New Technology has Potential Pitfalls
Hi and Welcome to the A & J PEI Treasures E Jean Simpson Author Blog Post and Podcast. I’m your host, Jean coming to you from the beautiful Province of Prince Edward Island, Canada!! The blog post and podcast is an opinion piece and only reflects this author’s opinion and not that of any other entity. I hold no designations in politics, economics or medicine. I am retired from the mental health field and I am a humanitarian and speak from that viewpoint only. Whether you agree or not, at least I hope it makes you think. When technology changes at breakneck speed, then there can be some unintended consequences. We make it easier, but harder for some. Some will take advantage which is reprehensible. Some will be leaders and show others where the changes come from. If you want to find out more, then stay tuned…!
The past month or so, I’ve had all sorts of tech problems. My cell was up and down. It appears that some of it might be a problem and some of it might not be. I finally gave up after locking myself out the last time from my cell phone. We happened to be in the capital city (Charlottetown, PEI) and went into the phone store. The staff were helpful. They had never seen what I had done with my cell before. Me either. I just thought it was a nifty security feature…but no such luck. I still have no idea what utility they thought existed in this feature. Before I go forward in time, I must go backwards to help the younger generations understand why there can be so many issues with computers and cell phones for those over 50. You see, when I got my first cell phone, I was in my 40’s…nope, not joking. I was in my 40’s had a job working in counselling. I remember being so pleased with my second rate cell that I had just gotten. I never did have a need to have the top name thing…just a good serviceable one. I was paying off student loans and my Charter the whole time. You see, it worked a little differently. You got it turned on and set up…it came with the obligatory internet access thing…which, can’t remember for sure might have been Internet Explorer…which was the thing then. It had a few other icons. Thereafter, if there was anything you wanted, you got into Internet Explorer and added it yourself. You actually had to do the work. It didn’t come with all sorts of stuff. It came with little and you could get what you wanted. You could personalize the cell. It seems a bit intrusive that they load up all sorts of stuff without you asking for it. At least that’s how it feels to me.
Now fast forward to the phone store. The clerks were helpful, fixed whatever it was I did. When they were finished getting me out of that mess, I asked the clerk if they could factory reset my phone. They seemed a bit uncomfortable with this and definitely did due diligence…they made sure I knew I’d lose all my contacts and such from my cell. I was OK with that. You see, I’m old. I think I have all of 4 contacts on my cell. I am assuming that the last time someone did this and they complied, someone got in huge trouble. But, after making sure I did know I’d lose my 4 contacts…and some hesitancy on their part, they put me to the factory reset screen and let me push the button. They really did help me. They did what I asked. I think the younger generations have so much tied to their cell that the idea of just cleaning the whole mess out was astonishing and likely resulted in them getting a great deal of grief from the customer at some point for complying. I can tell you, I’m not going to give them grief and I thank them for their service.
At that point, I also asked if they could get rid of all the crap that my cell phone was tossing up. It was freaking me out and the cell was driving me out of my mind. I never asked it to load various news sites. I never asked for it to give me games. I’m almost 60 and didn’t play many of them before…don’t have time for them now. They looked at me like I had lost my mind. But, the one staff member took a moment and did what amazed me…changed my knowledge of my cell to an updated understanding. They explained to me that the new thing with Google is that they load the whole thing. If I sign into Google, it will assume that I am wanting to be on and does everything automatic. Then they took the five minutes out of their day and showed this old timer how to delete the stuff I didn’t want from my cell. I am forever grateful. Having been brought into the computer world in my 40’s and it being almost 20 years ago, I don’t know when things changed so dramatically. When did the cell phone get a mind of its own and decide to load every piece of stuff onto the cell. I don’t know when cells started to load everything from a certain provider. When you learned to use technology before the big change…things that are now considered conveniences and normal to some are considered intrusions to others. This one five minute tutorial explained everything to me that I needed to know. My cell may or may not have been hacked…but at least I can control what is on my cell to some extent.
So, you of the younger generations, you are used to the computer or cell giving you everything. You are used to things going automatically. If you were brought into the cell world at 40 years old, and with the DIY set up methods…this comes as quite the culture shock. Imagine having to set up your cell phone and get what you want on it and it suddenly, just out of the blue starts adding stuff that you didn’t ask for. If that wouldn’t freak you out, not much would. So, have some patience with the people who learned to set up our own cell phones and set up our own computers. These changes came in fast and if you just buy a cell phone, you think it works the way they have for the last 20 years. When it doesn’t, this can be confusing.
