Technology. (this ones for my kids)

I've been thinking about technology lately.  First, let me say, there is no way I can cover all of technology and how it has changed in my life, but I still want to share some of the things I've been thinking about.  It started because for one of my personal progress 10 hour projects, I decided to make a slide show for our "New Beginnings" program for Young Women.  I thought it would be part of the project and the rest of the 10 hours I would spend learning a few photoshop things I've been wanting understand and be able to do.  Well, the slide show ended up taking me the full 10 hours to make.  Next time I make one it won't take so  long.  I won't go into too much detail about why it took so long, but I did include taking and fixing pictures in photoshop. Recording and re-recording voice segments.  finding pictures on the Internet to make it more interesting, and  picking songs for background music that was appropriate for the occasion and location. The coolest thing about it (and why I'm writing about it in a post entitled technology) is that I made and showed the movie totally ON MY PHONE!I used the imovie app. (if you want to watch the movie, you can find it on youtube under Kensington New Beginnings 2012- although, be warned- its not very good or exciting)    

Since Im writing about technology, Im going to turn this into a journal post about technology through out my life thus far. 

My earliest memories of technology are of listening to Neal Diamond, Lionel Richie and Alvin and the Chipmunks records on the record player. I remember thinking it was funny to make the record scratch and getting into trouble for it. One Christmas I got my own "ghetto blaster". (I only realized right now how hilarious it is that thats what we called it.) It was pink. I would take it and my top gun soundtrack to the school behind my house and play basketball. When "playin with the boys" came on, I pretended I was actually playin with the boys- hot boys with muscles. Sometimes I would make a tape of the hot 9 at 9 from the radio. That was cool. Next came walk mans. They were the best! they made car trips with the family much more bearable for all. When the CD came about, I wondered if they would last. My family was one of the first I knew of to have a CD player in their car. Our mini van was very fancy;). The CD Walkman was kind of lame. You had to hold it so still or the CD would start over or stop. I signed up for BMG music club several times over the years to build up my CD collection with the buy 2 get 20 free or what ever it was. Apple and Ipods made music so much better. I wonder what will replace itunes. I can't imagine anything easier or better (thats probably why I'm not an inventor). I probably said the same thing about CD's. its funny to think how far Ipods have come. I thought the first shuffle was so cool. Remember how you had to wear it on a lanyard type thing around your neck?. We still have our original ipod. Now my kids all have ipod touches (including Tess the 3 year old).  They don't just listen to music on them. They text, email, video chat (facetime) with my parents and brothers and play games with friends all around the country. The crazy thing is that even as I type this, I'm not that amazed anymore.  What will be next?!

similar to my pink ghetto blaster:)

cassette tapes, I don't think Tess or Maddox have ever seen one of these!

disc man instead of Walkman

original shuffle, and latest shuffle (or is it?  there may be a newer version now)

Then there was TV.  Antenna on top that you  had to adjust to get a good picture. Buttons that you had to push and turn to go through the 4 channels we had. When we wanted to watch a movie we would fo to the video store and rent a move AND a VCR.  I remember when we upgraded to a TV with a remote control!  Next we got cable.  My parents didn't pay for the extra channels and I used to love when the Disney Channel had their promo months. I used to watch kids incorporated (with Fergi and Jennifer love Hewitt) and Mikey Mouse Club (with Justin Timberlake, Kari Russell, JC chasez, Brittany Spears, and Kristina Augilera). Around this same time I got my own TV for my room!  it was black and white and the screen was about 6 inches wide.  I thought it was the best. After I was told to go to bed I would stay up and watch TV.  On Saturday night I watched love boat or Remington Steel trying to stay awake for Saturday Night live. I was rarely able to stay awake past the fake commercials that followed the opening and "live from New York, its Saturday Night".
     Now we have a TV that is flat and mounted on our wall. I personally think the picture and sound are great, but apparently Jordan doesn't. When he gets home from Kenya (I'll tell about the trip in another post) he said its time for us to get a new TV. Before you think he's totally shallow, our TV is breaking down a bit. Half the time we are watching tvyoutube and netfilx and check facebook from the tv (i guess our computer and phones aren't enough;)

This probably isn't the brand Jordan wants.  I don't know.

PHONES: This is the part my kids are most amazed by.  None of them have ever used a rotary phone, unless you count the toy from the 70's that has a face that my grandma still has at her house.  They laugh in amazement when I tell them about when I was their age and I would stretch the cord phone all the way from the desk in my parents kitchen into the front room to try to get a little privacy, so I could talk to my friends on the phone.  They were baffled when I told them we didn't always have caller ID and that we had to answer the phone and wait for a reply before we knew who was calling.   They thought it must have been such a pain to have to write down a message or miss a call when we were not home and not even know who called.  When Ellie complains that she doesn't have a phone (well she does have Jordan's old iphone 4, but we haven't turned on service) I remind her I didn't have a cell phone until after I had her.  They all (including Jordan) laughed until their sides hurt when I told them about how  in high school I would drive around with my dad's cell phone and pretend to talk on it so people passing would think I was so cool.

     



This looks exactly like my parents first cordless phone:)



Zack Morris (from Saved by the Bell) on one of the first mobile phones



I love my phone! I have an iphone 4 (not even the 4s) and I don't go anywhere without it. I try to be respectful and safe and not text while I'm driving or look at facebook when I'm with actual people. But its so amazing. I have had a Franklin planner since 7th grade, and couldn't give it up until I got the iphone because it has an amazing notes and calender and reminder system. I can read or listen to my scriptures, listen to conference talks, find out where the nearest bank is (but who needs a bank when I can deposit a check, transfer money or see recent bank activity with my phone), carry coupons, get directions, see the weather, rent a movie, make a movie, watch a movie, listen to music, take and edit pictures, play a game with my mom, email people, read a book etc etc etc!!!!!!! When my dear friend Miki got back from her mission in Japan, she was lucky enough to go back for a wedding pretty soon after. She told me that the her Japanese friends teased her because her cell phone could only call people. I wonder whats next. What are they doing on their phones in Japan right now that is going to blow my mind?

Back to Technology.  It is an amazing blessing and a curse.  It has made our lives so much more interesting and information better available, but I can see that its only going to get harder to monitor my children and myself and EVERYTHING, good and bad, is easier to access.  Yikes!