Technology

Is There An App For You?

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You want to stay in touch with someone?  You can use Facebook.  Or Twitter.  Or email.  Or Plaxo.  Or LinkedIn.  Or . . . well you get the idea.

Sure there's applications like Flipboard and RSS feeds to try and tie things together.  There's plenty of ways to try and arrange your time to keep up on social media.  But it seems keeping track of people is awful complicated in this age of technology to make things simpler.

Now for people who want to be known, or who have a lot to say in various media, or who have people who follow them intimately (from friends do just family), this is even more complicated.  Some people, for a million or just ten people want to keep in touch.

So I've wondered, in an age where there's many ways to turn simple feeds and data into Apps for Smartphones, iPads etc., are some people going to basically create "Me Apps"? 

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The Web? There’s an App For That

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I can't imagine what I'd do without the web.  Research, news, game tips, general amusement, and more are all there online.  Anyone can make a web page and create a new resource.  The web is vital to what I do, to my life, to my job – and I imagine you're the same way.

However we also know the web has problems.  We get bad pages and embed ads, corrupted sites and bad formatting.  How many of us have a few ad blockers, script busters, and other tools to make web-surfing easier?  How many of us sigh as we try and help our less computer-literate friends and relatives navigate the complexities of the modern web?  The web, for all its benefits, is complicated in many ways that frustrate our enjoyment of it.

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When Tech Became Cool

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Nearly a year ago, I moved to Mac.

I recall it quite clearly when it happened.  I was planning a new Windows Box purchase as soon as Windows 7 came out.  Then I had a virus on my computer, which I managed to fix.  My wife and roommate of the time, both Mac users, had long been suggesting I use a Mac.

So after having blown an evening dealing with my first virus infection in years (apparently due to a PDF vulnerability), I began reflecting on the advantages of having a Mac:
* All the basic software I need.
* Great service and support.
* Much less viruses and such targeting it – and good onboard security to boot.
* Long lifespan.

This all added up though to one, important thing – less frustration.

I'm a busy person.  I'm a PM in technology, and thus no longer being a programmer, a computer crisis is not a Valuable Learning Experience.  I can't imagine what computer problems are like for people who don't have an IT background, though I can guess from the amount of times my friends and I play tech support.

But Mac is relatively frustration-free.  Mac is fast, slick, sexy, and gets the job done.

That's what I wanted.  That's why I got a Mac.  It's also a reason I hear for a lot of people using a Mac.

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