It took many years after the introduction of cell phones for me to break down & get one. I now have no land line & exclusively use my cell phone. But even with that - there are days it never rings. I have a plan with 450 minutes & I've never even come close to using them all. I don't pay for the privilege of texting. I will get an occasional text from someone that doesn't realize I'm still living in the dark ages in that regard & I finally figured out how to do it so that I could respond to those rare instances I got one where I was asked a question. But I really do just prefer that my phone be a phone.

How about you? Do you have the latest & greatest techie phone? Are you addicted to it?

I realize that this was just a cutsie prank for some laughs & the possibility it could go viral on youtube, but it's just another example of out of control communication. (By the way - it hasn't had that many views on youtube yet - but they were on national TV being shown on Good Morning America yesterday!)

Oh I saw that. Amusing, but silly, IMO. I have a cell phone that doesn't get used often. And a land line, which I never thought about not having, plus I think I need it for my cable hook-up. Again, the phone doesn't ring often, but when I'm home, I prefer to use the land line. I'm still not convinced cell phones aren't emitting too much radiation (there are studies...). I have Bluetooth in my car for the first time, and like the fact I'm not holding a phone to my head if I'm driving. Talking while driving is distracting enough. Texting? Only with very special people... My next cell phone will have a full keyboard, because I get really annoyed typing the other way.

I would feel completely lost without my computer, but the rest of it could disappear and I wouldn't miss it at all at this point in my life.
My kids have their Ipods, I phones, laptops, small netbooks, portable DVD players, Kindle, etc.
I have resisted changes most of my life... 8tracks to cassettes, floppys to CDs, VHS to DVD... I tend to be the last to make the change...LOL

Ladyd...I know what you mean. My daughter has a Blackberry & my son has that new Droid & they're like an extension on their arms 24/7.

I did quit using my desktop computer & converted to a laptop. And, I do have a netbook, because it's so much easier to travel with than my larger laptop. It has my power point presentation on it that I use for the class I present at some of the meetings I attend. I'm sure I frustrate my son to no end - he created that presentation for me, and anytime I need to make changes/additions to it, I have to get him to "help" me (in other words - he does it all) because I can't remember from one time to the next how he does it. He knows all these shortcuts that I don't "get".

I've had 2 MP3's & didn't fare too well with either of them. My daughter is constantly making fun of me because I still tape things on VHS. I also still have some LP's - but nothing to play them on.

Does this mean we're officially old farts? Ha!

I am an early adopter. Always have been.

My cell is my everything phone. I use it for personal and business, but mostly business. It lets me know when I have mail from my business accounts. I get and send texts, mostly business related. My iPhone includes maps (in case the GPS gets lost in Boston), my calender for home/work, a camera with stills and video which I use for both work and personal purposes, I can take notes and make voice notes, among other things. I'm investigating iPhone apps for the law office for the iPhone. I put it on vibrate only when appropriate. I probably use it more for its applications than for its phone functions.

If you were in the two desk home office with us partner you'd hear my partner's phone chime all the time from incoming mail while mine just flashes up with a new number in the inbox. They both vibrate or chime for text messages and sometimes I ponder that it sounds like an intensive care unit with the beeping, chiming and humming of the vibrator in the phone. LOL But, we are aware of the demands on our time. And because you can get a business call almost any time in our work, it means we want to know what is happening, although I rarely answer business related calls after 9 at night.

I'm a technology early adopter and that's good, because my professional life depends on it.

I use Magic Jack for the office phone/FAX so when I get a message it emails me the voice message in a .wav file and I can listen to it wherever I can get my email (assuming it has a sound card). You can't beat the price. ($20 a year)

I have 2 macs and 3 pcs, three printers (one laser color, one ink jet fax/scanner/printer/copier) and one portable printer, plus a label maker and a portable scanner. We had an occasion to take a laptop, printer and the scanner to a hospital to do an emergency will on the spot for the dying person to sign. There's a reason this stuff exists, only most folks never use it so it seem extraneous. I've used this system at courts for documents created on the fly and we can scan in the signed original and email copies to everyone, or if they have a flash drive I can give it to them on the spot.

