Technology you (didn't always) love

[golentan]

So, this is a thread about technological innovations you thought you wouldn't enjoy but now are addicted to in some way. For me, the new one is my e-reader. Story spoilered for people who'd rather skip to talking about their own e-piphanies.

I love books. I used to stay up late with a flashlight under the covers reading. I read a book to five every week growing up, until well into high school. I love the smell they have, the feel of them in my hand, the hushed feeling they provide to libraries and bookstores, the very idea that this technology is so good that it's been around for thousands of years and has enriched untold millions of lives.

Basically, my reaction to books was this:
http://cdimg3.crunchyroll.com/i/spire1/cb3e7fc231766f046f8d428f377e46761224992730_full.jp g

Then the bookstore I used closed. There were other bookstores, yeah, but none with as good selection in the genres I enjoy, at least not within an hour's drive of my home. I moped around a while. Then I realized: I have pretty much my entire RPG library as pdfs anyway, I can get an e-reader and have my entire rpg collection at hand at a moment's notice. When they came out, I disliked them because they had no heft, no smell, no history, but I was desperate.

So I got my e-reader, and suddenly I'm reading like I haven't in half a decade. A book a day, two days tops. I can carry a whole library in my pocket, and switch to any of 50 other books when I tire of the current one without having to lug around a 40 pound backpack to indulge myself. And the software can even track and recommend new ones in authors I wouldn't have glanced at twice before, and who I'm now enjoying. My two complaints are that I can't literally form a pile and sleep on it like a librarian dragon (not that I ever did, but it was nice to have the option) and that it doesn't smell of knowledge.

Anyone have a line on where I can get paper and ink scented perfume?

[noparlpf]

I'm still not very keen on e-readers, even though I have a Kindle now, but then, I'm still not over the horror of reading that college writing classes has instilled in me. I like reading (mostly fantasy, and some sci-fi), but it might be years before I can read a novel as easily as I could back in high school or earlier.

Anyway, I tend to have trouble adapting to new technologies (despite, you know, growing up with them, being not quite eighteen and all), but I can think of one. The Portable Music Device (mine is a 120 GB iPod Classic from...wow, it's three years old).
My mother bought me an iPod for the holidays back in winter of '08. It was at least a month before I even opened the box. Now, I love it. I don't carry it as often as I used to now that the headphone jack doesn't work and I need a complex array of cables to adapt from the charging jack to an auxiliary jack, but I almost always have music playing from it on my speakers when I'm in my room.

So yeah, I still have a tape recorder and some tapes in my room, and a VHS player or three stacked in the corner. I kind of want to find a way to convert EVERYTHING back to Beta cassettes, but I doubt that will happen anytime soon, or ever. And in general I hate touch screens. But I like laptops, and wi-fi, and my DS lite, and my seven- or eight-year-old flip-phone without internet capabilities, and power saws and drills.

[valadil]

I resisted a cell phone for quite some time. I just didn't feel like I was conducting any business important enough that was important enough to warrant being contactable on the go. I still don't for that matter, but I really like having my phone and phone book as the same device.

I've still managed to resist an e-reader. I'm big on the library right now and I don't want to go back to buying books. Now, the library does let you check out books electronically, but the selection was pretty slim. Last I checked you couldn't even check out digital copies of all the Harry Potter books, so I figure I'd have bad luck trying to find anything the least bit obscure. I'm sure once I pick up an e-reader I'll love it though. I'm rereading a bunch of Stephenson and his books are almost too big to carry with me on the train.

[Starwulf]

Bleck. My wife has an E-Reader, and I've given it a try, I can't stand it >< Much prefer a regular book :). As far as cell phones, I don't carry mine half the time anyways. On the plus side, it's at least JUST a cell phone. No internet or texting available on it, which annoys my friends to no end, but makes me quite happy, as I don't relish the idea of someone texting me every time they have some little inane thought.

