Technology Trials

I just got a new smart phone. That's the good news. That's also the bad news. It is apparently smarter than me. Ironically, downloading apps and using the internet came easily to me. After all it's just a mini computer. However, the basic uses of a phone--calling and texting were difficult if not downright impossible for the first few days. I was used to pushing one or two buttons to make a call. This phone requires more effort and is a lot less simple than my former phone. I've gone from driving a Model-T to trying to drive a Lear Jet. (Update: I have found the "Genius" button. One touch and I talk to my phone and tell it what to do--Genius! However, I refuse to be one of those people who talk to their phones in public.)

I was proud that I found the button to set the alarm on my phone. I found it once, set the alarm for every M-F (workdays), realized that I might want to turn it off sometimes, and can't find my way back to where ever I set it from. Oh well, I have until Thanksgiving to figure that one out.

I downloaded apps with the scriptures and conference talks from the last ten years. "This will be so useful in church," I thought. Then I went to Stake Conference where our Stake President asked us not to bring our phones to church. Sigh. He's right; technology often leads to bad language as you try to figure out what has gone wrong.

I have also learned the meaning of "sync." The meaning was brought forcefully home when I deleted contacts on my phone that were just e-mail contacts and not people that I call. Imagine my joy at discovering they were also deleted from my Gmail! All my Primary and Scouting contacts gone. Thank goodness for actual paper copies. Sync, people, is a powerful force. Use it wisely.