Technology

So I was eating breakfast and an older couple beside me started talking to each other about what's in the paper. I overheard their conversation, OK I listened in on their conversation and they were commenting on technology today. He was complaining about all the stuff available out there and that all he wanted was a colour TV. Nothing fancy, no HD, no stereo and nothing flat! Just a plain TV with a tube like the kind he had for over 25 years. I couldn't help it anymore I started talking to them about all the stuff he was complaining about and he said things were moving way too fast now. He said he had to change his stereo system last month and now he has nothing to play his vinyl records in all three speeds, 33, 45 and 78. And now he has to replace his 25 year old TV. He has never owned a Beta or VHS and will never own a DVD player, he still has a rotary wall phone that works very well thank you, without call display, call waiting, call forwarding and best of all without voice mail instead he has an answering machine!!!! I just tought to myself that I would love to visit this couple's house. Then he said "don't get me wrong, I'm not against technology just the speed of coming out with new stuff that sometimes isn't as good as the old stuff. I buy a new car every 5 years cash, I have a brand new high efficiency furnace and a brand new energy smart central A/C unit. All my appliances are space and energy saver appliances. It's the luxury items that I have trouble with. $3000.00 TVs that come with only a 1 year waranty, stereo systems that are replaced because they can't be fixed, cell phones that are out of date the minute you leave the store and don't get me started on computers!!!"

He's right you know we don't fix things anymore we dispose and replace. We recycle plastic bottles, plastic bags, cans, paper etc... but we throw out computers and monitors every 2 to 3 years, we buy mp3 and iPods every year and get rid of the "old" stuff because the new software doesn't match anymore. We buy stuff at 20x times the price and it last 1/8th of the time that the older unit lasted. Don't get me wrong I'm a gadget junky and would love to own everything that comes out but I can't afford it so I buy used stuff from people that have buy the new stuff. I figure I'm about 2 years behind the norm. Technology does have it's good points though. I had surgery this summer and was out of the hospital in 3 hours and back to work in 1 week. I have a some friends battling cancer that would probably not be around today if it wasn't for technology, we can do more, touch more lives around the world in 5 minutes than we could in 3 weeks.

So I ask you are we addicted/consumed by technology or are we just not satisfied with the stuff we already have.

Talk at you later

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