On a different note, I remember when I saw my first cell phone. My Uncle, who was in the army, made a visit. Before he came, he made a surprise call and we thought he’d be awhile in getting to the house. Imagine our surprise when not five minutes later, he was at the door. He thought it was great fun and showed us a huge thing…in an almost camouflage bag about the size of a large purse. It was a good foot or more and looked like a Lego telephone receiver. There was no screen, there was just a listening portion and a speaking into portion. I did not see another cell phone that I remember much about until my Husband got his first cell phone. He was with a now defunct phone company for his service. It did calls. He had it many years. Finally one day, I decided it was time for me to join the modern world and got my first one. I bought the cheapest one I could find. At one time, you could get a reasonable cell for $99+ Taxes. It was a bit of a hassle to set up, but would work. So, in 60 years, we’ve gone from huge cell phones to smaller ones and flip phones and we’re going back to larger for the screen. Cell phones are the modern version of a mini computer.
Of course, I also started with computers after I was over 22. I took a course at a College. At that time, you still had to put a disc into a large machine that took up half a table. During my MA, I used one that needed to have a disc to get your DOS to get your computer up. This link is for those who are unsure what DOS is (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOS). So, those too were things you had to set up yourself to use. By the time I was working, I did have a more modern computer. They were slow and cumbersome but still amazing at the time. They did allow me to communicate with my family. They too have become more complex. I’m sort of looking forward to setting up the new one…and half dreading it. Who knows what it will do that will freak me out. Think I will set it up offline before I set it up online. At least I may get an idea of what it comes with. Got a good virus scan too. The one I have for free…I cannot for the life of me figure out why it shows up in several places and why it decided I should speak French to my Yahoo. My French unfortunately sucks.
I was a child in the 60’s and 70’s … when Ken Olsen was purported to have said, in 1977, “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.” https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ken_Olsen. This was a bit misinterpreted or so it was said at the time. He was talking about smart homes…which seems pretty much an up and coming thing with some computerized elements in some homes. So, he kind of missed the mark on that one either way. At the time, most homes did not have computers and few, if any, had cell phones. Advanced technology consisted of coloured TV and walkmans https://www.dictionary.com/browse/wal... or some sort of radio/cassette player. Now they are considered ‘antiques’ or retro implements of the technological world.
So, I definitely thank the clerks at the phone store. They brought me up to speed on something I was not aware of, fixed my problem and restored some sanity to my phone. I still have it off now. Will have to work on it at some point. But, currently we’re waiting for incoming hurricane during hurricane season. This kind of takes precedence right now. There’s always a storm somewhere…either a computerized one or a natural one. Next time you see someone who is over 45 or 50 and confused by the cell phone, it’s easy to assume there are too stupid and too old to know the difference. This is not the case. They have had to set up their own cell phone just a short 20 years ago. They probably never had a computer in their homes until maybe the 1980’s or 1990’s and they had to set that up too. They lived in a different world. They understand technology and that it changes, they just didn’t expect for the changes to be so drastic and so fast. Their parents hadn’t seen a computer until their kids were older and out of the house. Imagine their culture shock. Thanks for listening to my podcast and/or reading my blog post and thanks for your interest in A & J PEI Treasures! Whether you agree or not, I hope it makes you think.
Keep watching for more e-books and more formats! We’re always working on something. Thank you! The podcast that matches this blog post can be found on Anchor FM: https://anchor.fm/a--j-pei-treasures/...
Posts are available on
WordPress: https://aandjpeitreasures.wordpress.com/ and
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Podcast are available on:
Anchor FM in a variety of formats: https://anchor.fm/a--j-pei-treasures
iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-e-...
Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/e-...
Amazon: https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/879a...
All my e-books can be found on:
I used to have Amazon, but it got closed due to password issues and I haven’t gotten it back yet. The books have been put up and taken down and I'm not sure what is going on there yet. So, I'd skip that.
Smashwords (my Affiliate link): https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi... or https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
You can also find us on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EJS08026749
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5zp...
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/ej2466
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/e-j-s-151a...
Quotes:
Ken Olsen
Articles:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOS
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ken_Olsen
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/wal...
