8 Technologies We're Thankful For
Thanksgiving is about giving thanks, remember? So, let's express appreciation for the technologies that make our lives better. These are the gadgets, apps, and tools that have earned our eternal gratitude.
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It's easy to imagine that the upcoming holiday weekend is about coping with turkeys (metaphorical or otherwise), cheering a football team, finding the best Black Friday sale, or avoiding giving your family free technical support.
But remember: Thanksgiving is supposed to be a day when we openly appreciate all that we have. Ideally, each of us has plenty of personal joys to celebrate. I hope your own list is a long one.
What's not to like about the idea of dedicating a day wherein the purpose is to remind us to be thankful? That sentiment isn't applicable only to the people (and cats) in our lives. It's about everything that helps us become comfortable, productive (or cheerfully unproductive), and spiritually balanced. Because technology often can improve the quality of life, it's worthwhile to take a few moments to give thanks for some of those technologies, too.
[It's not wasting time if we're having fun. Read 10 Mobile Games To Ease Your Commute.]
Some of these items are so commonplace, you probably use them every day and don't even think twice about how much they've transformed your life. Others might not fall under your definition of "technology," though these products certainly have a significant amount of technology required to make them possible -- and indispensable -- to our everyday lives.
This list is unabashedly personal, but I expect you can relate to several of these items. Add your own favorites in the comments section below, and together we can expand our range of "things to appreciate."
Can we take a moment to appreciate all that the smartphone has given us? Yes, it's annoying to overhear strangers' conversations in restaurants. It's scary to contemplate how many people text while driving. We're tempted to interact with distant friends on our phones, instead of engaging with the world around us.
But still, overall, cell phones are wonderful. Before we had mobile phones, we could only contact people at home or in their offices. We didn't know where our loved ones were, which caused problems both minor ("I missed my train! Can you pick me up?") and major ("Was that earthquake anywhere near you?"). With a handy device, conversations are easier. Yes, that is both a boon and an annoyance, but I can call home from the grocery store to ask, "I can't remember: Are we out of cat food?" I think we emerge on the positive side of that deal (and so do the cats).
The cell phone changed the way we do things. In the "old days" -- perhaps only 15 years ago -- you headed to the airport to meet your sister's flight armed with a book. You had to park the car and hang out until the plane arrived, without knowing if the flight had been delayed two hours (hence the book) or if she missed her connection. Then you spent time hovering at the passenger egress anxiously looking for your sister, worried that she'd come out of exit B instead of the A gates.
Now, you can sit comfortably in the airport's free cell phone lot while tracking the flight arrival with a mobile app, and get a text that says, "We've landed!"
That's just one tiny example.
Whatever their advantage in image resolution, film cameras had serious downsides. Among them: You generally ended up with one copy of a single picture, and if that was destroyed, it was gone. Not every digital photo is stored in multiple locations (and plenty have been lost in unbacked-up data losses), but at least we have options.
There was only one copy of my aunt's wedding video from 1942, and it would have been lost forever if it had not miraculously survived decades of storage in the garage.
Because of the expense of developing film, we used to be reluctant to take pictures. When each print cost 19 cents -- even the photo you took of your foot by accident -- few of us could afford to snap photos without judging if it was "worth it." As a result, we spent less time recording life-as-usual moments. I spent six months in Miami in 1979, in one of my most intense life experiences, and took a grand total of six pictures. Six. I drove cross-country and used up less than a roll of film.
Say what you will about the disagreeable elements of selfies, but they do encourage us to capture the moments that make up our lives.
In gratitude, I also extend digital photography to its larger ecosystem, with all the ways miniaturized and connected cameras that also connect us. My life has been enhanced by Skype and Google Hangouts. My bank lets me photograph a check for an online deposit. We have all benefited as well from the immediacy of news events captured live on-scene.
Social media gets a bad rap, sure. You can point to issues with privacy, productivity, and the ease of spreading hoaxes and rumors.
But, ultimately, social media gives us other ways to connect, whether as humans leaning upon one another in a worldwide crisis, or at a very personal level. If you ever found yourself in a hospital emergency room, posting to Facebook, "I never expected to check in here," you understand the value of a "Like." It says, "I am here with you," and, "I care."
Supportive comments make a huge difference in moments of great joy and overwhelming sorrow, even when it's a statement as simple as, "I'm sorry for your loss."
Plus, social media lets us contribute to each other's lives, with as much activity and intimacy as we desire to share. I know about my classmates' grandchildren, my long-ago-coworker's job change, and the latest creation by a quilter I much admire. I genuinely care about all these people, but in few cases would I pick up the phone. With social media and online communities, I touch the people I care about, and I meet more folks who care about the same things I do. My world is bigger, and so is my heart.
We once were tethered to our desks. Technology happened only if two devices could be physically connected -- and doing so wasn't always feasible. When you went on a business trip, you couldn't connect to the rest of the world unless you found a place to plug in -- whether that meant using a modem, an Ethernet cable, or a power cable (and the power outlet was always on the other side of the hotel room from the phone jack).
Now we can send email while on a commuter train, debug code in the dentist's office, and never get away with saying, "I'll look at that when I get back to the office."
WiFi, Bluetooth, cell phones, and related technologies gave us a whole generation of hipsters working out of coffeehouses. In so doing, these wireless technologies changed how business is done.
If you can't put together a gizmo easily, you might as well not have it. So every tool builder appreciates tools that help you build more tools. That means having the right screwdriver at the right time. It's even better if you don't spend a half hour rifling through your tool chest to find the right connector.
This technology fits in your pocket. It's almost indestructible. It can disassemble (and with some skill reassemble) 90% of macro-scale human gadgetry. It's five bucks at Wal-Mart. It's the six-way screwdriver.
According to my friend Jeff Duntemann, the two bits give you #1 and #2 Phillips tips, along with large (often 9/32-inch) and small (generally 3/16-inch) flat blades. Absent bits, the bit sleeve gives you 1/4-inch and 5/16-inch nut drivers. "In a few select models, the handle itself, absent bit sleeve, gives you a 7/16-inch nut driver, making it a seven-way screwdriver," he said.
Plus, if you find a source of other bits, like Torx and Robertson/square, that fit the bit sleeve of your screwdriver (alas, there's no standard) well, the rest of the universe is yours for the disassembling.
Technology doesn't always work the way we envision. Fortunately, we have technology to cope with that, too. When in doubt: You can duct-tape together things that should stay together but won't, and you can put WD-40 on items that should come apart, but capriciously refuse to do so.
That's my list. What would you include on your own? Tell us in the comments section below all about those gadgets, devices, and tools that have earned your undying gratitude.
Technology doesn't always work the way we envision. Fortunately, we have technology to cope with that, too. When in doubt: You can duct-tape together things that should stay together but won't, and you can put WD-40 on items that should come apart, but capriciously refuse to do so.
That's my list. What would you include on your own? Tell us in the comments section below all about those gadgets, devices, and tools that have earned your undying gratitude.
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