More Musings About the Computer Age

I used to say that one of the best things about being a letter carrier out on the route was that once one left the office it was almost impossible to reach you. It therefore should come as no surprise that I have no understanding of the compulsion so many people, in particular young people, feel to be constantly online- and phone-connected. I've quipped that I pay at least $20/month each for the calls I actually want to receive on my home telephone—the rest would sell me duct cleaning and roofing repairs or survey my vices. And those people whose devices disturb the pianissimo sections of classical music concerts should be euthanized on the spot.

When I innocently took the plunge in November 2000 to buy a computer I knew not what I'd done. I'd inveighed against the evil empire up to that point and there are moments when I wish I could go back—particularly when I look at the impact computer time has had upon my reading. No amount of reading can prepare one for the speed with which computer technology becomes obsolete—a new model of a digital camera comes on line every 4 months. In my naïveté I believed that you turned a computer on and you used it. I had no idea the amount of maintenance, updating, new software, new versions, anti-virus, malware prevention software that would be involved. Forget Windows Vista—my system can't run it anyway—by Fall Microsoft will be releasing Windows XP Service Pack 3 and it's going to be half the size of the present installation when it comes time to apply it.

The upshot of all this musing is that I've spent way too much time during this vacation scanning Hard Discs for errors, viruses, tracking cookies and malware; defragging discs; updating software and installing new and removing old; repairing systems; and backing up data. Oh, I've written some letters—E-Mail actually, read E-mail, browsed the web, read electronic magazines, listened to podcasts and music; but working on the computer as against using it seems to take up way to much time.

Don't get me wrong. In spite of all the annoyances the advantages of having web access outweigh the pitfalls and having had the exposure there's no going back. It's just that sometimes I like to fanticize.