The wonders of modern technology

As a kid, I dreamed of sorts of techno-toys that I'd be playing with.....mostly revolving around music and recording. I figured I'd never be able to afford anything, or ever get into a studio because of the expense. Well, as I sit here in the "outhouse" - my name for the little building out back that has my workshop and studio - I have 3 computers in the room, an 88-key synth, aKorg DW8000 that I use for analog sounds,plus some outboard gear hodge-podged together. I'm typing this on an old windows 98 laptop a friend gave me, which is hooked up tot he internet through a Mac mini,connected to the 'net via dialup. The mini is mp3-encoding a 30 minute audio file, downloading a systemupdate, sharing it's internet connection with this windows laptop, AND I'm using it to edit some audio. What have all these toys given me?No, not satisfaction, or happiness. Capabilities. They give the possibility of doing pro-level work in the outhouse. ........that is, IF I know what I'm doing, and how they should work.

People aren't as tech-savvy as the press makes them out to be

Perhaps a better title would be "The press is more gaga over new technologies than regular people are". Hmm, that would qualify as an obvious statement. My Mercer classes started today. Becuase of the research I do, and the things I read, I am very aware of many of the technology trends happening. I've read all the hype about RSS and blogs and how they are going to change the world yada yada yada yada. In my first class this morning, not a single student of the 12 present had even heard of blogging or podcasting. Interesting! So much for that urban myth that all students (i.e. teenagers) are very tech-savvy.