Upgrades - Shmupgrades.

Good grief! Even the dog has been sucked in!!!

Ajoy has now had it up to the eyeballs with the rate at which technology is progressing! I'm ready to move to the hills somewhere and live without cell phones, computers, DVDs, grow our own food, raise our own steak, use the things we already own without spending hundreds to replace and upgrade!

All of my frustration finally hit the roof last night when I just wanted to play the short video clips of our children we took when they were smaller on our camera and downloaded onto our computer. Never use to have any troubles before - I clicked - they played - all was free - all were happy. Months ago my husband thought he'd 'upgrade' our kodak 'easyshare' program on our computer. Now - if I want to view OUR video clips - I MUST download the 'latest version' of something or other and pay $30. Otherwise - I can never see our video clips again.

My anger over all of this 'upgrade' business has been building up to a boil ever since we bought our first video camera right before MN was born. We got several wonderful videos recorded the first two years and then the camera quit working for no apparent reason. We took it back to the store we bought it from - sorry - they can't help us - the camera is too old - maybe the 'Geek Squad' can fix it. ( For a large sum of money of course. ) Nope - they don't know how to fix it. (ISN'T THAT THEIR JOB??? ) maybe someone else can fix it for more than it would cost to buy a whole new camera. All of the cords, and equipment that go with the camera are now also obsolete - everything has been 'upgraded!'

Same thing happens to our digital camera. We go buy a new digital camera. (Not cheap either ) We have to buy ALL new memory cards, computer cords, batteries, chargers etc.... because none of the ones from the old - ( 2 years old )camera will fit the new 'upgraded' camera. I go to get the new photos developed at my local walmart. Guess what? The NEW camera memory card is so new - it doesn't work in the photo kiosk! ( These are the words from the desk clerk! ) I must use a much more expensive kiosk to get my photos off of my camera!

TV used to be free to watch! Then you buy a VCR - but now if by chance your VCR still works - you can't rent or buy anything on video tape to watch - so you must spend hundreds on a DVD player and replace all of your favorite movies with disks! You spend hundreds on a fancy new TV and hundreds on cable or satellite services and now your local video store is upgrading many DVD's to 'Blueray'! Our super expensive DVD player - surround sound system - does not work for 'Blueray!' But why upgrade everything to be able to view blueray when I'm sure it's only a couple years down the road - we'll be upgrading again to Redstream or Purple vision!

What's wrong with one land line telephone? I have enough trouble dodging the 20, loud ringing telephone calls per day from telemarketers. ( who, by the way, I hang up on without saying a word, should I even happen to answer the phone! ) Don't we already talk too much and listen to the wrong things too often? What's wrong with the ol' car radio, it's free!!! - Yeah it goes to static when you cross the mountains but isn't that when the family enjoys singing along to camp songs or just enjoys the quiet???? I'm VERY fine with using all of the things from my childhood - plain TVs you had to get up to turn the knob - not having to answer to the many different ringing and music playing phones - not have crazy people typing on microscopic buttons and taking random photos of every mundane thing on their tiny little gadget they just pulled out of their pocket. Heck - I still have my old typewriter and if blogger wasn't FREE and my email wasn't FREE, I'd be using that. I'm probably alone in my technological rebellion and my tantrum I'm throwing over it - but I refuse to get on the upgrade bandwagon and fork out thousands of dollars to fill my head with more useless media buzz.