Me and Technology

I was just reading Corinne's post about her new Macbook and it got me to thinking about me and technology.

Now, as I am sure you are aware, I am not adverse to spending money on things I like- clothes, brooches, clothes, Doctor Who things, dancing, clothes etc.

But technology- no.

The laptop I use is a Sony Vaio which used to belong to CBC's Mum.  I've had it for 2-3 years now. Before that, I had the school laptop I was given when I started at my current school 10 years ago- I only stopped using it due to an unfortunate accident with a cup of tea.

The one before that was my sister's old laptop that I bought from her for £100. I used that for several years until it got a virus.
That said, I did buy a Huawei tablet last September but again, this belonged to someone else. It belonged to our School business Manager's mum and she never used it so I bought it from her. I wanted one because I really wanted to use Instagram but my phone is too ancient to support it.

You can see where this is going?  I seem to have a weird aversion to buying any technology new. I just don't like giving in to the 'Must have the latest model'.

What about phones?

Well, my current HTC Desire I have had for four years now. It belonged to my sister before that  and she hadn't used it for 2 years before I acquired it- I only gave into that because a freak accident led to my beloved Nokia swivel phone ending up in a cup of water.

All my previous phones before that were all my sister and Mum's rejects.
 The ONE phone I paid for was my Nokia 3210- and I accidentally left it on a train.

Camera?  Well, my old Digital camera belonged to my Mum and I bought it from her.  I had an accident with the tripod where it ended up falling onto concrete.  Luckily, WOMOTM and J bought me a lovely Canon digital for my 31st birthday which I have used lovingly ever since. It was repaired after another tripod accident.

Thinking about it, even the washing machine that I bought when my old one broke when I lived at home was 2nd hand from a friend's Dad who had gone into a Nursing Home and it wasn't used.   I know they say it is cheaper to buy a new item of technology than repair an old one but I think my eco-conscience would prefer to fix the old thing- it's not like all parts could be repaired easily.

I think I honestly refuse to spend money on a new thing when the one I have is perfectly functional.  CBC despairs of me over my clunky old Smartphone but I often remember a male friend who was mugged for his mobile phone in East London. Like me, his was ancient and when they took it, they said, "What is this!?????" and handed it back to him.  I think that might happen with mine.

In conclusion, I am remarkably stingy when it comes to shelling out money on technology and would much prefer to keep something from landfill if it functions well enough.

What's your take on technology?

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