People stood in line for it...
People camped out for it...
Now I have it, too.
Now, I have to master it! A young man at the Apple Store spent about thirty minutes showing me the basics of using the multiple features of the i-Phone. Then he sent me off on my own. Now I have a whole new thing to learn.
Three years ago, I didn't know the first thing about the internet. I didn't even know what Google was. I felt like I was becoming a dinosaur, out of touch. A lot of my friends were communicating by e-mail and I was missing out on things. At the time, we had a ten-year old computer with a dial-up connection... you know, the one that made the screeching and buzzing sounds. My husband insisted we didn't need a new computer. He had a new computer in his home office, but I couldn't use it as it belongs to his employer and has all kinds of security codes.
Over a couple of months, I did my research and began saving up my money. I decided to get a little laptop, a MacBook. I found out I had to go an hour up to Cincinnati to the Apple Store to get one. So, I drove up and got my MacBook. I was afraid of it at first. I brought it home, set in on my dining room table and plugged it in. I had no idea how to make it do anything. I signed up for some classes at the Apple Store, and learned the basics.
Soon I realized I needed an internet connection. My husband and I argued about it for weeks. He insisted we could splice my connection in with his company connection so we wouldn't have to set up a new connection for me. It turned out we couldn't do that. I tried the phone company, but it somehow interfered with the connection he already had. I finally decided we needed a cable connection. However, our house was not yet connected to cable. I couldn't convince him we needed a cable connection so, dare I say, I took matters into my own hands.
One week when he was out of town I called the cable company. The next morning, a man was out front digging in our yard. My next door neighbor called, asking me if I knew what he was doing. "Yes!" I told her, we are getting cable! Then another guy had to come out to set up my internet connection.
I was on the web! I began discovering a whole new world! Of course, at the time I had no idea of what a "blog" was. It didn't take me long to find them, though. I began reading blogs, linking to more blogs, and setting up bookmarks. I found my favorites and read them regularly. I didn't leave comments because I had no idea how to do it. But I read the comments that others were making. After a few months of lurking, I took it upon myself to learn how to set up a Blogger account and make comments. After a few more months of this, I decided to create a blog of my own. And the rest is history.
Sometimes I can't believe how much I have learned over these past two years. I read my favorite blogs every day, and have made contact with some lovely people. It's amazing... I can communicate with people all over the world from my own house. Now, with the i-Phone I can do even more. I can take it with me in my pocket and watch movies, listen to music, get e-mails, and read blogs. When I was a kid, the 21st century seemed a million years away... now, I feel like a part of it!
But, first, I have to master this i-Phone. Here I go again... wish me luck!
7 comments:
Awww, now I want one!
Yes I tell my kids, it's like pen pals I had growing up.
Writing snail mail to people all over the world.
I loved that format then and I love this format now.
Keep us posted on your IPhone learning curve.
Mim
You are awesome. Staying up late for an Eagles concert is one thing, but mastering the technology and new fangled stuff... sincerely I tell you, I am in such awe of you. I depend so much on my husband and it's a bit shameful how little I figure out for myself. You are my inspiration for independent-take-action-keep-up super woman behavior!
What a great post of your journey into the internet world. I laughed when I read your account of taking matters into your own hands! Sometimes a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do and hang the consequences.
When cell phones got smaller way back when, I said I would never carry a phone and be in touch at all times to everyone. And actually, I never did. I like to roam incognito for the most part. I seldom carry the phone unless I go to the big towns and that is just in case I need help on the road, only if I breakdown once I enter the mountains, the phone won't work anyway! I have to admit though, your little phone is mighty alluring. I, like Susan and you love Apple. My first computer was one of those desktop Apples that came in outrageous colors. I had purple. I learned on that one. Now I have an Ibook and an ipod and a wireless network in my house. You should look into that next. All you need is a router. It is very cool to be able to take the computer on the porch or the bedroom or the couch and work and play.
Aren't those apple places just the coolest. Good luck getting the hang of your new iphone. Apple stuff is generally pretty simple and user friendly and if worse comes to worse you can take a trip back to the apple store and chat with the techy types at the genius bar. You need to borrow my nephew Michael he's a certified macophile/genius and helps me with all my apple computer tech stuff. Happy weekend. Xo S.
Thanks so much for the encouragement, ladies. Today I bought an "i-Phone for Dummies" book, so I could learn how to turn the thing off. I guess I left it on all night and it had to be charged this morning. It has a "wake mode" and a "sleep mode" as well as an "on and off mode". I have to figure out the difference.
Susan, I wish I had a techie genius like your Michael to help me with all these issues. i just stumble around by trial and error, and my husband is not any better. We are just a couple of "old fogies" trying to keep up!
And, yes, I do love to visit the Apple Store... it has a cool vibe, doesn't it?
you are cool.
I don't own a cellphone and don't want one... actually, if it wasn't for a few important calls every so often, I wouldn't bother with a land line either...I hate phones. I hate when everybody jumps like slaves to answer the ring in the damndest places... I mean, really, why take them to funerals? If I am busy, I don't even answer the phone.... they can leave a message if it's important.. and I might call them back. Phones on every ear "up" the ambient noise pollution by volumes.. and I hate being captive and privy to loud conversation about the weirdest things... and the names, details, and info. dropping.. geez...I could blackmail several people already........
I'd just like to shop or browse in peace some day... guess it's well past that now, isn't it?
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