The Stolen Olive

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March 03, 2006

Techno-Meme

Here is a new meme I stole from Dima over at Generation Lost, and the title of her blog is very appropriate for this meme.

**Oh yeah, and SPF is down there.. just scroll.

1. Do you remember when you saw your first computer? When did you actually use one? What about having your own? Do you own a laptop? (PC or MAC?) Have you gone wireless at home yet?

I don't remember when I saw my first computer, but I do remember the Christmas 1983 when I got an Apple IIc from Santa. I didn't have much software for it, but I would play the Lemonade Stand game on it for hours on end. I have since had 3 PCs and a Macintosh. I still have my Apple IIc and my Macintosh. My two old PCs died and were trashed. I don't have a laptop, yet, but I do have a handheld, so I had to go wireless.

2. When did you first go online and/or use email? Who did you email back then? How did the Internet change your life? When did you discover blogging? What about your home internet connection - is it dial-up, DSL, or Cable?

I first went online my sophomore year of college. Baylor gave all students email in January 1994. This was right after the tragic loss of someone really close to me. I mostly used email to keep in touch with another friend going thru the same loss. We would sit in the computer labs for hours and email each other back and forth... we called it Therapy.

The internet has changed my life, because I used to go out shopping and spend money when I was bored. Now I just play Mahjohng online. I started blogging in February 2005 after seeing the debut of the blog known as Ness(a)Lee.

I have Cable-Broadband internet at home. I know its more expensive than DSL, but my home phone runs over VOIP, with a company called Packet8, so I save money on phone bills, so it averages out.

3. Do you remember your first VCR to DVD? What about a video camera (there were some bulk ones back in the 80s and 90s) and home videos?

My aunt bought us our first VCR. I remember that we were like the first people on our street to have one. We taped moves off of TV all the time. I still have all the tapes, I guess I should go thru them and see what is on them. I also remember that the VCR was the first thing that was ever stolen when my house was robbed in 1984. My parents had a video camera that you had to play on the old projectors, but they never bought one of the newer ones. I guess I should also get those movies converted to either VHS or DVD.

4. When did you switch from VCR to DVD? How did it change your video viewing experience? Do you use TiVo or any such "contraption" to tape TV shows? Do you use Netflix or some other internet-based DVD "renting" service?

I got a 5-disc DVD player for Christmas in 2003. But I still had so many movies on VHS that I didn't use it much. Then I found Netflix. That DVD player died last year and it wasn't until I received one for Christmas that I started really looking and buying DVDs. I have a DVR in my cable box. It is set up to tape "Two and a Half Men" and "House" every week.

5. What about music? Did you enjoy listening to favorite music in Long Plays or did you prefer cassette tapes? When did you buy you first CD player and switched to CDs? Did you abandon them (and turned to downloaded music) for MP3 players or iPods or do you still buy CDs?

I had a record player as a kid, but it always seemed like I needed a new needle, and as the years went on, needles were harder and harder to find. I loved my 8tracks. My parents raised me to like their music so we would pop in the 8tracks of John Denver, Neil Diamond, Three Dog Night, The Beatles, and Kris Kristopherson whenever we were in the car. We still have those 8tracks somewhere.

I actually didn't buy my first CD player. I won it as a door prize at my senior prom. I was the only one of my classmates that actually won something that night. All the other prizes went to dates of classmates that didn't go to our school. I have 13.3GB of mp3s stored on my computer and they are also on my Dell DJ.

I hadn't bought a CD in years, but last weekend while I was in Houston with my best friend, we both bought the same CD set. We found it at Target and it was only $9.99.

6. Do you own and use a cell phone? Do you think it's useful or just annoying? Did you always have a telephone in your house growing up? Did you have a phone in your own room?

I have had a cell/car phone since I got my drivers license when I was 17. I use my cell phone as my major form of communication and my VOIP line after that. My landline phone is ONLY for my alarm system. We had a phone at home my entire life, and I had my own phone in my room from age 3. My great aunt bought me a Mickey Mouse phone when I was 3 and a Princess phone when I was 12.

7. When did you first buy a digital camera? What kind was it (3.2, 4.0, 5.0 MP or better)? Did you start taking more pictures or were you a photo aficionado before then? What about a digital video camera?

I got a digital camera for Christmas in 2002. It is a Kodak Easy Share LS443 but I don't remember what the MP rating is. I didn't really start taking pictures until I started my blog in 2005, and I'm still not good at remembering my camera or taking pictures worth a hoot. My camera will take digital video as long as there is room on the memory card.

8. What about television? Have you already embraced the new technologies, such as HDTV, plasma, and flat screen? (On the other hand, you wouldn't remember black & white TVs, would you?)

I think I was 23 years old before I finally threw away my Panasonic Pink TV that my parents bought me for Christmas one year. I know they had fun with the Speigel catalog that year because I had a matching pink alarm clock, jambox and stereo! I have a picture at home I think, I'll have to go look for them.

The only reason I threw away my pink TV was because it started smoking and flames were coming out the back of it one night when I turned it on.

I still have the TV I bought the night after the pink TV's untimely death. As long as I have a computer and the internet, I could survive without a TV so I guess I probably wont buy a "next-generation" TV until the one I have catches on fire.

Posted by FutureFoodTVStar at March 3, 2006 11:40 AM

Comments

I recall my first computer. It was in 1993. It was a 25mhz powerhouse with a 200mb storage capacity, 8mb of ram, 16 colors and totally state of the art. It cost me $1,026. Prior to that I had a word processor that I thought was super-cool. Before that I had an electric typewritter.

My first email was sent to my friend Larry who had just gone online.

Posted by: Jeff Vachon at March 3, 2006 05:40 PM

I had records when I was a kid and I still collect them today. I have about 1000 of them and 3 or 4 record players. (Some die, I pick up new ones at yard sales..it's easy to lose count.)
Love the Kenny Rogers. The last cd I bought was Josh Groban - Closer when it came out which was a couple of years ago, I believe.

Posted by: andrea at March 3, 2006 08:33 PM

You are truly a geek for doing this all with pictures! AWESOME! :)

Posted by: Dima at March 6, 2006 08:47 AM