If Your Fridge Could Tweet, What Would it Say About You?

Well you’re about to find out…

The masterminds over at Samsung have come out with a fridge that
(among other things) Tweets, plays Pandora radio, and keeps you on
schedule with Google Calendar.

Samsung says that this will make it easier for families to leave
messages for each other.  How sweet.  Call me old-fashioned, but I’ll
stick with the Post-its and Sharpees.  Hell, I’d take a chisel and
slab of rock before I dropped $3000 on a refrigerator.  The only thing
I want from my refrigerator is cold food, and that’s that.

Posted by Courtney

Twitter Tattlers Beware!

One of the most ANNOYING things about being a savvy-twenty something in gen-Y (yes, I’m referring to myself), is teaching your…elders…to use technology.  Most of us can agree, parents just don’t understand.

I applaud my mom, who is an integral member of the 21^st century; she can type using all 10 fingers (unlike someone I know who sits behind me in the office…), and has an iPhone, which she especially adores for its iBird app, an application that helps you go birding by ear.  She also signed up for a Facebook account, but usually complains about it saying:

“I don’t get it; Facebook sent me an email telling me exactly what Kathy wrote to me in a message, why can’t I just respond to this e-mail? Why do I have to go on Facebook?”

So I explain: “Because mom, it’s not about e-mailing, it’s about being able to interact on a more personal level with your friends and seeing their pictures and who else they’re talking with, et cetra, et cetra.”

“Oh, well, that seems stupid to me.”

Now my dad, on the other hand, he asked me to help him start a blog the other day.  Okay dad, that’s pretty cool of you, welcome to 2011!  So we set up his account, agree on a color palate, formatting style, title, etc.  I had to help him a little bit on the aesthetic, only because he works in finance, so all of his written material GENERALLY LOOKS LIKE ONE BIG LONG PARAGRAPH STUCK IN CAPS LOCK SO IT LOOKS LIKE THE SCREEN IS YELLING AT YOU!

After a grueling, P-in-the-A 60 minutes, where I did not hide my annoyance by his lack of command key knowledge, my dad had officially started his own blog, complete with a Twitter account, which I also helped him set up and choose peeps to follow.

Exhausted by the process, I tweeted to anyone that cared (which was no one) “ugh, teaching parents technology is SO ANNOYING!” and felt reprieve.  Minutes later, I had a reply tweet from my father.

#FML.

At first I was pissed I had to tutor a course on DIY blogging 101, now I’m pissed that parents are, in fact, integral members of the social cyber network.

Moral of the story: don’t underestimate your parents’ ability to finally enter the 21^st century.

Posted by Hannah

On the Pulse

In much the same way that my parents refused to buy an answering machine or microwave until well into the late ‘90s, I’ve been somewhat slow on the uptake when it comes to technology. It’s not like I lament the passing of the Walkman or the Palm Pilot, but I’ve always been about 18 months behind when it comes to having the latest gadget or the most cutting-edge phone. Until two weeks ago, I had the same cell phone as the majority of 12-year olds – the enV 2. A sleek little flip phone with texting-only capabilities, my phone was the lightening rod for derision and humiliation among my friends, family and even a few strangers. Finally succumbing to the masses, I upgraded to what I like to call a “fancy phone,” a.k.a. one that lets you “surf the information superhighway,” download apps and other things beyond my enV’s realm of understanding.

Other than the two-way text conversations (extremely helpful when trying to piece together the night before – much easier than sorting through your inbox and sent folders), what I love most about my new phone is an app I’ve downloaded called “Pulse.” A news reader that allows you to view photos and headlines of the top stories from up to 20 sources, then click through for more, Pulse is my latest addiction. Already an aggressive media consumer, Pulse allows me to view the top stories from The New Yorker, Gawker, Grubstreet, Fashionista, Vanity Fair Daily, The Huffington Post, Salon, The Sartorialist, Mashable, The New York Times and more, at-a-glance. It’s brilliant!

While I’m sad to say goodbye to my ‘tween phone, I’m pretty happy with the upgrade.

Posted by Amelia