Even those that don’t have a computer have been affected by technology more than they can imagine. Non pc owners use mobile phones, digital audio/video equipment, digital cameras, computerized appliances, autos, atms, voicemail, and many other items that would not be around and working as well and as fast as they do without the advances that we have seen in technology. The chips that run these devices are being made smaller by the day and they are running faster than we could have ever imagined. Prices are dropping because of the advances that have been made. It is still going to cost a lot to be on the edge of technology but you can get some pretty good stuff at pretty good prices because it is not the latest and greatest that is available.

Computers have come a long way in the last few years and with the increase in the speed and availability of computers has come the growth of the Internet. If there is some information that you would like to have, it most likely can be found by searching Google. Where do these people find the time to put up Web pages about anything and everything that you could imagine? The numbers tend to astound me.

Then there are the many daily tasks that we can now do from the comfort of our easy chair. I recently installed a wireless router so I can do this now. Shopping online saves time, money, and gas. Even if you don’t buy the item online, you can find out where the item is available and at what prices and then use MapQuest to find out the best route to the store.

We use the Internet to check bank statements, transfer funds between accounts, pay our household bills, pay college bills for the kids and any other bills you might have. We have the ability to check on our savings and investment accounts in real time and make changes just as fast. The Internet has increased the speed of our money to no end.

Computers and the Internet have allowed many professions to move out of the office and back to the house. Writers and transcribers do not need to go into an office anymore. Most of the writers for this magazine write from the house and e-mail their columns to the editor at the last minute. Well maybe the last minute thing is just me. The research that is available on the Internet would rival most major libraries. We don’t have to use typewriters and white out because we have automatic spell-check and a backspace key that will remove any error. The only problem I have not found a solution for is having the wrong word spelled correctly in the right place. That grammar check just doesn’t work the way it should all the time. But then neither do my typing fingers or brain.

Many people use the Internet to go back to work from the house without actually being at work. You don’t have to stay at the office until 9 or 10 and miss supper with the family. You can go home at a reasonable hour, have supper and some quiet time. After you have relaxed for a couple of hours you are going to be much more alert and the report or project will go much faster. We are able to use programs like pcAnywhere to perform maintenance on our servers and workstations from the comforts of our homes and without the bother of having the user waiting on us to finish. Most of the updates that are done are scheduled and performed without a human present but some still need the human touch. Now it can be a virtual touch from anywhere around the globe.

We have the ability to keep in touch with family and friends through e-mail and chat programs. We can communicate with vendors without having to play phone tag talking to voicemail. We send an e-mail, they get it and they answer it. No more waiting for someone to call us back and talk to our voicemail because we were on the phone trying to call them back. Phone number, address and zip code lookups are done with the click of a few keys in half the time.

Does anyone know where the holiday schedule for mail and trash pickup is? They sent it to me in the postal mail and I always end up looking it up on the Internet when I need it. I can finally remember where I put the favorite but I have given up on printing it out because I always put it in such a good place I can never find it at the next holiday.

Technology has made all of our lives easier and given us the ability to have a lot more free time. It never seems to work out that way because it seems that the faster I move the behinder I get. That must be the real way of the world.