ASHLEY EVANS OP/ED EDITOR
Technology is moving faster than my senior citizen mentality can keep up.
Cell phones are becoming intense contraptions. I can never open files sent to me on my home computer because Microsoft Word 2007 is incompatible with everything else ever created. Even the Macs in the J-Lab offer too many options for my Windows ’98 mindset.
Whenever I open an e-mail to find an attachment with “.docx”, I cringe. While pleased campus has updated with the times, I was perturbed to find out I had to download a converter pack so my ancient Word 2003 would suffice.
As if that wasn’t enough of my oh-so-precious time wasted, it took me days to find the header/footer button. Literally…numerous days.
I still haven’t found the thesaurus, which is killing me on research papers.
It wouldn’t be so bad if I could actually afford the new Word, but the “Office Professional” update price of $329.95 is a serious doozy. Should I pay one month’s rent and use the old program? Or should I skip paying rent and use my laptop, homeless, on the curb?
Networking sites are picking up their game, as well. People forget that a mere year ago, Facebook revamped its entire site and oodles of groups were created in angst as students across the nation refused to conform to the new style.
Now, a movie staring Justin Timberlake is being filmed about the founders of the infamous networking site.
How...entertaining.
But then Twitter, not to be outdone by its predecessor, came barreling into our lives, creating such a hype that even the government space agency NASA tweets.
The NBA recently even put into place a rule prohibiting players’ Twitter use during games. This is deemed normal and necessary, a sign of technology addiction.
Not all youngins are as tech-ually hindered as I am. Most students my age crave iPhones the way children in Africa do food. Some salivate over the new Googlewave. (Don’t know what Googlewave is? Maybe the times are creeping past you, too, my friend.) Others do things with their cell phones that I still haven’t figured out how to do on a computer.
Yet I feel like I am caught up with the times in most other areas; I swear I was one of the first to jump on the “Glee” bandwagon, I discover good music before it comes on the radio and I own numerous, colorful iPods.
So what do I do about the technology gap I have so stubbornly created for myself? Keep complaining about things until I am .docx-ed to death? Or should I just surrender and sign up for a new two-year agreement on my cell phone, downloading as many of the 75,000 iPhone applications as possible? Could I just become an honorary member of the Amish instead?
Perhaps I can hold out until my phone from 2004 breaks. I just hope the ever-useful birdcall app is still available for the iPhone when that time comes.