For me, I'd say it would be my Debit Card. I resisted carrying one forever, much preferring to use cash or check, but eventually most stores wouldn't even take a check, and I feel uncomfortable carrying around any amount of cash larger then say...100 bucks. So, me and the wife finally caved and got a debit card, and we are actually quite happy with the decision. Makes things a good deal easier, and as long as we write down every single transaction, we never spend to much.

[noparlpf]

I like having a debit card, but I don't like the idea of credit. Seems like a trap by the capitalists.

I hardly ever bother to carry my cell phone even when I'm home and there's service. Up at school there's hardly any service anywhere and I just use it as an alarm clock because I don't mind waking up to the vibrate but I hate beeping or ringing alarm clocks. But I'll admit that I did text a lot back in high school. Always thought I'd never text, and then the girl I ended up going out with started texting me and I used text messages for a while. Now I still receive them because my mum still pays for the plan for the family, but I refuse to send a text message on principle.

[Traab]

mp3 players and ipods. I had a nice walkman and portable cd player, what the heck do I need with an mp3 player? Then I started working 8 hour shifts in a noisy factory that let us listen to music. It was a pain in the ass to carry a half dozen cds with me to work and switch them while doing my job. So I bought a cheapo mp3 player, can hold a few hundred songs or so, more than enough for me. I dont need some 80 gig ipod with video capability or whatever. And now I can listen to all my favorite music all day long, or even load up an audiobook if I want! I just switch it out for a new couple books and im set. With the ear buds it all wraps up and fits in my pocket and it runs off a single AA battery for a solid week of constant use. Now I love it.

[Starwulf]

I like having a debit card, but I don't like the idea of credit. Seems like a trap by the capitalists.


I've never owned a credit card, and I can say with 99% certainty that I'll never own one. One major reason is the fact that I have weak will-power, and I know that if I had one, I'd almost certainly go out and buy a bunch of crap that I don't REAAAALLLLY need, and then be stuck with trying to just make the minimum payments. Which of course leads me to the other main reason: If you try to just make minimum payments, you'll add years on to how long it takes to pay off what you owe on a credit card(assuming a balance of about 1k) because of how fast interest accrues on those things.

[noparlpf]

So it is a trap by the capitalists. I knew it. I'll stick to debit, then. And try to avoid materialism and all that.
Of course, I haven't even had a real job yet, so I have yet to worry about large sums of money except in the abstract terms of scholarships and tuition bills that my relatives handle. I'm going to do my best to get a job this summer, though.

[Lady Moreta]

I've never owned a credit card, and I can say with 99% certainty that I'll never own one. One major reason is the fact that I have weak will-power, and I know that if I had one, I'd almost certainly go out and buy a bunch of crap that I don't REAAAALLLLY need, and then be stuck with trying to just make the minimum payments.

That's why I don't have one. I got one once, out of necessity, I needed new glasses, but they wouldn't let me put them on lay-by and pay them off bit by bit and that was the only way I could afford them. So I put it on credit card and paid that off. But then I struggled not to use it, so I cancelled it. Now my husband and I have one, but it's in his name, not mine, so I have to ask permission to use it, because he has to be the one to sign/use the PIN. It works for us.

My e-reader is the piece of technology I swore I would never get. Then the husband and I got to talking about the big trip to Europe we want to do one day and how having an e-reader would be a much better idea since we're both avid readers. Then I went to NZ a while ago and he suggested we just get one. I love it. When I travel, I tend to take numerous books in my suitcase, plus at least three on the plane (one I'm reading, one in case I finish the one I'm reading and another in case I don't feel like reading either of the others). Having and e-reader makes life so much easier when travelling.

I pretty much only use it for free e-books I get from Project Gutenburg and the YA fiction I like to read. And I know, if I come across a book I really like, I'm going to want to buy the paperback version eventually.

