continued technology rant

So, as I was saying, my computer is a dinosaur.

It typically takes about 1-5 minutes for a single web page to load. Trying to do any sort of research, or even casual surfing, is a chore. It really puts a damper on doing homework. Something as simple as a fifteen minute task can turn into a half hour, or even an hour at the worst, all because I'm waiting for web pages to load.

"Drive to school and use their computers," dad says.

Okay sure that sounds easy enough, but not when it's freezing cold outside and you have a bizarre allergy to cold that nobody seems to understand. Plus, I'm usually doing homework at night, between 11pm and 1am. I'm not too keen on getting dressed, making myself look semi-presentable, and jumping into a cold car knowing I have to get up in 7 hours.

It's just frustrating. I've been trying to get an old lap-top running that I know would work better than my desktop PC. The problem is, it will connect to AOL, but it won't connect to any web pages.

It's a 1995 Compaq, no CD-ROM drive. Apparently something is wrong with the modem card I have for it. I have to dowload drivers for a handful of devices before I can even consider using the lap-top as my full time computer.

I remember rushing home after skating practice one evening, seeing my dad sitting on the floor with manuals scattered all around him. The glow from the computer moniter looked like heaven. It was 1998, and I finally had my first computer.

It holds so many memories, and now I just want to pitch the useless machine out the window. It's only good for collecting dust anymore. It sounds like a tiger growling anytime I click an icon. I can tell my computer is straining like a 90 year old trying to eat an apple.

It takes an average of 10 minutes to send a document to the printer, and my printer is brand new. I can take a quick nap just waiting for the thing to start up. Forget using Internet Explorer; ever been to Pop-Up Central? Come over sometime and I'll take you there.

Technology is simply moving too fast, and costing too much. I'm still using a portable compact disc player. How many different I-Pods are out now? My brother has the nano, that's one I know.

My phone doesn't take pictures, but my mom's does. It records videos, too. I'm lucky my phone at least has a downloaded ring tone, but my boyfriend's phone is an MP3 player with better quality than my car stereo.

I guess I'm really behind the times. Did I mention my brother's I-pod and my boyfriend's phone cost them both about 300 big ones? I have twenty five dollars to my name right now. That'll buy me two packs of smokes and enough gas until pay day. Where I'm going to store my (non-exsistent) MP3's is the least of my concerns.

I've come to the conclusion technology is all about keeping up with the Jones's. Forget being cool if your phone doesn't flip open, slide up, kick out, take pictures, play music, instant message, have a full keyboard, and brush your teeth for you.

And if 500 trillion songs can't fit in your back pocket, why bother? You better not leave home without your portable Playstation 2. How would you live if you couldn't play Need for Speed while waiting for your yearly check-up?

Technology has become worse than drugs. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it's just a realization. I don't know many people who would be able to go one day without text messaging. I'm so good at texting I could send my entire day in 30 seconds, without looking at the keys, to my best friend who's sitting at the mall playing Wheel of Fortune on her phone.

Perhaps when it comes to phones, it's our strange need to be in touch with people. Speaking of, my boyfriend is probably trying to call. I really should get offline.

It's okay, I won't go through withdrawl or anything...