The Gift That Keeps On Giving

I like the gift swap game. (That’s the game where you can open a gift or steel a gift that someone else has already opened). When I am looking for a gift for this game I try to pick a gift that I really like. If I am lucky I can leave with the same gift I came with. Last night I was lucky.

I had to bring a gift that a guy would like that was under $20. Normally I would head straight to Radio Shack or Best Buy, but since most of my friends aren’t as into techno junk as I am, I went to Home Depot. I looked at a stubby ratchet set, and some grilling paraphernalia, but I kept finding myself on the lighting isle. I was shocked at the price and variety of the LED bulbs. Just last year I would have been lucky to find one brand on the shelf and I wouldn’t be able to afford it. This year I found a 40-watt equivalent bulb in a warm white color for about $17. I bought it for the game and wound up winning it back.

LED bulbs could really change the way that we light everything. They are very efficient, they give off a great quality of light, they are dimmable, and they last a really long time. If the bulb I have last half as long as it is expected to, I will be retired before it needs to be replaced. Think of what will happen as the technology is perfected. I imagine my girls (currently 4 years old) moving into their first home as an adult and after replacing the lights with LEDs, never having to do it again.

For those of you that think that CFLs are a better choice, let me say that I would have agreed with you just a year ago. Since 2002 every time an incandescent bulb would go out, I would replace it with a CFL. Currently almost all of my interior bulbs are CFLs. Now, when they start to go out I will replace them with the LEDs. LEDs are not that much more efficient than the CFLs, but they light up instantly, I find the light to be a better quality, they have no mercury, they are dimmable, and they should last a really long time.

If you are thinking about changing your lighting from incandescent, consider skipping CFL’s and going straight to LEDs. A word of warning though, do your homework. Not all bulbs are the same quality. Look for bulbs that have a low wattage, the correct lumens (amount of light) you are currently using, and the same color. Some blubs give a deep orange light while others give an almost blue light. Most people prefer a color that is in the middle. You should expect it to take a few years to replace all your bulbs, unless you want to spend a lot all at once. As for me, one bulb replaced, about 55 to go.

The Luddites

Thursday I had a chance to meet up with the instructional technology coaches from across South Carolina and I was surprised to find out that not many of them knew what the word Luddite meant. Urbandictionary.com defines a Luddite as, “one who fears technology (or new technology, as they seem pleased with how things currently are...why can't everything just be the same?),” but this is not a new fad word. Originally the Luddites where a group of workers in England that believed that the machines of the early industrial revolution would take their jobs or force them to take lower wages. In rebellion they would sabotage the machines or burn the factories down. So it seems, no matter how far you go back in time there has always been a group apposed to technological change.

This week the Beatles finally made it to iTunes. Unsurprisingly the fans are going wild, unfortunately so are the Luddites. Below are just a few things that are disturbing me

1. The Beatles are milking their fans for every penny. Most of their diehard fans just bought the entire collection when it was remastered last year. If their fans knew a little more about technology, maybe they would rip the CD’s they already have and save themselves $150 and the quality would be better.

2. The Beatles haven’t really come around. The word is that the Beatles are not a permanent fixture on iTunes. This could be all marketing driven, but I have my doubts.

3. There are still bands that don’t want to “sell out.” It way cooler to sell out to

Wal-Mart than iTunes. See the huffingtonpost.com for a list of 8 artists. Notice that most of them had their heyday before the age of the Internet. That says Luddite to me.

4. Most of the talk on the internet about this is being done by obvious Luddites. I read a short blurb about the Beatles on Savings.com that starts off “For those of you that get your music on iTunes.” I couldn’t help but think, “Who doesn’t?” My question was answered at hometheaterspot.com. The guys on this forum aren’t real big fans of iTunes. I will not disagree that there are some quality issues. But to the causal listener, it is not noticeable.

All of this points to one larger issue which is that there are still people that will not embrace new technology. I don't know if it is because they are afraid, or because the are stubborn. I don't guess it matters. As long as they fight technological change, they will continue to hold the rest of us back as well.

From the Experts

I was fortunate enough to go to South Carolina's Ed Tech last week, and I really enjoyed the chance to speak with the vendors about new technology they have to offer. I can't say that to much blew me away, but I was dumbfounded by the attitudes that some of the "experts" I met.

In one conversation I mentioned that I was learning to type on a DVORAK keyboard, and yes I am that much of a geek. I made a joke that by the time I mastered it, voice recognition would be perfected. At this the guy became very defensive, "That is never going to happen. Voice recognition is just to unreliable. Plus, you couldn't use it in the classroom, or in an office." He went on, but I couldn't help but think that here is a guy that is on the cutting edge of technology,Could he be right?

I doubt it. The keyboard is not going away anytime soon, and I know I have high expectations for the future, but these old-timers of technology seem to be missing the potential that is still in front of us.I believe that my daughters will not have jobs in which they will have to do extensive typing. Technology will do it for them. If we embrace new and reliable technology as it is developed, then there might be hope that I will no longer have to type. So long DVORAK.

But I could be wrong. After all I am not an expert.