[Traab]

That's why I don't have one. I got one once, out of necessity, I needed new glasses, but they wouldn't let me put them on lay-by and pay them off bit by bit and that was the only way I could afford them. So I put it on credit card and paid that off. But then I struggled not to use it, so I cancelled it. Now my husband and I have one, but it's in his name, not mine, so I have to ask permission to use it, because he has to be the one to sign/use the PIN. It works for us.

My e-reader is the piece of technology I swore I would never get. Then the husband and I got to talking about the big trip to Europe we want to do one day and how having an e-reader would be a much better idea since we're both avid readers. Then I went to NZ a while ago and he suggested we just get one. I love it. When I travel, I tend to take numerous books in my suitcase, plus at least three on the plane (one I'm reading, one in case I finish the one I'm reading and another in case I don't feel like reading either of the others). Having and e-reader makes life so much easier when travelling.

I pretty much only use it for free e-books I get from Project Gutenburg and the YA fiction I like to read. And I know, if I come across a book I really like, I'm going to want to buy the paperback version eventually.

I recently discovered a very good reason for me to eventually invest in an e-reader. I helped my dad move to a new place, and he had about 15 cardboard boxes full of books. Like 40-50 pounds per box at least. It SUCKED. I found myself thinking, "You know, if he had put all these on an e-reader, he could have just packed it in the glove box of his truck and been done" I love my books, I do, but I tend to be a bit hard on them, so I have to buy new copies from time to time when things like the pages falling out starts to happen. Id like to avoid spending extra money buying books I already own.

[Mercenary Pen]

I don't have an e-reader myself- but I have gotten more into reading e-books on my computer, mostly because the local libraries and bookshops don't seem to have the stuff I'm more interested in.

Project Gutenberg is a goldmine, but I get more use out of the Baen free library (http://www.baen.com/library/) personally, which is something of a goldmine for SF e-books.

[Savannah]

I've never owned a credit card, and I can say with 99% certainty that I'll never own one. One major reason is the fact that I have weak will-power, and I know that if I had one, I'd almost certainly go out and buy a bunch of crap that I don't REAAAALLLLY need, and then be stuck with trying to just make the minimum payments. Which of course leads me to the other main reason: If you try to just make minimum payments, you'll add years on to how long it takes to pay off what you owe on a credit card(assuming a balance of about 1k) because of how fast interest accrues on those things.

See, I just treat my credit card like a debit card -- if I don't (or won't by the end of the month) have money in the bank to pay for it, I don't buy it. And, unfortunately, I've found that I need one -- you can't even check into a hotel without a credit card!

So far, I don't think I've had any changes of heart for technology, though -- either I've always liked the idea or I haven't had anything to change my mind.

[Grinner]

I don't have an e-reader myself- but I have gotten more into reading e-books on my computer, mostly because the local libraries and bookshops don't seem to have the stuff I'm more interested in.

Project Gutenberg is a goldmine, but I get more use out of the Baen free library (http://www.baen.com/library/) personally, which is something of a goldmine for SF e-books.

Thank you for linking that.

[noparlpf]

See, I just treat my credit card like a debit card -- if I don't (or won't by the end of the month) have money in the bank to pay for it, I don't buy it. And, unfortunately, I've found that I need one -- you can't even check into a hotel without a credit card!

So far, I don't think I've had any changes of heart for technology, though -- either I've always liked the idea or I haven't had anything to change my mind.

Wait, you can't check into a hotel without a credit card? Not even with a debit card?

[Grinner]

Wait, you can't check into a hotel without a credit card? Not even with a debit card?

No. Generally, they want to be able to hold you accountable for damages incurred during your stay.

[Archonic Energy]

WiFi...

it seemed so insecure... maybe i've...

*sunglasses*

got over my insecurities

YEAAAAAHHHH!!!!!

[Weezer]

See, I just treat my credit card like a debit card -- if I don't (or won't by the end of the month) have money in the bank to pay for it, I don't buy it. And, unfortunately, I've found that I need one -- you can't even check into a hotel without a credit card!