The past month or so, I’ve had all sorts of tech problems. My cell was up and down. It appears that some of it might be a problem and some of it might not be. I finally gave up after locking myself out the last time from my cell phone. We happened to be in the capital city (Charlottetown, PEI) and went into the phone store. The staff were helpful. They had never seen what I had done with my cell before. Me either. I just thought it was a nifty security feature…but no such luck. I still have no idea what utility they thought existed in this feature. Before I go forward in time, I must go backwards to help the younger generations understand why there can be so many issues with computers and cell phones for those over 50. You see, when I got my first cell phone, I was in my 40’s…nope, not joking. I was in my 40’s had a job working in counselling. I remember being so pleased with my second rate cell that I had just gotten. I never did have a need to have the top name thing…just a good serviceable one. I was paying off student loans and my Charter the whole time. You see, it worked a little differently. You got it turned on and set up…it came with the obligatory internet access thing…which, can’t remember for sure might have been Internet Explorer…which was the thing then. It had a few other icons. Thereafter, if there was anything you wanted, you got into Internet Explorer and added it yourself. You actually had to do the work. It didn’t come with all sorts of stuff. It came with little and you could get what you wanted. You could personalize the cell. It seems a bit intrusive that they load up all sorts of stuff without you asking for it. At least that’s how it feels to me.
Now fast forward to the phone store. The clerks were helpful, fixed whatever it was I did. When they were finished getting me out of that mess, I asked the clerk if they could factory reset my phone. They seemed a bit uncomfortable with this and definitely did due diligence…they made sure I knew I’d lose all my contacts and such from my cell. I was OK with that. You see, I’m old. I think I have all of 4 contacts on my cell. I am assuming that the last time someone did this and they complied, someone got in huge trouble. But, after making sure I did know I’d lose my 4 contacts…and some hesitancy on their part, they put me to the factory reset screen and let me push the button. They really did help me. They did what I asked. I think the younger generations have so much tied to their cell that the idea of just cleaning the whole mess out was astonishing and likely resulted in them getting a great deal of grief from the customer at some point for complying. I can tell you, I’m not going to give them grief and I thank them for their service.
At that point, I also asked if they could get rid of all the crap that my cell phone was tossing up. It was freaking me out and the cell was driving me out of my mind. I never asked it to load various news sites. I never asked for it to give me games. I’m almost 60 and didn’t play many of them before…don’t have time for them now. They looked at me like I had lost my mind. But, the one staff member took a moment and did what amazed me…changed my knowledge of my cell to an updated understanding. They explained to me that the new thing with Google is that they load the whole thing. If I sign into Google, it will assume that I am wanting to be on and does everything automatic. Then they took the five minutes out of their day and showed this old timer how to delete the stuff I didn’t want from my cell. I am forever grateful. Having been brought into the computer world in my 40’s and it being almost 20 years ago, I don’t know when things changed so dramatically. When did the cell phone get a mind of its own and decide to load every piece of stuff onto the cell. I don’t know when cells started to load everything from a certain provider. When you learned to use technology before the big change…things that are now considered conveniences and normal to some are considered intrusions to others. This one five minute tutorial explained everything to me that I needed to know. My cell may or may not have been hacked…but at least I can control what is on my cell to some extent.
So, you of the younger generations, you are used to the computer or cell giving you everything. You are used to things going automatically. If you were brought into the cell world at 40 years old, and with the DIY set up methods…this comes as quite the culture shock. Imagine having to set up your cell phone and get what you want on it and it suddenly, just out of the blue starts adding stuff that you didn’t ask for. If that wouldn’t freak you out, not much would. So, have some patience with the people who learned to set up our own cell phones and set up our own computers. These changes came in fast and if you just buy a cell phone, you think it works the way they have for the last 20 years. When it doesn’t, this can be confusing.
On a different note, I remember when I saw my first cell phone. My Uncle, who was in the army, made a visit. Before he came, he made a surprise call and we thought he’d be awhile in getting to the house. Imagine our surprise when not five minutes later, he was at the door. He thought it was great fun and showed us a huge thing…in an almost camouflage bag about the size of a large purse. It was a good foot or more and looked like a Lego telephone receiver. There was no screen, there was just a listening portion and a speaking into portion. I did not see another cell phone that I remember much about until my Husband got his first cell phone. He was with a now defunct phone company for his service. It did calls. He had it many years. Finally one day, I decided it was time for me to join the modern world and got my first one. I bought the cheapest one I could find. At one time, you could get a reasonable cell for $99+ Taxes. It was a bit of a hassle to set up, but would work. So, in 60 years, we’ve gone from huge cell phones to smaller ones and flip phones and we’re going back to larger for the screen. Cell phones are the modern version of a mini computer.