TooYoung - you have to use things consistently to learn how to use them. Its not that you're an old fart, its that you're not motivated to actually teach yourself how to use it. Perhaps you are too busy doing other things, however if you had to learn or not have the presentation, you'd be surprised how motivated you'd become. 8^) Its like cooking, you learn through repetition.

I taught myself PowerPoint by creating study sessions for my law school classes using them. It is not a complicated program unless you're recording sound bytes and creating sound/slides. Its like any skill, you have to practice and you have to take notes to refer to as you're going to forget some of the finer points - or you can use the help function of the program. view link has a free PP tutorial for beginners. I'm sure you can buy a "Teach Yourself" book on it like view link

However, the issue seems to be not helping people find sources so they don't have to be dependent, but the motivation to learn something new. I have less motivation to learn the remote control than I do how to work the technology that enables me to run my business. We all have our strong and weak points - sometimes my SIL has to give me a hint on something (he's a techno-wizard), but mostly he just points me to sites and I teach myself.

I only have one CD player left (except in the car) and now rip all my CDs and put them on iPods. I use iPod players in the house which provide a speaker system for my iPhone or iPod. Once I have the CDs ripped, I back them up to a second drive (in case the computer crashes) and then I can give the CD to a friend. I also download from iTunes (which is often more cost effective since rarely do I want more than 1-2 songs from a CD). I have vanishingly few CDs that I keep to play in the Bose CD/radio. I have no VHS equipment, but I don't record TV. I'm likely to watch shows on HULU. I debate shutting off the cable (as I did the phone) and just keeping Internet service.

While I remember not having all this, I also remember that it would have been a life saver (literally) for folks to have had it before. I admit than I am connected more because of business than because of personal life, but I do like having a phone with me and I like having a camera with me and having it be the same device. Now phones are computers with phones in them. Star Trek rules! :^)

I don't, however, have a kindle. Most of my books come from the library. Why pay for a book when I can get it free? I only pay for books I'm going to read multiple times or that I am using for a specific purpose.

My bff in Tucson recently got an iPod Touch, which I like. It has a Net connection and all the apps, but no phone. I'll get one, down the road, but not until I discover I either really need it or it is useful for me to have. In the meantime, I'm with TooYoung -- I want my phone just to be a phone.

After I lost my house this summer, I found my self with only my cell, no more land line. I have moved from place to place since then (getting ready to move again, for 6 mo, then move again), so a LL isn't an option, but I did like it. It had caller ID and a great speaker function, along with a port for a headset. (Holding a phone for a long time would hurt my elbow.)

I used to have a rule -- no one could call me on my cell without prior permission. No, people do not look important when their phone rings every few minutes. They look servile -- anyone can get to them anytime. Of course I've had to relax that rule quite a bit, but I don't make many calls anymore, and I don't take many. Most of my communication now is face-to-face or online.

And I refuse to speak on my cell when I am driving, Bluetooth or no. Too distracting, which equals too dangerous. The danger is far more from misplaced attention than it is from taking one hand off the wheel.

I actually like tech advances (somewhere along the line I will master a dual transmitter DVR), but as with all things -- moderation is the key.

I still have a land line which is my primary phone I use for communication; it's one of those that has a built in answering machine to take messages if I'm not phone. 2-3 years ago, I got a pay-as-you-go cell phone to have with me when I'm out, using it primarily for emergencies. Until a few months ago, I had a car that was breaking down frequently, so I needed something to call for help. Now that I do have reliable transportation, I haven't used the cell phone all that much. I guess I'm behind the times!

Well, I have a land line and a cell phone which I only use it for emergencies... Sometimes my son gets angry because I forget to turn it on.LOL Both of my children have Blackberries and they die for them....
I love my brand new one week old MacBook, and without her, I'll be lost... LOL

I have to admit to you All....I'm addicted to mine! lol Now I'm not saying there arent' days when I'd love to just shut it off. But I keep in contact with my daughters and special friends.

Then if your in a relationship, it helps there too if your a few miles apart.

Maria...I'm addicted to my computer too - I have to confess. But I hope to never be so addicted that I think I need one of those computers that tries to pass itself off as a phone! Ha!!

upsidedown...if I was lucky enough to be in a relationship I might have to rethink it. Ha! But I can keep up with everyone else plenty good with just my computer.