My Nemesis - Technology

Well, I've gone and done it again. I was given lots of Amazon Gift Cards for my birthday, so today I ordered the Kindle Fire. I'm sure it will be another frustration for me before I figure it all out. Really all I wanted was a reader to take on trips, to doctor's offices where you wait, and other places where I have to wait and I can just pull this out of my purse and read. But NO - I can watch movies, listen to music, play games, email and surf the web all from one little 7" gadget. They are not specific in letting you know which or if all of these things cost extra money. I'm sure they do so I will probably only use it to read books and emails when traveling.

 While we were looking at several of these today to get an idea of what I might want, Deedie asked "what is an app?" I actually knew that one from listening to Mitzi and Lisa talking. But it made me wonder about the terminology used in all types of technology. Are some people born knowing what an "app" is, what an hourglass means other than what we used to think it was, did everybody know a "mouse" was a way to move your "cursor" around, and what a "cursor" was in regards to a computer. I've taken 3 classes recently at the Farmers Branch Senior Center on the picture organizer called "Picasa". The teacher used terms like "import"  and "export" as though we knew exactly what each command did and where to find it on the screen. Did everyone but me know that "noise" means a grainy or blurry picture. I think there's a Secret Society out there that whispers these special terms in selective people's ears so they know what they mean before they are ever used. I still don't know the difference in a "GB" and a "MB" .

My son, Dennis, taught me most of what I know about using computers. He thought it was ridiculous that a "lay" person had to know so much in order to use a simple program. He said most people didn't know how a car's engine worked and didn't need to know in order to drive the car. I totally agree. Even the books for "Dummies", of which I have several, are not much help to me. They use words to explain words and I don't know the meaning of either. The world's vocabulary has completely changed since I was in school and I am clueless.

It doesn't comfort me a lot to realize that my great grandson to be, Gabe, will probably learn all of this before I do, so I think I'll just wait and let him teach me how to use my Kindle. I'm sure he will like it because it has lots of books and games for children.. Guess I could just go the library and check out a book, but that's done electronically now too and you never talk to a human. I usually slide my card the wrong way and gum up the works and have to find someone anyway.

I do have one new activity that I just started this week. I joined "Netflix" where you choose from a selection of DVD movies or television shows and put them in your "queue". They send you the first one in your queue and as soon as you watch it, you put it back in the envelope and mail it, and they send you the next one you have chosen. I've discovered they get it the next day and I get my next one the day after that. Amazing. And all for only $8.00 a month - as many as you can watch in that length of time. Now if I could just figure out how to work our new DVD player.