My friend Dee and I are currently having an IM chat about her computer…and why it won’t let her watch LotR on it. Tonight, that is. She’s watched it on there before, but for some reason, this evening it will only allow her to see the pictures. That’s right, no sound. Now, I’m as fond of watching hobbits walking left to right as the next person, but after the first twenty minutes or so, I like to hear what they’re saying, as well. So I can certainly feel her pain…
Needless to say, at the moment, she’s about ready to throw the stupid thing out of the window (don’t worry, she needs a new window, so it would be no great loss). I, of course, love my computer — my laptop, which my wonderful husband bought for me earlier this year. Actually, I love it when it does what I want it to do — I hate it when it doesn’t. Rather like my husband, come to think of it…
I remember, back in the old days (when we actually had to walk across the room to change the channel on the TV), we were all told, by the powers that be, that technology would simplify our lives immensely. Machines and computers would do the work for us, we’d have much more leisure time, and we’d all live happily ever after. Oh, and we’d save loads of trees because everything would be electronic — no more paper. Yeah, right! Instead, we carry our work with us everywhere we go now — at home, in our cars, on our belt loops. And there are more different types of printers out there than there are computers to attach them to! Americans take less and less vacation time every year — and even when we do vacation, we take our laptops and our cellphones and our PDA’s right along with us.
I suppose the Age of Technology has made us more productive. It has certainly added to my life. Without computers, I might never have become a writer (I hate to hand write anything — I have lousy handwriting and my hand cramps up too quickly). But I do rather miss those rainy days when I would curl up in a big chair with a good book. Of course, I still indulge myself whenever a new Harry Potter book comes out. Think there’s any chance JK Rowling would write an eighth one? I could use a day off!
