Technological Clodhoppers

Written by Ed Williams


I’ve invented a new term!

Yep, that’s right, I’ve invented a brand new term! Invented it all by myself, too, it popped into my head just a few minutes ago. I don’t know if it’s quite as good a term as some ofrepparttar ones Ed Jr. has invented inrepparttar 133318 past (most of which could not be printed here), but I still think it’s a good one. So now, without further ado, here it is:

“Technological Clodhopper”

That’s right, “Technological Clodhopper.” Just by looking at that you can probably tell that it’s a term that should be used to refer to a person, more specifically to a certain type of person. And you’d be one hundred percent right in your assessment, it’s a term that does describes a certain type person, so let me offer up a few examples here so that everyone understands just what a “Technological Clodhopper” is....

Example 1: You’re in a big hurry to go somewhere, but you need to stop by your bank in order to get some cash. No problem, you figure, you’ll just pull up torepparttar 133319 instant cash machine, get a few bills, and be on your way. And you do exactly that, you pull offrepparttar 133320 main drag intorepparttar 133321 bank’s parking lot and get in line behind someone. Then you sit there and wait, thinking that this one person in front of you is no big deal. Then you wait, and wait, and wait some more - finally, after about four or five minutes you begin wondering why this person is still usingrepparttar 133322 ATM? You look over towards them and witness one ofrepparttar 133323 following:

1. They’re doing nothing but staring atrepparttar 133324 ATM screen in a very perplexed way.

2. They’re typing in numbers like crazy, but no money is coming out ofrepparttar 133325 machine.

3. They have about eighty receipts tucked into one of their hands, which either means they’ve decided to do about a month’s worth of banking all at one time, or, they have no money but figure they can work some kind of magic and will some out ofrepparttar 133326 machine.

Everyone described in 1-3 above qualifies as “Technological Clodhoppers.”

Example 2: As a patriotic citizen, you always cast your ballot on Election Day. Today, as we all know,repparttar 133327 process is computerized and tutorials take you easily throughrepparttar 133328 ballot. You note to yourself while standing in line that casting your vote will take no time, as a mallard duck could complete a computerized ballot in two to three minutes. As you‘re thinking about all that, you note that you haven’t moved inrepparttar 133329 line at all. You then look over atrepparttar 133330 voting booths and see:

Bluetooth now poised to fulfill its promise

Written by Raymond Klesc


No question about it, Bluetooth is very handy thanks to its improved integration with computers, cell phones and automobiles.

When Bluetooth first appeared about five years ago,repparttar hype far outstripped its usefulness. The ability to eliminaterepparttar 133317 tangles of cords and cables was very alluring. Unfortunately, cost and complexity almost broughtrepparttar 133318 technology to its knees.

Now its back, alive and well, fulfilling its promise as a useful tool in a variety of settings.

Europe was its early adopter and it is standard on nearly all European cell phones. They have adopted Bluetooth enabled phones, laptops, wireless keyboards, mice and more. Sexy Headsets: Cingular and T-Mobile wireless carriers userepparttar 133319 same technology as their European counterparts and thus offer Bluetooth enabled devices for their customers. Bluetooth is rarer from Sprint and Verizon Communications which are based on North American technologies.

One major boost for adoption of Bluetooth enabled mobile phones will come from State and local governments. Many new laws and ordinances have been adopted or are in various stages of implementation that will levy fines for driving and using a hand held cell phone. The push for hands-free calling will move Bluetooth forward inrepparttar 133320 marketplace.

Acura TL now offers Bluetooth integrated intorepparttar 133321 automobile allowingrepparttar 133322 driver to userepparttar 133323 cars stereo system as a speakerphone and displays information onrepparttar 133324 dashboard. Bluetooth car kits are now available from Motorola, Nokia, Parrot and others for about $100.

Early teething problems included high cost and poor battery life and made it unattractive for handsets. But now Logitech’s Mobile Bluetooth handset can be had for about $50. The $140 Jabra BT800, which lets you control many cell-phone functions onrepparttar 133325 headset, offers six hours of talk time and five days of standby. After that, you can recharge by running a USB cable fromrepparttar 133326 headset into a laptop so you don't need to take a charger with you. A headset onrepparttar 133327 way from Plantronics will come with adapters that allow charging from most phone adapters or from an AA battery.

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