“Information Technology: the technology involving the development, maintenance, and use of computer systems, software, and networks for the processing and distribution of data”
We tend to be a tech-savvy family. My husband’s line of work is I.T.. He’s always researching the latest and greatest in information technologies and gadgets. Because of this, I have been exposed to things I probably wouldn’t have otherwise. I love (and am very thankful for) a number of these. Here’s a bit of a list:
- Netflix: provides on-demand video streaming over the internet. We have a computer hooked up to our TV and we can watch movies and TV shows for a small monthly fee (we’re watching “Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie” as I type). The selection isn’t huge, but it’s enough to keep us entertained. We’ve cancelled any cable or satellite TV services and just use the internet to watch video (beside Netflix, we use iTunes and YouTube)
- Controlling our TV/computer from my laptop: here I am sitting on the couch, watching a movie, and I have the technology to control the computer hooked up to the TV remotely through my laptop (the software is called TightVNC); I can surf the net, download & watch movies, etc. As an added bonus, I can control our Blu-Ray player from my iPod (cool, eh?)
- iPod Touch: my husband used to ask me if I wanted a pocket PC or iPod Touch. He thought I would enjoy them as they are good organizational tools and I love to be organized. I balked at this and didn’t think I ‘needed’ anything like that. I had got along without them up until now so why would I need them. But a little over a year ago my husband bought me an iPod Touch and I was instantly hooked! This gadget is awesome! Not only does it make me even more organized (calendar, grocery list, contact list), but it keeps all my social media information in one spot (RSS reader to follow blogs, email, facebook), news (Globe & Mail, CBC News, Discovery News, TED, StarPhoenix), information tools (Yellow Pages, IMDB, Flixster to know what movies are playing, Dictionary, Conversion tool), etc. I even have a couple of apps where I can search recipes (that has come in very handy at times). I have games to keep me and my daughter entertained; I can listen to music; watch Netflix and YouTube; I can surf the internet; I can read books (I have an app where I can download over 23,000 classic literature). I always carry my iPod with me wherever I go and if I forget to bring it along I feel ‘naked’. It is absolutely awesome having all this information at my fingertips.
- the internet: never in the history of mankind has information been so easily accessible. Need to know operating hours of your favorite mall – look it up; need to do some shopping – shop online (the options are endless); want to know the actor in the last movie you watched; get information on the earthquake in Japan; look up the life of King George the 6th. On top of all that with social networking (Twitter, Facebook) the course of history is changing (a great example is the 2011 protests in Egypt)
The list could go on, but needless to say my life would be very different without information technologies. And I am very thankful for them.