Do you keep up with technology?

[maniac]

This stems from a conversation I recently had with a friend who saw my house for the first time the other day, it went something like this.

 

"Wow, I thought your house would be full of all the latest gadgets?"

"Why's that?"

"Well you work with all this technology at work, it's just a bit different to what I imagined"

 

We then had a long conversation about where the pre-conception comes from that because I happen to work with all the technology at work, people would also expect to find my house kitted out with it. We never really reached a conclusion, except to say I don't see the point in buying something I don't need, or replacing something that works.

 

He's right thou, my house is like a relic from the mid to late 1990's mainly because it was then I got my first proper job, and could actually afford to buy stuff. I've just never bothered replacing it because, to be honest, I don't see the point.

 

For example my TV is a big chunky old CRT one, my DVD player dates from 1998, my stereo setup from 1996, surround sound amp from early 2000's, even my mobile phone is 4 years old and I only changed that because I had to. I don't have an I-pod or PDA or organiser or even a personal laptop (although I do have a work one) My PC is about 4 years old, again only changed because I had to. I do have a flat screen monitor, but that to is about 6 years old. My digital camera is about 6 years old, my printer is an old laserjet 4 from the mid 90's etc. etc.

 

So are you a technology guru who just has to have the latest gadget, or are there other people like me, who may work with some pretty good technology, but don't really buy into it personally - not because you can't afford to or aren't aware of it, but purely through choice?

 

Discuss . . . .

 

Mike.

[powdarrmonkey]

I keep up with it, to answer your original question, it's part of my job (and interests). I actually buy hardly anything though.

[joe90bass]

I don't keep up with all the gadgets. We have a chunky CRT here, bought 6 years ago when I moved into this, my first house. We do have a Blu-ray player, simply because the missus DVD player and my 8 year old home theatre died at the same time. I went blu-ray as it was on offer, and means when we eventually get a nice new shiny HD TV we don't need to get a new DVD/Bluray player! My PC is at least 4 years old, the missus has a laptop which I bought for her 30th last summer - it means I get to use my PC when I want

 

A teacher today made a joke about my phone, it's a Sony W810i, it does all I need, and some more, he was expceting me to have an iPhone or something similar. I did look at getting a smartphone a few months back and decided I didn't need one.

 

I do however have 3 bass amps, 4 bass guitars and a guitar...

[tmcd35]

I used to. When I had credit cards and thought I had more money than sense. I'm finding more and more that I don't need it, though the Gadget Show still makes me drool each week.

 

The only 'gadg' I own that I don't think I can live without any more is the iPhone. Internet/E-Mails/Music everywhere.

 

Got the flat screen tv and PS3 but hardly use them. The laptop is from work (although good spec) and I have a few guitars. 'bout it really.

Edited March 18, 2010 by tmcd35

[computer_expert]

A teacher today made a joke about my phone, it's a Sony W810i, it does all I need, and some more, he was expceting me to have an iPhone or something similar. I did look at getting a smartphone a few months back and decided I didn't need one.

 

Brilliant phone!

 

it may be an old one, but it certainly was one of the better SE handsets they produced (along with the k750/k800/k810) back in the day. The DB2010 platform that the w810 uses is rock solid compared to some of the newer stuff that SE phones run on.

 

I have a 3yr old k810 myself and it does everything i need it to (make calls, send texts & take pictures etc).

[sted]

to a point. all monitors/tvs are tft (use a 32" hdtv on the pc as i use media centre) couple of games consoles (wii/360) and a few older ones in cupboards (dreamcast/gamecube lynx/gameboy colour/advance/sp) laptop ive decided to wait till this one croaks as it was a £1200 laptop new (diddnt pay that though) and my last one is still going strong and thats a 6 year old asus. phone dont own a personal mobile just use whatever work give me atm thats an e71. Keep debating changing my 7ish year old sony strdb780 for an amp with hdmi to simplify thing (use it as a video switcher for consoles and pc) but im too cheap to replace a perfectly good stereo that has never given me a second of problems and has been used pretty hard and often. same with the old crts i cant bear to bin screens that are good screens even though the chance of me using them again is slim

