Not really. I have been watching Easy A, so that title seemed to dedicate itself to being on a blog entry
It has been 24 hours since my phone has been doused in coffee, and it went all huffy. Well, it is not 100% yet. I did manage to switch it on ok, but it quickly froze and wouldn’t switch back on. So, back in the rice it went. Where it still is.
The saddest thing about it all, is how lost I feel without my phone. Over the last few years, I have got used to doing EVERYTHING through my phone, from blogging, to taking pictures, to sending emails. When something THAT useful is taken away from you, it feels strange, and you realise how dependant you have become on the one product.
Whilst having an all-in-one product is great, and is what every technology company seems to be aiming for, there is a few downsides. The reason that I still have my music seperate from my phone, for instance, is because I just like having it on it’s own. And in moments, where I am phone-less, like now, I can still listen to my favourite band on my walk to work. And that’s it really. Whilst it may be more convenient to have an iPhone for everything, it may not work out so good when it goes down, and you find you can’t access everything. You rely on that one thing so much, that if you don’t have it, you lose out on a lot.
Back, even as few as 10 years ago, a mobile phone was that, a phone which was mobile. You could text and phone, and that was pretty much all it was used for. If you lost it, then you would just find a payphone or housephone to use for your call. But now, There are less payphones on the streets and more people are going without a landline for their homes all because more people have mobile phones. So that is annoying, then your emails, lack of Twitter access make you realise that it isn’t just a mobile phone anymore. Even the basic feature phones have more uses than just for phoning people. And when it is gone, you are left with nothing.
It makes the value on things such as books, music, photos, things that are frequently used as modes of expressionism, to decrease. The actual price won’t, but they are becoming nothing but files. And files, as anyone who has dealt moderately with a computer can tell you, can easily become corrupt or locked, with the user losing access to it. And this is where the digital con comes in. If you lose an album on your ipod, because it is corrupt, you delete it and head for the itunes store to get another copy. But, unless you pay again, you won’t get another copy. I am sure that I am not the only technology user who has been bitten by this. Yes you can back things up, but what if that goes wrong and won’t load. What if you lose hundreds of pounds worth of music, books, etc?
This is why I like having things separate, and having physical copies of things. Yes, the world of the mp3 download has made my life a lot easier. Especially when it comes to buying records that I can’t buy or order anywhere in a physical form. But if I can, I will always buy a CD or record before an MP3. I will always buy a book, before an ebook. And I will always have a camera and iPod, separate from my phone.
It maybe sounds crazy, but it is who I am. Crazy. 🙂 And without my iPod I would have no music to entertain me when I am on my walks. What do you think? How do you prefer your technology?
Music- Peter And The Test Tube Babies- I’m the Leader of the Gang
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