Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Outdated technolgy in months, not years

We know technology is moving very fast these days. I spend a lot of money on technology and pride myself on staying pretty current, but come on, give me a break.
  • iPod Nano. I purchased the first gen Nano quite a few years ago and I think the 2nd gen was only released last year. Now the 3rd gen Nano has just been released and it's back to it's skinny shape again. Shake shuffle feature is pretty cool as well as new Genius song matching! They must be selling a ton of these babies to release new versions so quickly in a rainbow of colours. PJMixer argh score: 3.
  • iTunes. iTunes updates are pretty frequent and sure enough there is a new version 8 available with the Genius feature that aligns nicely with the new Nano release. PJMixer argh score: 1 - no big woop, zero cost software.
  • The camera. This one really doesn't count as the Nikon D80 was about 3 years old and announcements for the D90 were still only fan rumours when I bought the D80 in the summer. So a few weeks ago the D90 was released. It has the live view LCD that I had been waiting for but also is the first DSLR with video recording capabilities. I'm not sure if I'd be able to splurge the extra dough and I am very happy with the D80, so the PJMixer argh score is 7.
  • Photoshop Elements. A software purchase is pretty rare for me, but with the new camera I was really looking for the best photo editing and management features available at the consumer level, and Photoshop from Adobe is the hands-down best product in the market today. I just bought version 6 about a month ago, and just saw that version 7 has been released. I guess I didn't do the research too well on that one. Luckily there's not a huge difference as the upgrade is costly, plus the hardcopy manuals and books (which I just bought 2 of) are not yet available for version 7. PJMixer argh score: 6.
  • Picasa. I've been using the free photo software from Google for a while and I've been very impressed by it (and I'd recommend it to any digital photographer who doesn't need all the bells and whistles of Photoshop). There is a version 3 beta now available that ups some of its editing features and adds lots of sharing features. PJMixer argh score: 1 - no big woop, zero cost software.
  • I guess I can't finish this post without including the computer. Our primary desktop PC is almost 5 years old. It was pretty good machine in it's day but now it pitifully out of date. 2.8GHz Pentium 4 with a whopping 512GB of RAM, 120GB of disk and a downgraded video card. Support cost: 5 PJMixer hours per month.
Luckily Sony aren't dropping rumour bombs of Playstation 4 yet and they're not saying my Bravia LCD is passe (phew, but I wonder what they did with all the extra money I gave them 18 months ago). I rarely use VHS tapes and wired PC to stereo connections are just fine for me. My Blackberry Pearl is a workhorse of convenient technology and I can still buy gasoline for my Mazda 6 Wagon. The new cordless phones were a no brainer and the two tube TVs left in the house are getting a little nervous. Ironically, the one item that I really want an upgrade for, and one that I rent so it should be zero cost, is my Rogers PVR. That new PVR extension from Bell looks better every week, if only that 200 year old oak wasn't blocking SW satellite angles !

2 comments:

Suzanne Sewell said...

Correct me if I'm wrong (as I often am) but doesn't upgrading all those software updates add stress to our "outdated" computer?

It seems like yesterday when we got that computer...I have a hard time accepting that it will have to be replaced soon. I'll start saving my pennies.

Will there come a time when you decide to stop trying to keep up with technology as companies keep coming up with upgrades so quickly or do you enjoy the race?

PJMixer said...

Good point, usually software upgrades are more meaty than prior releases, but you have to stay up to date on some stuff, especially where you want support (e.g. Anti Virus).

There probably will be a time when I stop chasing the tech wagon, but for now I enjoy the game.