Submitted by Rona_Gura on

The "Miracle" of Modern Technology

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Tech News

It was an event we were happily anticipating for several weeks. I should, actually, say that we had been anticipating this event for several years because I remember distinctly where and when I was told about this event. And since I don’t remember much these days, that’s saying a lot.

The event was on Saturday night. My husband and I were all dressed up and ready to go. We got in our car and my husband typed the address of our destination into the GPS. Then the unthinkable happened; the GPS went blank. As my husband continued to try to get the GPS to work, my anxiety level steadily increased. I am fanatic about being on time and being late this evening was, to me, deplorable. As my husband worked, I texted friends we were meeting at the event to tell them what was going on.

Eventually, my husband looked at me and said, “It’s just not working.” I was absolutely speechless, as I had never seen a GPS go blank before. And, while I had been to our destination before, navigating there without a GPS was unthinkable. At my husband’s suggestion I called my step-son from my cell phone, even though we were still sitting on our driveway, and asked him to bring out his GPS out from the house to us. Happily, his GPS worked and we were soon on our way.

While we did arrive late to the event, gladly we were not as late as anticipated, and arrived on time for the most important portion of the evening. And it was an absolutely wonderful event. But, as I recounted the reason for our tardiness to others who were there, we could not resist commenting on our complete dependence on technology and my refusal to rely on my own sense of direction.

Are you as dependent on your technology as we are on ours?

Comments

Mitch Tobol

Love my GPS and found that dependence on it can make the simplest trips seem confusing.

Submitted by Jeanne_Anne_Norton on Mon, 03/18/2013 - 01:40

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Jeanne Anne Norton

Don't have GPS in our cars. My husband does not like them. I do, however, use the GPS on my iPhone on occasion to find alternative routes.

Submitted by NULL (not verified) on Mon, 03/18/2013 - 01:58

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We have GPS in all our cars, as well as our cell phones.

My dad makes a point of having us PRINT directions for him, even though he has a GPS - just in case the technology blinks.

I personally rely on multiple systems (CAR GPS, cell phone GPS and for long trips, printed directions).

As I keep writing every month in my newsletters, things WILL fail. You have to have TESTED BACKUPS.

I have the same philosophy with cell phones AND computers. I can't live without them, so I have a spare handsets, desktops and laptops that I can fall back on, in case my primary dies.

Hardware is cheap - buy multiples AND backup religiously.

- Raj
David Abeshouse

I dislike GPS. Too many fails, even when it's "working." Many people who use it and rely on it regale me with stories of how it's managed to mess up, in many ways. So, I do not use GPS. I prefer Google Maps -- more accurate, more reliable, etc. -- on my desktop and on my smartphone. And then there's always old analog paper maps -- a novel concept!

Submitted by Lucas_Meyer on Mon, 03/18/2013 - 02:57

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Lucas Meyer

We have had one for about seven or eight years, and it's useful for when I'm going somewhere that's unfamiliar to me. Otherwise, I rely on my pretty good sense of direction, as I did for the thirty years before I got a GPS.

Submitted by NULL (not verified) on Mon, 03/18/2013 - 04:03

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We use the GPS but not without printing mapquest directions out and for good measure making sure we have a map of where we are going. I love the GPS when you are trying to find a store or restaurant, etc. But's it's good to have backup and be aware of where your going in case the GPS takes you on some weird route

Submitted by Richard_Klein on Mon, 03/18/2013 - 04:12

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Richard Klein

I'm with Raj on this. I love GPS, and have one in the car, ATT Nav on the phone, and use Google Maps before I leave the house to check alternate routes so I'll have an idea in my head before hand (redundancy!). For me, i find that it increases my map-reading skills / sense of direction. I've always thought maps were cool, and my father always kept multiple atlases in the cars and around the house growing up. I personally have counted 'map reading' as a valuable skill, which is not possessed by everyone. And on that note, I know a few people who rely "blindly" on the GPS and simply follow directions without any sense of direction.

Submitted by Vincent_Serro on Mon, 03/18/2013 - 04:27

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Vincent Serro

We are all dependent on technology in too many ways to describe here. Since the country has beefed up a lot of security over the past decade, I've become increasingly afraid that the next place the terrorists could really attack our nation effectively would be on our aging power grid. Think of the hurricane's effect on our lives after only a couple of weeks with no power in a limited region of the country. Imagine a situation where it took months or even years to fully restore power in mulitple places. Our modern society would be devastated. Every basic need in our lives is dependent on some form of technology.
Cynthia Somma

Google maps on your phone. Oh how I feel your pain....unless you are directionally challenged, it's hard to understand...
I'm LOL because you texted your step son from the driveway..Priceless.. :)
Corey Bearak

I sometimes use the GPS but often I know better routes and adjust accordingly. I sometimes do a route on google or mapquest; I then copy and past the relevant parts to the notes section on my Mac in large enough type that when it shows up on my iPhone via the magic of the cloud that I need no glasses. I like to use the iPhone GOS because Siri speaks it out loud and clear -- albeit it interrupts the music playing on the car stereo system; I also use the Apple GPS to help get out any kinks in the system such as when it decided where I parked near Fred's office was somewhere in the UK!

Submitted by NULL (not verified) on Mon, 03/18/2013 - 06:46

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I have a collection of state and city maps. Also when I am in the woods I carry a compass and a topo map.
Nancy Schess

OK, so nobody asked . . . where were you going????? As for GPS, as a person with no sense of direction, I am addicted!

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