So far, I don't think I've had any changes of heart for technology, though -- either I've always liked the idea or I haven't had anything to change my mind.

This is what I do, I ensure that I can pay my credit card of 100% every month. It actually earns me money, due to kickbacks and reward points so they're effectively paying me to buy what I would buy anyways. Traps are only effective when you don't know they are traps and once you are aware you can turn them back on their designers. I'm sure Sun Tzu has something to say about it. :smallbiggrin:

[noparlpf]

No. Generally, they want to be able to hold you accountable for damages incurred during your stay.

Well poop. Maybe I'll need a credit card just for hotels.

[Pika...]

Modern cellphones.

I always had the basic type. Late last year I got one of the new Androids, just so I could use it as a wi-fi hotspot for my macbook, and now boy I am hooked. It has mostly made my macbook obsolete for my everyday needs.

[Reluctance]

Credit is for hotels, and for emergencies. I had a sick pet issue where I needed to lay out more than I could comfortably take from the bank, so credit allowed me a bit more wiggle room. A friend with a similar story but who made some major credit goofs was ... not so lucky.

(Also houses and cars. There are times when it's worth paying a premium to get something now, rather than waiting until you have cash on hand. This especially applies when you expect to have the thing for a long time to come.)

As for tech, the worst I've ever done was keeping old, unfashionable cell phones until models with features I wanted came out. I tend to keep old, reliable tech until there's a compelling reason for me to upgrade, but I'm still all "coolnewtoyWANTNOW!". I just balance that against the fact that I happen to like money more.

[Ravens_cry]

E-paper fascinates me as a technology, I've been following it since 2000, and it integrities me how well it replicates the viewing qualities of paper and also how it works.
But it will be quite a while before I get me an e-book, if ever.

[Kneenibble]

There is an internationally acclaimed perfume artist not a ten minutes' walk from my home, goldenbeige, who makes me smell of the things of which I wish to smell. If anybody could make an ink and paper perfume, he could. Would you like me to enquire?

[Ravens_cry]

There is an internationally acclaimed perfume artist not a ten minutes' walk from my home, goldenbeige, who makes me smell of the things of which I wish to smell. If anybody could make an ink and paper perfume, he could. Would you like me to enquire?
Ever hear of scratch and sniff (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scratch_and_sniff)? Or those strips you see in woman's, and some mens, magazines that give a free perfume sample?

[noparlpf]

There's a shop near school that has a bunch of weird perfumes. They might sell paper-and-ink perfume.

[Kneenibble]

Ever hear of scratch and sniff (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scratch_and_sniff)? Or those strips you see in woman's, and some mens, magazines that give a free perfume sample?

uh... yes? What about them?

[Ravens_cry]

uh... yes? What about them?
Well, if not something like that, what exactly do you mean by . . .
oh, oh I see.
Yes, I too love the smell of books, preferably older books on acid rich paper, all yellowed and brittle.
It is a sad smell, the smell of dying books, but, oh, it's heavenly.
Sorry, I earlier thought you meant "printed perfume" instead of "perfume that smells like books."

[Starwulf]

No. Generally, they want to be able to hold you accountable for damages incurred during your stay.

Hmm, I had to go to Chicago recently for a friends wedding, and I reserved my hotel room with my debit card(DoubleTree Hotels) just fine, and then paid with cash when I got there ^^

[golentan]

There is an internationally acclaimed perfume artist not a ten minutes' walk from my home, goldenbeige, who makes me smell of the things of which I wish to smell. If anybody could make an ink and paper perfume, he could. Would you like me to enquire?

Probably not, actually. :smallsigh:

I have a limited budget to work with. But thank you as always for your concern.

[Drascin]

I don't have an e-reader myself- but I have gotten more into reading e-books on my computer, mostly because the local libraries and bookshops don't seem to have the stuff I'm more interested in.

