I want to blog about my journey through my technology education, which started in 7th grade (in 1970) when I was writing computer programs in Basic. The end product was a document or design using keyboard characters, which was all saved on a ticker tape. You spent time meticulously typing the program. There was no backspace button, no delete button, no way to edit. If you made a mistake, you started over. And then when you were done, you pushed a button, and a ticker tape was printed out. I would wind it up tightly and then use rubber bands to hold it together. We would all deliver these tapes to our lockers immediately, to avoid any problem with having them torn or damaged in anyway, because that would be the end of the program. Your grade was based on the ability of the tape to run the program that would print out what you had designed, and any little tear would destroy the whole thing.
Any way, that is how it began. Now, it does not have an ending, because I am still a work in progress. But I thought I would try to do an inventory of the technology that I am using or trying out. It may seem overwhelming, but I did not start here; this is just where I am now.
As for hardware, I have the normal sort of things. I use a Toshiba Satellite notebook, which I love, and a Palm Pre phone. I have been a devotee of Palm for many years, ever since I bought my Palm V nearly 12 years ago. I also have a few Sony Vaio laptops in my practice. There are no desktops either at home or at the office, at least none that are in use. I have a fax machine, but that is on its way out. I have a few scanners. One is a very old scanner that only scans one sheet at a time, but is still very useful. I also have a four-in-one that scans, prints, copies and faxes. That is at home. I have access to a wireless four-in-one at the office as well. I have an iPod Classic, access to my son’s iPod Touch. There are probably a few more things, like routers, modems, or accessories, but these are the primary things. I would like to get a Tablet of some sort, because it seems so cool, and I think I will probably end up with an iPhone when the Palm disappears from the planet or becomes obsolete because no one is making apps for it. And, how could I forget, I have a Kindle! (Christmas present!)
Software is a constantly changing issue. Some software is real software in the traditional sense. I own a disc or have some other mechanism for putting software on my computer, and I do not need internet access for it to function. Some software is really software that is in the cloud and, while it may run on my computer, it either doesn’t work or doesn’t work as well unless there is an internet connection. And, with my Palm Pre as a wireless hotspot, I almost never fail to have the internet in hand. Of course, I have wireless at my office and home, and at every coffee shop in between, but I do not have it at the courthouse without my wifi hotspot. And in my county, we just had a county courthouse built that has a major defect – because of the windows, you cannot get wireless service of any kind, including cell phones, in the building. This has delayed the opening of the courthouse until they can fiture this out, because the guards cannot communicate with each other while transporting prisoners! They are working on a fix.
So, what software do I have?
On my computer I have Microsoft Office 2003. That’s right, 2003. So far, so good, and if I have to upgrade, I am not sure that I will stay with that line of products. I use Word, Excel, Publisher, PowerPoint and Outlook. Of course, I have Adobe Acrobat X. I have e-calibre to manage my ebooks. I also have TimeSlips to manage my billing, and some child support calculator software.
These programs are all installed right on my computer and some of them, like Outlook, do use the Internet, but I don’t have to have an Internet connection to use them.
Then there are the things I use that work really well for me, but are somewhat Internet dependent.
The most obvious is Google Chrome. I tried Rockmelt, but found it to distracting. I have used Internet Explorer, and I used AOL, both the program and as a browser, for years. I still have my AOL email account, which I use for a few selective personal things.
I also use Google docs, Google reader, Gmail, Google Maps, Blogger, Google Calendar, YouTube, and Google Scholar. I am just getting started with Google Voice. I have also tried Glasscubes for project management.
I use Yahoo products as well. I have a “My Yahoo” page, and I use Yahoo Webhosting, which also provides me with software and templates so that I can design my website myself, along with analytics.
Since I am maintain a Twitter account, I use Tweetdeck and, sometimes, HootSuite. Tweetdeck can also help you maintain your Facebook account.
As for social media, I use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and I have a MySpace, although I have not looked at that in months. I also use Yelp, Foursquare, Open Table, Spaz, and a number of other apps on my phone. I have also “claimed” myself at Justia.com, JDSupra, and a variety of other marketing websites. I have a business page on Facebook, too. While these may not be considered software, they are certainly part of my technology puzzle.
There are probably even more apps or software that I have looked at or used, but these are the primary ones now.
Overwhelmed? It seems to be, but this is something that has evolved over the years. There was the first Palm 12 years ago, and now we are here today. Over the next few weeks, I would like to share with you the most recent leg of my technology journey. There is not much point to explaining everything since that ticker tape to today, because most of us have a basic grasp on technology. The primary purpose of providing you with this insight is to help you understand that you just have to pick someplace and jump in. How about you? What are you using? What is working for you? What got you started?
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