[AngryTechnician]

I used to be into gadgets when I first started in IT, but a few years of early-adopting and smartphones that never bloody worked right put paid to that. I only bought my first flatscreen TV (a lowly 32") this year, and generally a gadget really has to be worth the money for me to shell out. No games consoles, no surround sound, and a standard build Dell as my PC. We use the PC as our media centre in the lounge, along with the most gadgety thing I own which is the diNovo Mini keyboard we use as the remote. We do have a stereo somewhere but since moving house we never bothered hooking it up. I think it must be in the loft.

 

My mobile is a Nokia 2630 (had to look the model up), it cost me £29.99 on PAYG a few years ago. I put £15 on it about once every 4 months and that sees me through. I have also never owned an MP3 player of any kind.

Edited March 18, 2010 by AngryTechnician

[TwoZeroAlpha]

I like gadgets and browse/read/learn about plenty. But I don't have the means to go buying this that and every other thing that comes on the market. I do have a PC and Laptop and netbook and PDA, but they are 3, 4, 1, 3 years old respectively and all serve various purposes, although PDA will go on next phone upgrade.

 

With the summer coming all my disposable income is likely to be heading towards one of these

 

Flexifoil Blurr to power my buggy.

 

not that the missus thinks i need any more kit, might have to sell something.

[EduTech]

I like gadgets and browse/read/learn about plenty. But I don't have the means to go buying this that and every other thing that comes on the market. I do have a PC and Laptop and netbook and PDA, but they are 3, 4, 1, 3 years old respectively and all serve various purposes, although PDA will go on next phone upgrade.

 

With the summer coming all my disposable income is likely to be heading towards one of these

 

Flexifoil Blurr to power my buggy.

 

not that the missus thinks i need any more kit, might have to sell something.

 

I want a go on that it looks like great fun!! do you lift of the ground and everything???

[witch]

Disposable income? What's that? We have old but good computers, although the children have pretty good machines but they are 1,3 and 5 now. They will all have a nice laptop for Uni. We dont have a nice TV yet - did save up but then the dishwasher blew up...

I love watching the Gadget show too but I never think of buying anything. If we ever have any spare money it goes on holidays - taking all three children (well, at 21, 19 and 17 they arent exactly children) to Sri Lanka this year

 

I have got 2 French Horns though

[TwoZeroAlpha]

I want a go on that it looks like great fun!! do you lift of the ground and everything???

 

Not with that one, but I've got a 4metre Flexi Blade3 and a 9metre Ozone Frenzy that have lifted me skywards on more that one occasion. The Blade is a massive jumpy monster If you've ever in North Essex on a sunny weekend give me a PM.

 

(sorry for thread divergence)

[tech_guy]

My friends and family all laugh when they come round and see the 29" Sony Trinitron in the sitting room, expecting me to have a 50" plasma or suchlike, but I paid almost a grand for it back in 1998 and it's a brilliant TV. The sound is absolutely amazing. I'll keep it until it blows up.

[Origin]

Pretty much yeah. Build my own computers, have a couple games consoles (though actually don't use them all that much these days), smart phone, HDTVs hooked up to computers, etc. Also my own linux server.. is that going too far? heh.

 

I've met a lot of techs / network managers who don't seem all that interested in the tech stuff at home though. Don't know if it's down to lack of disposable income or lack of interest.

 

Smart phones are kind of an oddity. I used to have no interest in them, but after using one there's no way i'd want to go back to a dumb phone. They do a lot of stuff that you don't really think will be useful til you actually use one for a prolonged period - mobile email and the calendar reminders have helped a ton with my organisation for instance. Battery tech really needs to improve though.

[glennda]

I have a rather big computer with dual screen - did have a large 37" tele but i moved out and sold it to the mother do money to buy a sofa so have a 20" crt that i bort from argos about 5 years ago for 50 quid. I had an xbox 360 but gave to my little brother as i got bord of it, just bort a nexus one and the novelty factor is wearing off but trying to work out what to buy next!