Project Gutenberg is a goldmine, but I get more use out of the Baen free library (http://www.baen.com/library/) personally, which is something of a goldmine for SF e-books.

Personally, my main objection to e-readers is that they seem to tends towards terrible at parsing pdfs. If I'm going to the trouble of getting one of those, I'd like it to be able to read my RPG sourcebooks as well as more "usual" books, but my experiences with trying to read pdfs in a few tablets and similar things has been... not very good*, and in most of them you have to awkwardly move the pages around the screen in a way that makes reading a bother.

*When my freaking PSP reads pdfs faster than your reader tablet something is wrong

[noparlpf]

My Kindle can read .pdfs pretty well. Of course they're black and white and it doesn't let you search text, but aside from that it's not bad.

[Douglas]

I've never owned a credit card, and I can say with 99% certainty that I'll never own one. One major reason is the fact that I have weak will-power, and I know that if I had one, I'd almost certainly go out and buy a bunch of crap that I don't REAAAALLLLY need, and then be stuck with trying to just make the minimum payments. Which of course leads me to the other main reason: If you try to just make minimum payments, you'll add years on to how long it takes to pay off what you owe on a credit card(assuming a balance of about 1k) because of how fast interest accrues on those things.


So it is a trap by the capitalists. I knew it. I'll stick to debit, then. And try to avoid materialism and all that.
Of course, I haven't even had a real job yet, so I have yet to worry about large sums of money except in the abstract terms of scholarships and tuition bills that my relatives handle. I'm going to do my best to get a job this summer, though.

I'll back up Savannah and Weezer's advice, and then add some more. A credit card is only a trap if you treat it like free money and ignore the fact that you do still have to actually pay for everything. If you get it categorized in your head as "debit card with a little wiggle room" rather than "I can pay in the nebulous-and-therefore-ignored future", you should be fine. In fact, a credit card is actually better for most things than a debit card due to rewards programs and greater anti-fraud protection.

Note: The following advice assumes you're in the U.S. I think the general principles should still hold in Europe and other parts of the world, but some details might vary.

Also, there's one really important reason to have and use a credit card: it is very likely that at some point in your life you will want - after careful and extended consideration, not on a whim - to make an extremely high-priced purchase that is far beyond your ability to pay for up front. A house of your own, for instance, or a good new car for a less extreme example. In order to make that purchase, you will need to get a loan from a bank. The bank will charge interest on that loan. How much interest they charge will depend on how risky they think loaning to you is. Their assessment of that risk will depend to a great extent on your credit history. The best thing you can possibly have on that credit report is a long and consistent history of A) borrowing money, and B) paying it back on time every time. A credit card, handled responsibly, is one of the easiest and best ways to get that started.

Having a long record of not borrowing at all because you've never needed to is better than borrowing and missing payments, but it's still no better than average at best. It tells banks nothing, either positive or negative, about whether you can be relied on to pay back a loan, and that lack of information forces them to fall back on a middle-of-the-road guess about how risky a loan to you is. A credit report that instead shows five or ten years of regular credit card purchasing with reliable payments every month tells banks that you pay your debts, that loaning to you is a low risk proposition, and that they can afford to give you a low interest rate. Even if all you ever use the credit card for is filling up your car's gas tank (I put some of my monthly utility bills on it too, plus groceries), that's still a positive. Just make sure you pay full statement balance every month, not minimum balance, so you can avoid paying interest.

[Strawberries]

Well poop. Maybe I'll need a credit card just for hotels.

I'm not sure about that. I've been able to book hotels in Europe with a (British) debit card. Then again, the only time I went in America and Canada I used my (Italian) credit card....so I'm not sure if a debit card is accepted in hotels outside the EU.


I'll back up Savannah and Weezer's advice, and then add some more. A credit card is only a trap if you treat it like free money and ignore the fact that you do still have to actually pay for everything. If you get it categorized in your head as "debit card with a little wiggle room" rather than "I can pay in the nebulous-and-therefore-ignored future", you should be fine. In fact, a credit card is actually better for most things than a debit card due to rewards programs and greater anti-fraud protection.

