage rolls. Cakes, bread, soups, curries. Chocolate. Breakfast porridge. Sorbets from frozen fruit.

 

Sorry, had to brag. Love my thermomix. Cant wait till WTM members start getting them and I can share my glee!

[elegantlion]

here's a few more:

 

My dh uses his phone for everything. It's a Palm Pre. It also has GPS. I still think it's funny that the phone talks to him.

 

I have an older phone (it tech speak it's ancient, at least two years old). I've started texting more and complained to dh I need a new phone because I don't have a QWERTY keyboard, mine is like a phone keyboard and it's horrid for texting. I never thought I would want to upgrade my phone because of a keyboard.

 

Dh rarely watches a show on TV. We use netflix or online.

 

You-tube can be used for more than posting videos. It's also a social networking site. Ds is building some sort of empire on you tube with other like minded gamers and game card enthusiasts.

 

We buy one time use debit cards a lot. Our mall used to sell Visa brand cards. They were great, you registered it online, never an issue. They recently switched to American Express and you have to actually CALL to register the card, you can't check the balance online, you have to talk to an actual person. I was miffed. :glare: I used to do a lot of that stuff early in the morning before I could form a coherent sentence. You want me to call and talk to a person. :001_huh: I so prefer to do things like that online without the assistance of a human.

[Julie in AZ]

Clearplay that edits DVDs as you watch.

 

Redbox $1 rental movies.

 

Roku to wireless stream movies and television shows from Netflix and video on demand from Amazon.

[stripe]

I have an amazing computerised machine in my kitchen called a Thermomix (I am not sure if they have been released in the U.S. yet. They have been in Europe for years though, apparently).

 

thermomix.com.au

 

Holy mackerel! Sounds amazing (but expensive).

 

Ahem. Here are some articles about it.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124112844457074685.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/20/magazine/20food_.html

Edited July 4, 2010 by stripe

[Ellen_TX]

I frequently video chat with family members on my mac.

:iagree:Love Video Chat! Grandparents, aunts and uncles just a great way to keep the family in touch. It is free online too.