R.I.P Steve Jobs. Gone way too soon I must say. Apple and the ‘tech’ world will sorely miss you. I will too, even though I don’t own any of the super cool gadgets you helped create. See I’m not into gadgets and I’m not ashamed to say that I’m technically challenged, inept or whatever you want to call it. In fact, I’m intimidated by technology. It has to be because I relish a simple life. I mean, isn’t life tough enough without having to stress over how different devices work? For example, I know my way around a computer and what using one basically requires. But if there were any malfunctions, I wouldn’t know what to do. Only recently did I learn how and where to plug my mouse cable. Isn’t this whole assembling stuff an IT person’s job? My IT friends tease me all the time and they have tried to convince me about the pros of being tech savvy but I always tell them it’s not a do or die situation for me. Like most people, I like user-friendly appliances. Anything that requires me to refer to a manual is a lot of work. I once bought a portable closet and thought if I got home, I would just spread it out the way you spread out an umbrella. I was frustrated when I found all these small pieces that had to be put together to form the closet. I tried to follow the steps on the manual in vain and the shop where I bought it had to send someone to set it up for me. So if it’s a microwave, iron or DVD Player, all I want to see is the on/off button, volume control and perhaps the DVD slot. Nothing fancy because I don’t want to buy something and not be able to use it. My other tech scares are lifts and escalators. I don’t use escalators at all but I do use lifts. Most are pretty basic with floor numbers clearly marked out. I particularly like the ones with voiceovers which let you know which floor you’re on and also tell you when doors are opening or closing. You don’t know how many times I’ve got off on the wrong floor because a certain lift’s buttons were incomprehensible. And then there’s this anxiety I can’t shake whenever I use a lift. I always pray that power doesn’t go off and that the lift doesn’t breakdown for whatever reason, leaving us stuck in there for hours. Blame it on the many thrillers I’ve watched. Then there are doors to people’s offices and homes. Sliding, sensor, access-controlled and all kinds of “modern entrances.” You go some place and can’t get in because it’s not your ordinary walk through door. I always get the feeling that whoever’s inside is laughing at me. Then of course there’re phones. I stopped asking friends for their mobiles whenever I wanted to make a quick call or send a text but didn’t have airtime because I had to ask them to unlock the phone and then take me through the whole touch screen business... My phone is pretty basic and as long as I can call, send and receive messages, I’m happy. I always look on in amusement as people upgrade their gadgets. Apple just unveiled their latest toy, the iPhone 4S and of course there’s all this buzz about it and I was thinking to myself, I haven’t even had a Blackberry experience and the world has already moved on. I was consoled by one blogger’s comment however. “Why replace something that still works?” He says he has a radio that plays only one CD. He knows about multiple CD Players but he’s not bothered because the ultimate goal is to listen to music and his radio does exactly that. Couldn’t have put it better myself. To be continued… nsophie77@yahoo.com
