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There’s a lot written about how buying more things creates more work: you learn how they work, maintain them, and fix them when they break. Who wants that?
In an earlier piece I explained why I don’t want an iPad, showing how my laptop does everything I need. My phone is a cheap old LG on a $20-a-month no-contract plan with 400 minutes. I use it for calls and the occasional text—no web browsing, games, or movies. My work and blogging already demand a lot of online time, so I rely on a laptop and a desktop for blogging, portfolio management, and everything else. I also have video and digital cameras. That’s enough for me.
Preparing for a conference call, I bought a webcam and speakers for my basic desktop. While in the store I checked out the Amazon Fire eReader and some tablets with the idea of adding one to my holiday list. The Fire is affordable and fine if you want an eReader that can also browse the web, but without a USB port or word-processing tools it won’t support the online writing and editing I do. I still prefer reading real magazines and books.
I tried a budget Acer tablet because it had a USB port and could run a word processor. But the salesperson warned that typing on it effectively means using one or two fingers—slow and inefficient. I play board games like Scrabble, Rummikub, and Trivial Pursuit, watch regular TV, and do my serious work on proper computers. I don’t need more tech when I’m out and about; I try to experience life directly, not through a screen.
I don’t feel the need to be online from my phone or to check email constantly. Nothing is that urgent. I might be behind the curve, but I weigh time and money carefully. Time: I’m online enough already. Money: why pay $75 or more a month for phone service I don’t value, or spend several hundred dollars on another gadget that won’t improve my life and might raise my stress?
Am I just a dinosaur, or am I passing up something truly useful?
