I took a technological sabbatical. After way too many years of being mired in the quicksand of tech innovation, I pulled myself out and mentally sat on the beach drinking Mojitos. 

It’snot that I got off the grid completely, it’s just being digital became something I wanted to do, not because I had to.

I monitored Facebook but rarely updated my status. As far as I was concerned, Twitter flew south for the winter. I got a new laptop, not because I was enamored with the latest and the greatest but because my old one died. Being retired, I couldn’t just go to my company IT guy and order a new one. I’m my company IT guy and he was under orders the brass to cut costs. Since I’m also the brass, there was no appeal.

I hear that there are a lot of new phones on the market with competing operating systems, competing App stores and seriously competing lawsuits. (Look up the Lotus look and feel lawsuit.) I did get an iPhone 3GS because my beloved Palm died both literally and as a separate company. The iPhone has been a real pain. No joke. My death grip on it for nearly two years has caused carpal tunnel syndrome. I do have a very cool wrist splint.

However, I’m stuck with the iPhone or its progeny because I’m grandfathered into AT&T’s unlimited data plan. My accountant –me—says don’t messed with fixed costs.

Tablets and other small screen devices aren’t ideal for those of us with less than ideal eyesight. I did lust after the iPad when it was first launched  . Though it amuses me when I hear tech pundits rant about a device being an ounce or two to heavy. My first portable computer, ,  weighed 26 lbs and battery life was non-existent because it needed to be plugged in at all times.

I used to be a gamer but no matter how stunning the graphics are, I just can’t see the bad guys soon enough and I don’t solve puzzles as well as I used to. My bad knee is a good excuse for not using a Wii or my small living room for the Kinect.

I’m not becoming a Luddite but maybe a tech curmudgeon. I love all things digital but I’ve been here long enough to know that everything old is new again. Ah, how beautiful the Unix makeover looks on Macs.