Friday, December 16, 2011

Reverb11, Day 16: Technology

What sort of technology changed your life in 2011? Was it something that changed the way you work or the way you play?

For me, much of 2011 was filled with poor technology. My database at work does the job, but has been known to produce errors and is not really a 2011 database. It's custom for the work that I do but it's clunky and very manual.

Bad technology aside (before I leave this blog for a while and go deal with my bear of a database), there was great technology in 2011. My trusty iPhone and MacBook both continue to improve both my work and home life. The MacBook has been in my life since 2009 and changes the way I travel for work (no more lugging around a bulky Compaq--although that computer got me through grad school so I can't complain).

My Cannon DSLR camera continues to outperform any other camera I've ever owned. My Iceland photos (thank you Tyler as well--because I think you enjoy it as much as I do) amazed colleagues, friends, and family. I'm looking forward to taking that camera to Canada in 2012.

As for new technology in my life...well we got a new TiVo and we now have our old TiVo in the bedroom. So we continue to watch less commercials and enjoy our favorite films and shows. Now we can grab a show from one TiVo to the next. VoIP phones continue to be a lifesaver at work. Since my voice mails get e-mailed to me when I'm on the road I can't imagine surviving without a VoIP phone in my office. That also means that I keep all messages so that if someone wrongly accuses me of something I have proof by just forwarding them the voice mail (only happened once this year thank goodness!).

My nook continues to be fantastic when I travel for work as well. I still read and buy regular books...but there's something so handy about spending a week flying to different cities and never running out of reading material.

I'd love to hear from you about the technology that is making a difference in your life. Hopefully it's something less headache-inducing than a custom built database that looks like it's from the early 90s (yes, it's black and yellow).

No comments:

Post a Comment