Technology - When it works, great! When it doesn't, watch out!

Everytime anyone grumbled and complained about having to use computers in the classroom, I always hit them with this. 

Q:  Do you have a washer at your house? or Do you wash your clothes at a laundromat?

A: Yes.

Comment:  Aren't you glad you don't have to wash your clothes in a stream, beat them on a rock, and hang them over a bush to dry?  Aren't you glad that technology created the washer so that we don't have to resort to beating clothes on rocks?  I am sure there were some people grumbling and complaining about those new-fangled machines and there was no way they were going to put any of their clothes in that water and let that thing in the middle swish their clothes around.

Now that sounds silly, doesn't it?

I keep thinking of that as I am struggling with technology these last few days.

Direct TV.  We upgraded our system at the State Fair. We have a new box.  We have new wireless towers.  Our upstairs tvs can now access the Direct TV stations just like our downstairs televisions can. We can stop a program, run it back, re-watch a section, record, delete a program, whatever.  Cool.

Cell phone.   In another move at the State Fair, I traded my iPhone for an Android.  I have been fussing with it for three days now, and I am not happy with it.  Even the salesperson who tried to help me at the store at the Mall could not access my email on the phone.  Finally the Fitbit did sync, but the email is still elusive unless I go through the pwrtc site.  I know that everything is different and I know that it will take some time to adapt to a new phone, but I really liked my iPhone and I am really really tempted to return the Android and switch it for a newer version of what I had.

Nook.  Now granted there has been a time period when I wasn't using the Nook, mainly because Mom's house is not Wifi friendly and I needed it to select books and download them.  But recently I read three books on the Nook and I really like using it again.  On the way home from Kansas, something happened, however, when I was charging it with the adapter and the spot in the minivan to plug it in.  There was a hot smell and the adapter was very hot to the touch.  Since then my Nook will not hold a charge.  I have charged it twice, then I have turned it completely off.  After a few days I can't turn it on because the battery is dead.  Something is wrong.

Now I love technology.  I enjoyed creating online courses. I liked teaching online.  I used Blackboard to teach my classes after I had knee surgery and when I had shingles plastered all over the right side of my face.

But I need to have devices that work. Consistently.  I didn't mention that the internet will cut out at random times, did I?  Yep.  Right in the middle of posting something here or sending an email, it will stop for about 30 seconds to a minute, then pop back on.  In the meantime, all of what I had done will be lost. 

So what to do tomorrow?

When I go into Lafayette in the afternoon, I think I may just find myself at Barnes and Noble to check on the status of the Nook.  Then I may end up at the Verizon store on Veterans Memorial Parkway where Cameron will be so that I can turn in my Android and exchange it for a new iPhone.

We shall see where the Ford Escape takes me!