That Thing Called Technology

I consider myself as a late adopter of technology. Never really was the type of guy that would salivate over the newest and latest gadgets the minute they're released—even though for most of my career, be it in the technical training, multimedia, even publishing, it requires some degree of knowing the trend in order to tell everyone else about it.

One event triggered this. Six years ago, flash drives were anything but commonplace. The sizes range from a puny 32MB to a wallet-busting 256MB. I was a college student in multimedia then, who needed the extra storage space but doesn't have access to a burner-equipped notebook (I didn't even own a notebook then) to constantly create a copy of my Flash or Photoshop files on a disc. A 128-MB flash drive was the best option—matter of fact, it was the only sensible option I had. So off I went to the local Best Buy. I asked one of the sales associates what I wanted, and he stared at me for what I swear was 10 full seconds. Only then that he I guess got over the initial shock of not knowing what the hell I'm talking about, did he direct me to the PC peripherals section, and said it's right next to the floppy diskettes. (He probably just guessed it, but it was a good one because that's exactly where I would start to look.)

Off I went to that section, and imagine my shock when I saw the ticket price of that flash drive. The damn thing was $60. I don't know about you, but when you're a college student, sixty bucks is a lot of money. But I said I needed it so I swallowed my pride and gave up 3 $20 bills, begrudgingly, to the uncaring cashier. (She was just there to work. She doesn't care that I will spend the next 2 weeks not eating out, partying out, even taking the bus home because I don't have the money.)

Then, before I knew it, the price of flash drives went south—and the capacities went up, and I mean way up. For the same amount I forked for a 128MB drive, you can get a 1-Gig one a year later.

With this realization, I told myself, "hell, I'm never going to be first in line to get whatever's new."

And from then on, I kept my word.

Two of my most prized "antiques" (I put it in double quotes because they're just over 3 years old—and by computer/technology's standards, would make them practically obsolete tech) are my Apple PowerBook G4 and Nikon Coolpix 3100 digital camera. Both came out the top of their class back then. The PowerBook was the default machine of serious multimedia users, like graphic and web designers; while the 3100, though a point-and-shoot, received rave reviews for its fantastic photo quality, excellent flash, and remarkable image stabilization for a consumer camera. I didn't buy them the first year they came out: I essentially waited for something new that's aimed at trumping their respective thrones so that their prices would be reduced. Then that's when I picked the notebook and the camera up.

If I didn't get new phones from T-Mobile on a regular basis, I would gladly stick to using my Nokia 7650. Yeah, that 7650. It has 5MB of internal memory, VGA digital camera, and it's good for nothing but texting and calling. I don't care about the camera, and consequently I don't care about the storage space because text messages take up next to nothing, space-wise.

It seems to me, as well, that these guys are sturdier than the McTech that we get of late. The MacBooks? They break easy. Eight-megapixel cameras? Takes noisy or mottled images. For what I do, I don't need the latest and greatest—and really, who does if you're not a serious hobbyist? Nobody prints 25-inch photographs on a regular basis, no one needs 2 gigs of RAM to browse the web and check their email. I just refuse to be sold things I know I won't need now or in the immediate future.

True, I can't say the same for tech-virgins or tech-newbies. So it's understandable that while the SAs at Best Buy, Staples, or wherever they choose to buy their tech products are well-meaning, meaning they wouldn't mind explaining the advantages of getting one computer over the other, they are also trained to sell the customer as much stuff (and sometimes, junk) as possible.

That's why as much as possible I try to educate people I meet about this one fact: You don't need the latest and greatest. In many ways, you're better off just buying something used (but of course you have to know who you're buying it from) and really be happy about the purchase.

Me? My friends think I'm long overdue for a prosumer digital camera, and I should retire my Coolpix—in some ways it's true. I require so many things off my cameras nowadays. And that my PowerBook's slightly sluggish with rendering Flash and playing DoTA. But until I see some absolute need to retire my gadgets, I think I'll be fine for now with my tech.

Photo from Chivers Dixon/Getty Images. I kept the watermark because I didn't buy the image, I'm just linking for illustration's sake. If you want me to remove it, please let me know.