Back To The Future

I really feel lucky to be working for a company that continues to stay on the cutting edge of technology. In this business you really have to, and we are given the tools to make sure we’re on top. Of course, everything we get has to be justified, as there is no such thing as frivolous spending in our company.

Let’s take me as an example. I have an Apple Macbook Air and up until recently, an iMac. My iMac was first generation and so recently, because of a memory issue, I was upgraded to a new but spartan Mac Mini with a display. I don’t need all the bells and whistles, just processing speed. I got it with this setup.

Another cool thing about this job is that people send us all kinds of stuff in hope that we will write about it. Books, movies and music CDs are in practically every mail delivery. The other day, our editor-in-chief Don Chapman walked into my office with a music CD. He said, “Ron, this is from a group called St. Paul & The Broken Bones. You might want to check it out.”

We often share music no matter what the style or genre. I swiveled around in my chair and went to insert the CD into my Mac. There was no slot to be found. Like Macbook Air, these units rely on USB jump drives or Bluetooth to transfer things like information and music onto your computer. I was kind of taken aback and even frustrated because the CD was now useless.

OK, I figured, I’d just listen to it on my way home. I actually was driving our daughter’s car, as I was having mine serviced. It’s a KIA Soul, which is a nifty little car and one that I see more and more people driving. Anyway, when I left that evening to go home, I took out the CD but could not find the CD slot for the player. I called my daughter and she explained (probably with eyes rolling) that music has to be downloaded or listened from a music device using Bluetooth.

That was strike three. When I got home, we decided to go out to eat and so we took the family car, my wife’s, which is a 2003 model and guaranteed to have a CD player. As I started driving I tried to insert the music CD, but it wouldn’t go in. My wife explained that the Carpenters Christmas CD was still stuck in there from Christmas. She then said: “But the cassette player still works!”

Chapman should have just given me an 8-track tape. I would’ve had better luck.

rnagasawa@midweek.com