Technology

(I apologize if you're getting this the second time around, but I forgot to add the few pictures of the girls in the middle, the rest is the same post)

 I recently acquired a Kindle Fire.  

One evening shortly after this acquisition, Stan called for my help from the other room. 

 This is what he was doing:

Taking pictures of all of our handheld, portable electronic devices.

From left to right:

ipod nano, ipod classic, ipod touch, iphone 4, HTC Android phone, Kindle Fire Tablet, Toshiba Thrive Tablet

 So pretty all lit up :-)

Hers and His.  I outnumber Stan by one device.  But really, it's so tiny it shouldn't count.

And no, Miriam doesn't have her own device.  But that doesn't mean that she doesn't know how to use them, because shes does, and often.

Even Eliza can't be put off by the glowing screen.

It was a little embarrassing to have all of our electronics laid out on the table like that.  It forces you to admit guilt to a technological addiction.  Let's not even get into TVs and computers.

I won't go into to details of how we actually do really use ALL of these devices, but we do.  That is why we haven't parted with an older gadget as we've acquired a new one.  

However, do we NEED them all?

Probably not.  Seriously, how many different ways does one really need to access the internet and music?

And just to remind you of how far technology in these areas have come since I was a child (we won't even go back as far as my parents' childhood :-)

When I was a kid, this is how we listened to music:

Cassette tapes and the radio.  I remember Jody and I would record songs we liked off the radio so we could listen to them over and over.  Of course, you had to stop and rewind...

And in Elementary school, this was the peak of technology:

Playing "Oregon Trail" on an Apple Computer.

Now I can listen to music on my ipod nano, 1" squared.

I can access the internet on my phone that fits in the palm of my hand.

Scary to think what might be possible in another 30 years!