AS I have said in the past the inventions of today with their mind-blowing technology have often caused complete bewilderment. But the demise of the tape-recorder and, seemingly, the end of cassette recording means that at some stage in our life we will n
AS I have said in the past the inventions of today with their mind-blowing technology have often caused complete bewilderment.
But the demise of the tape-recorder and, seemingly, the end of cassette recording means that at some stage in our life we will need an iPod or a MP3 Player.
At least I recognise the products - but don't ask me to explain the difference.
So with a certain amount of trepidation I stood looking along shelf on shelf of these inventions.
Obviously, before taking on such an adventure I sought advice and was told all about megabytes and the other workings of these gadgets.
It didn't mean a thing.
And to save embarrassment one doesn't even seek advice when completely lost looking along the shelves.
Still, I spent an hour reading all the packaging and came to a decision: buy a cheap one. At least then it would not be a waste of money when discovering that I didn't have a clue about the workings of the thing.
There was some instruction about connecting the gadget to the computer and downloading (I think that's the right technical term) available material.
All well and good.
After hours of looking at the thing from all angles I discovered that you actually removed a cover.
The next test (all modern technology is a test) was to actually attach it to the computer.
This, I had been told was quite straightforward, and, anyway, the computer virtually does the job itself.
Yet another search around the workings of the computer and there was a socket where this new piece of technology could be plugged-in.
It's true, too, that the computer screen does produce a list of directions. These, though, are for the computer literate - and we all know that computer language isn't quite everyday English.
Yet another hour was spent attempting a download.
Somehow it worked and there on this new gadget appeared the latest edition of The Archers.
I didn't really want to listen to the everyday tale of country people (that's a Sunday morning ritual with the omnibus edition), but at least competence in downloading had been proved.
Yet another piece of modern technology had been mastered. The trouble is I'm still not sure about the downloading process and all I've got is an episode of The Archers.
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