I'm from a generation where only a few neighbourhood homes had TV's when my sister and I were young... mercifully we had a B&W Philco Ford TV, then a colour in time to watch the Beatles on Ed Sullivan... in the mid-70's my highschool friends studied Fortran, a very basic computer programming language... in university it was a big deal to do exams on computer punch cards. By the mid-80's, I was studying Wordstar, Supercalc and some other program on a college computer that had giant record-like disks, and all the speed of a 3-legged turtle. In 20 years I've adapted to an explosion of home technology. However, even I have my limits. While this home has more computers than people in it, and I own a cell phone and ancient Palm device, I am lost when it comes to camera phones, MP3 technology, text messaging and now Blackberries. I feel left out when I hear people refer to the "Blackberry" generation. Apparently these were given out as gifts at the Oscars, and are so expensive that the IRS is saying that the stars owe taxes on these gifts.
An iPod might as well be a new mushroom out in the pine trees.
Who can afford all this stuff? It isn't just the initial outlay for the hardware, but from what I understand, the per call, per message, per song download charges are quite stiff!!! My cell phone might get used once a month, and we have it for taking in the car, in case of emergencies. I don't use it any more than I absolutely have to... I simply can't justify the expense. I love Skype, and all the VOIP capability it carries - I use Skype and it makes sense to me. Free is good, once you've got the headset and eyeball camera.
Maybe by the time Blackberries are nearing extinction, I'll find one in a discount store and be able to tell my grandkids about getting in on the tail-end of Blackberry culture. All while mooning them on my camera phone. Right - when llamas fly.
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