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It's easier to answer what I don't do on the computer.. that would be shower, cook and eat, sleep and vacuum/clean the house.. only because I don't have one of those .. crap, the mind went blank.. the little round auto vacuum robot things...
Ok, all of these answers begs the question, "How in the heck did we survive before computers?"
How many times have you looked up a definition of a word, looked where a town was located, look to see whatever happened to a celebrity, looked up an area code or zip code, the list goes on and on and on and.....
Even when I worked, we would laugh and ask ourselves the same question. Computers have become such an indespensible tool that I couldn't imagine living without it.
So, are we frittering our lives away or learning something each day?
.....only because I don't have one of those .. crap, the mind went blank.. the little round auto vacuum robot things...
You mean the "Roomba"? I googled it.
There's something else, "googled", how many new, and strange, words have entered our vernacular? Can you imagine going back just twenty years and telling someone, "Just google it"? Or, "I ordered it from Yahoo Shopping"? Or "I cracked my screen on my tablet"? (How, they would ask, can a tablet have a screen?)
DH doesn't even know how to turn my computer on. He is 66.
I like to look up things, play games, mainly trivia and Bookworm, do the odd crossword puzzle online (though I prefer doing crosswords the old fashioned way).
I visit City-Data, of course, as well as a couple of other forums, Facebook, and Twitter (occasionally).
I like to post funny stories, photos and whine in my online blog.
Oh, and I have found some excellent recipes online.
Gotta love the internet! I'm another addict. I got my first computer in 2002.
It's easier to state what I do NOT use the computer for: music (I can't hear, so my computer has no onboard speakers) but all the other computers we have do - yes, all the others - 2 mini-laptops, full size laptop for longer trips, a back-up computer, and my husband's computer. Each of our main computers is backed up daily since we are constantly dling something.
I run a non-profit in retirement; also do bookkeeping, recordkeeping, and post animals lost/found for 2 different rescues as well as keep track of transport needs.
We plan our vacations online, rent cars, bought our house and maybe buying a 2nd one for a friend - all without leaving home.
I started with a vic20 - yes, a "toy" that I used for a mailing list of over 3,000 for my company in the 80s, graduated to a C-64 and also did all the bookkeeping on it, finally moved up to a B-128 and got the kids interested on a TS1000.
If I had to give up things, the computer would be the very last I'd give up. It's my lifeline, my information, my social connections, and my entertainment.
My younger sister finally is learning to use a computer. Amazes me that she had no use for it until a year or two ago. She's a neanderthal at only 63.
Ah the memories. I remember the friends with Vic 20's and C-64's way back when in the 80's. And the diy machines. They seem so primitive now, but they were amazing back then. People would ask you why you'd need one to do what you could do with people....
I have several old laptops which still run. The xp is going to be my music machine. Its sound output is awesome connected to the tv speaker setup. I've figured out how to fix the win 7 laptops so I do not plan to run win 10....
My dad was a raido man in the navy. He had a garage full of raido equiptiment and as I was curious, explained how it worked. He even explained how electricity worked and how the tv signel got to the tv. I was never raised to stick with the familiar and found tech fascinating. I loved watching friends back in the 80's work on their diy's and wish I could make my own. And then there is my son who grew up sitting on my lap playing small kid games on my computer so he's never lived in a world without them.
Last edited by nightbird47; 07-20-2015 at 05:24 PM..
^DOS baby^
aww man.. still having an XP machine.. kinda jealous
ever since then micros... has gone out of control
if it were not for compatibility issues with some of the programs I mess around with I'd go linux in a heart beat.
I have 7.. not thrilled every time I get told I can't go in one of my own folders.. seems every time I boot I have to re-take ownership of the machine.. and don't get me started on the search function...
News - takes me at least 2 hours to read the news in the morning. I get in e-mail links from news sites and then websites I just go to.
The Question of The Day in the Other Forum and the Name Five Movies in the Game Forum
Political Forum and Election Forum - Where I spend most of my time on CD
Photo Editing - Not just regular editing but some of the more artistic applications which can take awhile. This is done offline.
Games - One in particular, FlipWords2, Bejeweled3 and some Big City Adventures (hidden objects in different world cities plus puzzles).
Shopping and Bill Paying
ITunes - Music from my playlists while I do other things online.
Reading e-mail - Spend less time with this but in addition to mail and ads, I get newsletters to read and hear from out of state friends I have to reply to.
Weather.com
What Bird - Website I drop into occasionally.
Research - Especially for vacations but also to substantiate CD posts; Directions, too
YouTube and sometimes news radio
Ordering food
Other CD forums (not daily)
I don't watch movies on my PC not because of the PC, it's just the chair near the TV in a different room is more comfortable.
I generally don't answer these types of questions as you spend most of your time listing out all of the things that you use your computer for and the person then implies that you are stupid for doing so. That happened to me recently at a local function when an older lady asked me what I did with my smartphone.
These are SOME of the things that I use my computer for (in no particular order):
Manage my finances (Excel spreadsheets)
Generate a steady income from various marketing websites (focus groups and the like)
E-mail
Paying bills
Watch YouTube (no TV, I prefer to watch mostly Asian content - Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand)
Clear Channel Radio (mostly KFI, WLW)
Download podcasts for the road trips.
City Data, LthForum, Bogelheads
Read a good number of journals
Book travel (early and often) - save enough to cover my internet bill each year.
GasBuddy
Track the stock market
E-coupon from local Kroger's affiliate (real money saver) and to plan all my various grocery trips
Learning
Old time radio
Answering the stupid questions from people who REFUSE to access a computer
Watching sports (ESPN3)
Research - what used to take DAYS or WEEKS now takes seconds
Food sites - recipes and restaurants
E-coupon from local Kroger's affiliate (real money saver) and to plan all my various grocery trips
Yes! Not only e-coupons but also a current list of specials, my Kroger rewards card, my shopping list, and my cookbook are all on my iPhone. All I carry into the store are my phone and my credit card. When Kroger finally starts accepting Apple Pay, all I'll need is my phone.
Sometimes when shopping I see an appealing selection of something not on my list. I open my cookbook app and pull up a recipe using that item. I can then add all the needed ingredients to my shopping cart and check for any new e-coupons.
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