Yup, that's EXTREMELY good advice. Also, keep in mind that with a debit card, an hypothetical thief may have access to the whole sum of money on your account, while with a credit card, they have a cap limit on what they can spend.

More on topic, technology I didn't like at first... smartphones. I loathed smartphones. Then my boyfriend moved to England and I pretty much had to get an iphone to use Skype/Viber for international calls, and I'm addicted.

[Traab]

Well ive got a visa check card, it works as both. I use it as a debit card, and when I need to use a credit card, like online purchases. So I would think im still set if I need a hotel.

[Weezer]

Also, there's one really important reason to have and use a credit card: it is very likely that at some point in your life you will want - after careful and extended consideration, not on a whim - to make an extremely high-priced purchase that is far beyond your ability to pay for up front. A house of your own, for instance, or a good new car for a less extreme example. In order to make that purchase, you will need to get a loan from a bank. The bank will charge interest on that loan. How much interest they charge will depend on how risky they think loaning to you is. Their assessment of that risk will depend to a great extent on your credit history. The best thing you can possibly have on that credit report is a long and consistent history of A) borrowing money, and B) paying it back on time every time. A credit card, handled responsibly, is one of the easiest and best ways to get that started.

Having a long record of not borrowing at all because you've never needed to is better than borrowing and missing payments, but it's still no better than average at best. It tells banks nothing, either positive or negative, about whether you can be relied on to pay back a loan, and that lack of information forces them to fall back on a middle-of-the-road guess about how risky a loan to you is. A credit report that instead shows five or ten years of regular credit card purchasing with reliable payments every month tells banks that you pay your debts, that loaning to you is a low risk proposition, and that they can afford to give you a low interest rate. Even if all you ever use the credit card for is filling up your car's gas tank (I put some of my monthly utility bills on it too, plus groceries), that's still a positive. Just make sure you pay full statement balance every month, not minimum balance, so you can avoid paying interest.

I completely forgot about this and I just want to second it. Having a good credit score is incredibly important, especially in this borrowing climate and the only way to get a good credit score is to show that you are a responsible borrower. The easiest, and an essentially free, way to do this is using a credit card that you pay off every month.

[noparlpf]

I suppose once I start the transition to becoming an independent financial entity (you know, getting a job and moving out and all) I'll do that. Thanks for the advice!

[Douglas]

I suppose once I start the transition to becoming an independent financial entity (you know, getting a job and moving out and all) I'll do that. Thanks for the advice!
No need to wait to get a job before getting a credit card. The sooner you get that record of borrowing and paying it back started, the better. The farther back the credit company's records of you go, the greater the effect on your credit score and the better terms you'll get on those inevitable loans from banks. I got my credit card when I was still a student in college, and if I'd change anything about that given the opportunity to make the decision over again, I'd get it earlier. Just make sure that you really do treat it the same as real money, because that's exactly what it really is, and make doubly sure that you pay full statement balance every month rather than minimum - paying that bill in full completely negates all interest on it (at least in the U.S., regardless of company thanks to it being a federal law) and also really drives home that it's real money.

Oh, and another thing to consider - if your parents have a good credit history, you can piggyback on that by getting a secondary credit card on their account. I got a secondary credit card on my parents' account years before I got my own independent card, with an agreement that I would only ever use it for emergencies or with permission, and even though I hardly ever used it at all it still showed up on my credit report - with the borrowing and repaying record of my parents' use of the account. With my parents never missing a payment and having had the account for decades (I think), that gave my score quite a boost. I discovered when I went house shopping that my credit score was over 800, easily high enough to get the best loan terms available, and I'm pretty sure my own credit card was nowhere near enough to get a score that high on its own just because it hadn't existed long enough.