My Love/Hate Relationship With Technology

The other day our AM/FM Clock Radio died a sudden death. In the olden days, we would simply go to a store (you remember those places built out of bricks) and make our selection. The beauty of stores is that you can see and touch the item you are interested in buying.


I guess they still exist, but I simply fired up my computer and went to Amazon.com and was faced with hundreds of clock radios; from the very basic to the highly complex. 


I must confess that I am an addict. My addiction is not to booze, drugs or fast women, but to technology!


In this instance, my eye naturally gravitated to those clock radios that had the most bells and whistles. Simple just wouldn't do; I need a challenge that leads to frustration. My research led me to the Sangean RCR-Black AM/FM Atomic Clock Radio with iPod Dock.


What could be better than an "atomic clock radio"? My heart went pitter-patter as I read the description that promised to sync the radio with an atomic clock located in Colorado and keep perfect time for ever and ever. Not that I am programmed to last forever and ever. All I had to do was push a button and within an hour the radio would be ready to play.

I felt I was qualified to accomplish that without any problem. I did what I was instructed and waited for this miracle to take place. After the hour passed with nothing happening, I read the fine print. It told me what to do if I was unable to connect with this mysterious clock in CO. 


While the procedure was more complex and time consuming, the result was the same. After two hours of reading and following the instructions the clock still didn't work and ergo (three dots) I packed the clock up and sent it back to Amazon and replaced it with a low-tech model that worked simply by plugging it in. Voila! I pushed one button and it worked.

Just how did I arrive at this stage of addiction?


It started decades ago when I was in charge of marketing and sales for Golding Industries Inc, a manufacturer of textiles for the home furnishings industry. This was at the dawn of the PC and software development for business. I received a call from the person in charge of our computer department telling me about the interest of two people who had developed a "contact management" program for business applications. They were looking for companies willing to test the application. Not even knowing what "contact management" meant I immediately said, that I was willing to help test the program.


The program was ACT and over the years and decades it grew into the largest contact management program in the field. When I started, it was a simple program that a dum-dum like me could understand and put to good use. It has gone through various owners and with each new association, it got more and more complex. At first it was a stand alone program, but as other programs came into the field (primarily MS OUTLOOK) ACT learned how to interface with them. 


In no time at all, every year a new update was published causing me to spend countless hours on the phone with the support staff upgrading the program. I believe that everyone in support got to know my telephone number and learned to fear the call.


ACT is like eating a Lay's Potato Chip; you can't have just one. I have become so addicted to the program that life without ACT would be unthinkable. Without ACT, there would never have been KIDS. The program allowed us to operate as if we were a "real" organization with a full time staff, rather than Jane and me doing the daily work.


This next statement will strike fear into members of my family. It is almost September when the next ACT update bursts on the scene. This one will be compatible with all Google programs.


Just picture what life will be like here as I struggle to learn and incorporate the new and improved version into my life. 


Just think Atomic Radio.


Over the years I have graduated to other programs that promised Nirvana and in my hands turned to dust. Perhaps another day I will bore you with details of my continuing love/hate affair with technology.