Of course, I also started with computers after I was over 22. I took a course at a College. At that time, you still had to put a disc into a large machine that took up half a table. During my MA, I used one that needed to have a disc to get your DOS to get your computer up. This link is for those who are unsure what DOS is (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOS). So, those too were things you had to set up yourself to use. By the time I was working, I did have a more modern computer. They were slow and cumbersome but still amazing at the time. They did allow me to communicate with my family. They too have become more complex. I’m sort of looking forward to setting up the new one…and half dreading it. Who knows what it will do that will freak me out. Think I will set it up offline before I set it up online. At least I may get an idea of what it comes with. Got a good virus scan too. The one I have for free…I cannot for the life of me figure out why it shows up in several places and why it decided I should speak French to my Yahoo. My French unfortunately sucks.
I was a child in the 60’s and 70’s … when Ken Olsen was purported to have said, in 1977, “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.” https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ken_Olsen. This was a bit misinterpreted or so it was said at the time. He was talking about smart homes…which seems pretty much an up and coming thing with some computerized elements in some homes. So, he kind of missed the mark on that one either way. At the time, most homes did not have computers and few, if any, had cell phones. Advanced technology consisted of coloured TV and walkmans https://www.dictionary.com/browse/wal... or some sort of radio/cassette player. Now they are considered ‘antiques’ or retro implements of the technological world.
So, I definitely thank the clerks at the phone store. They brought me up to speed on something I was not aware of, fixed my problem and restored some sanity to my phone. I still have it off now. Will have to work on it at some point. But, currently we’re waiting for incoming hurricane during hurricane season. This kind of takes precedence right now. There’s always a storm somewhere…either a computerized one or a natural one. Next time you see someone who is over 45 or 50 and confused by the cell phone, it’s easy to assume there are too stupid and too old to know the difference. This is not the case. They have had to set up their own cell phone just a short 20 years ago. They probably never had a computer in their homes until maybe the 1980’s or 1990’s and they had to set that up too. They lived in a different world. They understand technology and that it changes, they just didn’t expect for the changes to be so drastic and so fast. Their parents hadn’t seen a computer until their kids were older and out of the house. Imagine their culture shock. Thanks for listening to my podcast and/or reading my blog post and thanks for your interest in A & J PEI Treasures! Whether you agree or not, I hope it makes you think.
Keep watching for more e-books and more formats! We’re always working on something. Thank you! The podcast that matches this blog post can be found on Anchor FM: https://anchor.fm/a--j-pei-treasures/...
Posts are available on
WordPress: https://aandjpeitreasures.wordpress.com/ and
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
Podcast are available on:
Anchor FM in a variety of formats: https://anchor.fm/a--j-pei-treasures
iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-e-...
Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/e-...
Amazon: https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/879a...
All my e-books can be found on:
I used to have Amazon, but it got closed due to password issues and I haven’t gotten it back yet. The books have been put up and taken down and I'm not sure what is going on there yet. So, I'd skip that.
Smashwords (my Affiliate link): https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi... or https://www.smashwords.com/profile/vi...
You can also find us on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/EJS08026749
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5zp...
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/ej2466
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/e-j-s-151a...
Quotes:
Ken Olsen
Articles:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOS
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ken_Olsen
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/wal...
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Sep 29, 2022 08:21AM
After having a dreadful time with my Amazon account and e-books being up and down like a yo yo, lost access, got it back...finally gave up and Unpublished my e-books with Amazon and deleted the professional account. Though I never requested it, seems my CDN account that I used personally got attached. So, after much difficulty, I have decided that I am no longer an Amazon customer after many years. Sad, but there we are. If the issue self heals, fine, I can read e-books and comment on Indie authors I read (99% of which were positive). If not, then it's not the only game in town. I hope after editing, Smashwords will show up on my ebooks and all other sites disappear...at least that is how I edited it. Really tough being a $0 budget older Indie author...have had nothing but headaches. Sorry to say. Hope everyone else is having better experiences.
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A & J PEI Treasures/E Jean Simpson, BEd, BA, MA
A & J PEI Treasures is located on Prince Edward Island, Canada. We are a husband and wife team and our companion animals. There are a number of things that drew us to the Island…one of which was the n
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