OK, you are a luddite.

Posted by: Elliot Whitmireson on February 23, 2003 05:19 PM

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If it's that important I write it in my pocket diary, which never needs re-charging and is more readable (to me anyway!) in poor light.

Posted by: Philip Chalmers on February 24, 2003 05:50 AM

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A bad customer service experience doesn't equate to all technology that one personally doesn't like should be banned. Maybe I like a filofax, let me use it. Maybe I like something else. Don't dictate my choice to me.

Posted by: libertarian on February 24, 2003 04:41 PM

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1) The notepad. It cramps my hand during sustained use. I can't share the notepad with anyone else because no one can read my handwriting and it makes me look unprofessional. The information is locked away, requiring rescribbling, or rekeying, to transfer to another medium. Laptops rock.

2) The ice-cube tray. Refilling the tray with water is a chore. Whenever I need ice, the damn tray is near empty. What ice is there is only half there because it's begun to evaporate and take on that nasty "old ice" taste. Automatic ice makers rock. I control ice output with a switch. The machine does what I want when I want it.

3) Books. I am forced to scribble notes on my notepad regarding key sections so I can easily return to them later. I also permanently deface numerous sections with a yellow highlighter with extra notes. The book is rendered an extreme annoyance for anyone other than me because of my graffiti. Electronic books will rock. Search, index, annotate, manipulate. I gleefully await the day all text is available electronically, and all monitors have better-than-paper resolution so the whiners can't bitch about eyestrain. I never understood that complaint either. Use good area lighting and increase the monitor brightness and you're good to go.

4) The traditional letter. I have to grab my notepad to look up the sender's address. I get papercuts handling the paper and envelope and the horse glue tastes nasty. I never have stamps around, or the postage rate has gone up and I need extra 3 cent stamps. So I'm forced to drive to the post office to buy stamps and mail the envelope which will probably arrive late, or worse, get lost. Postal mail is such a pain in the ass that anything I do send is months late because I keep putting off the chore. E-mail rocks. If you do e-mail, you hear back from me same day.

5) The gas stove. Forget about following recipes. Medium heat for 10 minutes? How high a flame constitutes medium? Should I measure the flame? Stick a thermometer in it? Gas is faster on the stovetop, but electronic is easier to follow recipes.

6) Live pets. Yeah, ok, live pets rock. The day computer pets go mainstream is the day I climb into the attic, dust off my pet brick, and let it rejoin the family unit. Same difference.

Posted by: Jimmy Twonuggets on February 24, 2003 06:16 PM

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Oh yeah... the real reason palm computers suck is that 9 out of 10 of the boobs who use them never used "personal organizers" or "schedulers" or notepads before buying their pocket PCs. They bought into a marketing image, techno-hype. Such a person can be succinctly described with two words: hipster doofus.

Posted by: Jimmy Twonuggets on February 24, 2003 06:24 PM

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I like this piece, and understand the title. It seems that if you don't think all technology is better than sliced bread, you might as well be a luddite. There are certain things that we, as humans, will probably always have a sentimental feeling for and be unwilling to give up. Most of the things on the author's list, for example, have big emotional significance for most people.

Compu-pets are not intended to be "better" than live pets. They are intended as a substitute for people who cannot own live pets for whatever reason... allergic to animals, work long hours, erratic schedule, etc. I would much rather see people owning a mechanical dog than have animals die of lonliness, neglect, or abuse.

My PDA is used approximately once a week, to look up an address or phone number or to jot a note I want to keep for a long time. I haven't used it on a daily basis for about a year, now. Paper is just easier. And books? Oh, please. Reading on a screen is hard enough, but I would miss the tactile feel of a book with pages that turn.

Posted by: Lydia on February 24, 2003 09:00 PM

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it's hard to play solitaire while sitting on the crapper with a real deck of cards though

Posted by: Mick on February 24, 2003 09:13 PM

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Why play solitaire on a PDA when you can reenact the glory days of Sub Scan? Can you say depth-charge?

Posted by: Franky Labou on February 24, 2003 09:33 PM

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