[Dos_Box]

I have quite a few 'new' (4 years to present) home entertainment devices such as an Onkyo AV Amp, Marantz DVD player (to replace my old one which blew), a home made media PC with Blu-Ray, yet my main speakers, Bose 201s are 13 years old and I brought them tax free in Bosnia, my wireless router is 7 years old and any devicesI dobuy areeither on offer or in sales as I don't belive in paying book price for them. My main weakness is laptops. I currently have 5. From my Acer Aspire One netbook, Acer 6930 blu-ray media laptop, IBM Thinkpad T60, Lenovo Thinkpad SL500 work laptop to my new HP Probook 5310m which is to replace the Lenovo. I get them from ICT Direct at silly prices so I never pay full whack, but it may be time for a mini-auction.

[localzuk]

Not really, I can't afford to. The best I manage is having a decent phone every 18 months.

[tech_guy]

TBH I'm not much of a gadget person although my G1 is the best thing I have ever purchased and I'm never more than a couple of feet away from it at any moment in time. I'd be lost without it.

[localzuk]

TBH I'm not much of a gadget person although my G1 is the best thing I have ever purchased and I'm never more than a couple of feet away from it at any moment in time. I'd be lost without it.

 

Agree with your comment on the G1! Brilliant device. I bought an extended life battery for mine from ebay. Ok, it now has a lumpy back but I've yet to drain the battery in a day.

[Origin]

TBH I'm not much of a gadget person although my G1 is the best thing I have ever purchased and I'm never more than a couple of feet away from it at any moment in time. I'd be lost without it.

 

Yeah it's pretty awesome huh? I'm replacing mine end of the month with a Desire - gonna miss the physical keyboard though.

[sparkeh]

I keep up in terms of stuff I need to know for work but don't have much interest in gadgets unless it's something with a practical purpose that solves a problem for me.

 

In fact just looking round we have a pretty low tech house which I like after dealing with tech all day at work.

[PiqueABoo]

are there other people like me

 

Me. YMMV but some of that is probably because knowing a bit about them, I can see how worthless some of those gadgets really are. Age/experience can count too, as in very little new stuff is actually a new *concept* .. smaller, shinier, faster or whatever isn't enough to stop it being something you've seen before in a dozen incarnations i.e. boring.

 

Last real gadget: One of the early HD based MP3 player/recorders 10 years ago.

[CHR1S]

I love anything gadgetey... and untill my mortgage I brought whatever I wanted, well that changed pretty smart ish lol!

[EduTech]

I would not say i have any fantastic gadgets as such, i do have alot of tech equipment though but i tend to only get it if i need it or have a use for it and generally i only have alot of kit because i like to learn and test things i am sure that will change when i get a bit older have a house to pay for aswell i suppose.

 

currently looking around my room i have

 

- PS3 with 32" Samsung TV

- Projector connected to my Xbox360

- Fairly Decent Desktop Computer

- Fairly Decent Laptop

- iPhone

- Dual Screen Dell Monitors

- Alarm Clock

- Hydrolic Chair with lean back mode

- Speakers

 

...... Books?

 

and not forgetting to 2 Dell PowerEdge Services which currently run Exchange2010, SharePoint 2010 amongst other things aswell as my new installation of SBS 2008 all for testing purposes

[marsdenprimary]

I don't have that much gadgetry really- it can be too distracting. A laptop is bad enough!

 

I've always been a gamer so i have a PS3 with a 32" LCD telly, an i-Mac for recording my music and a PC running Linux.

 

I've got some ancient technology known as a Piano and i'm discovering my own internal, highly advanced bio-technology known as my body... it's amazing once you start using it properly for manifestation, hugging and tapping

[elsiegee40]

Keeping up with technology.

 

Read about - yes; interested - yes; afford it - sometimes... so no the house is littered with new technology