Are Americans Addicted to Technology? 359
jomammy writes "According to a recent Wired article, the majority of Americans are becoming increasingly dependant on their gadgets. High speed internet seems to be the one most determined to be a 'necessity'. A third of the country is said to pay more than $200.00 a month for their addiction, where 4 out of 10 pay between $100.00 and $150.00 a month. Other items in this list of 'gadgets' include, mp3 players, dvd players, laptops, handhelds, etc." How addicted are we? How addicted are you?
Re:$200 a month!!! (Score:3, Informative)
Re:$200 a month!!! (Score:3, Informative)
Wow you didn't read the article.
That bill includes telephone, internet, and TV feeds. In much of the US DSL is down to $14.95, and high speed cable or FIOS is running about $50 for a 15 mb/sec feed in some areas. My cable service just announced a 30 mbit/sec premium service, and has hinted at 50 mbit/sec.
Re:Pfft (Score:4, Informative)
What a strange way of extrapolating productive.
I didn't only mean work, I simply meant "Yielding favorable or useful results; constructive."
It need not be work-related.
Is excercise machine X (gadget) more productive (toward losing weight, staying healthy) than the simple and humble jumprope and stretching exercises/yoga/pilates/your_choice? The former being an expensive gadget and the other can be very, very cheap.
IMHO, the cheap-o version is better in most cases.
The purpose of gadgets should be making lives easier, but most of the time, the majority seem to exist for the purpose of being sold, with little regard to the end user - consider the UI and other factors.
Re:Only $200/mo (Score:2, Informative)
Different ISPs have different policies regarding inbound traffic---one ISP near me allows all the ports I've tried inbound, whereas another blocks ports like 80 and 23.
Maybe, but (Score:2, Informative)
(It's no flamebait, just a fact - it's Ze capitalist country after all.)
Re:Pfft (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Pfft (Score:3, Informative)
IMHO, the cheap-o version is better in most cases.
As a former fat guy who is now decently non-fat and knows a couple people in the same condition, your HO is wrong in at least three cases that I know of. The feedback given by Machine X in the form of calories burnt or miles traveled is a very effective motivator. Excercise is tedious. Attaching an ever-increasing number to it is extremely psychologically helpful, and all Machine X's that I've seen do that for you. Many of them also decrease joint pain over the non-gadget version of the excercise, and if you've never excercised day after day as a 300 pound guy, it tends to be really, really tough on the joints.
I spent 1000 bucks on the fancy excercise equipment, and I'd do it again in a hearbeat, so please, if you have fat friends who would rather not be, don't give them that advice unless they're very, very poor.
Re:drive 5 miles to use a pay phone???? (Score:1, Informative)
The fact of the matter is that the majority of jobs paying over $30K per annum involve at least some computer and technology related skills. From secretarial positions, to shipping clerks, to doctors, lawyers, and business people, all require the use of technology to provide the ability to quickly and efficiently store, access, and modify data (from customer records to students grades), and to provide the ability to communicate effectively. The hypothetical construction worker discussed does quite probably own and use a cell phone for both personal and business purposes, and, at least in this area, every foreman has a company issued cell phone in case of job related emergencies.
As for the ulimate of this thread, I personally can not see how moving to the Mojave makes a child better off. A young child's well-being derives more from the love and attention of the parents than any other factor, according to the child psychology literature, and the next most important factor is the attainment of socialization skills in groups of ones peers, according to most studies. In the later stages of childhood and adolescence, the opportunities for learning and social expression provided by the internet are unmatched in the history of the world. I would posit that not providing some access to modern technology is akin to those who, in the 19th century, left the cities and began living off the land, trying to recreate an idealized medieval society. Yes, modern technological society has its drawbacks, but as a whole, humanity prospers more from pursuing technology than it loses. We have more to gain by going forwards, than back, in my humble opinion.
The military is addicted (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Steps backwards (Score:3, Informative)
The only problem with Ricochet is that I am almost certain I was the only person in my neighborhood that even new the service existed.
A father once asked his son what he was going to do with a movie theater he had purchased. The son told him he was going to put new coverings on the seats. The father told the son the first thing he needs to put on the seats is assholes.
Metricom wasn't putting enough assholes on the seats. They were also overdelivering for what they were advertising, which as I recall was 128 down or so.