My Tribute to Steve Jobs - by Cara Potapshyn Meyers

I opened my Apple MacBook laptop this morning, Oct 6, 2011, and was stunned speechless that there was a photo of Steve Jobs, creative genius behind all of Apple computer products, with 1955-2011 underneath his picture. I thought, my goodness! He was so young! What happened?

I called my husband, who is in the radio business and knows when a major disaster occurs before it even happens. He told me Jobs died of pancreatic cancer. The most aggressive and lethal cancer there is. I was shocked. 

As I am typing this blog on a two month old iPad 2, I recall bursting with joy just yesterday. I found out that first, iCloud, a satellite entity that will sync every Apple item you own, seamlessly, second by second, with complete wireless connection, coming out the following week! This meant that next week at this time, as I edit a blog on my iPad, the exact same blog will already be on my laptop, edited within seconds after I correct. No more syncing with cables, no more waiting for downloads. 100% wireless connection across every device I own. After spending an hour syncing my iPhone to my computer and my iPad to my computer, I was thanking Steve Jobs for this much awaited and anticipated creation. I thought to myself, this is the last time I have to waste a whole hour getting all of my electronic machinery in sync via cables.

I was equally amazed to learn that the much anticipated iPhone 5, renamed iPhone 4S, would be available to purchase two days later! I chose to bypass the original iPhone 4 after hearing about all of the glitches. Now that Steve Jobs has passed, I will be on my computer at midnight, pre-ordering the iPhone 4S which is scheduled to be released next week. I planned to purchase the iPhone 5/4S regardless. But the iPhone 4S is going to be legendary. I will be keeping it long after cell phones become the size of Bluetooth devices. This piece of equipment will be the last electronic wonder that Steve Jobs will have had his personal touch on. That alone carries an enormous amount of weight. Not only in the world of cellular phones, but among all computer related equipment and especially the computer economy.

I remember when I was first introduced to an Apple MacIntosh computer in the library of my graduate school, back in 1987. There sat a rather intriguing but ugly, beige box on another box, with a six inch by six inch hazy screen. I HAD to learn to use this device if I was to get my Master's thesis written on time! It was either this beige box or an electronic typewriter that had seen it's best day! With the help of some very patient and very knowledgeable classmates, I was slowly introduced to the world of Apple computers. In fact, my graduation present was a newer version of the ugly, beige box on a box! But slowly, I came to rely on this odd device more and more.

As I became more proficient at using my ugly beige box, I was also realizing that it was quickly becoming more and more obsolete. If I wanted to keep up with the fast pace world of software upgrades, I would need a new, more powerful computer. I was working at the time and was additionally expanding myself by enrolling in a second Master's program. Upgrading my computer was a necessity. So much so, that the big wide world of something called the "Internet" was fast approaching. Once the Internet entered my world, my computers needed to be upgraded just about every 2-3 years, and remains so to this day. The technology far outruns what the fastest computer can do even at this very moment. It is beyond awe inspiring. More importantly, it was being led by Steve Jobs and his genius behind Apple computers.

Several computer upgrades later, the iPhone was introduced. I HAD to have that crazy cool device! I couldn't afford the first generation of iPhone, but WAS able to afford it two generations later: The iPhone 3G! The very same phone I have to this day! The phone I use as my alarm clock, my calendar, my camera, my GPS, my train schedule, my e-mail device, my everything except drink my Starbucks lattes gadget! I used to take my old cell phones with me but would forget them in the car or in my pocketbook while the battery died. No other cell phone "called" to me the way my iPhone has. My husband was so fed up with me leaving my other random cell phones in inconvenient places that he made me swear that if he bought me an iPhone, I would carry it with me constantly. And carry it I did. So much so, that I found a way to use an old camera wrist band and wrap it through the cell phone case so that I could have it dangle off of my wrist and have it with me 24/7! The wrist holder is helpful, but that phone became more than my constant companion. In it is my life. And it always has been and always will be in my life. 

Next came the first generation iPad. For the life of me, I just couldn't figure out what the purpose of this big, bulky, version of an iPod Touch was. I thought Apple was losing it's mind. I realized, after sitting in doctor's offices, or waiting for my son's karate class to finish what a great tool it would be for me to use for my blogging! Right before the iPad 2 came out, I purchased a used (but found out from Apple that it was brand new), first generation iPad! I was hooked. I could start a blog while waiting for an appointment, e-mail it to myself, and finish it up on my much heavier laptop at home! Genius! Then came the vastly improved iPad 2 which allowed me to do so much more, include taking it on trips and Skyping with my son on my husband's computer 3000 miles away! And it weighed even less than my pocketbook!

I ended up giving my son my original iPad because there are so many educational Apps out now that I felt he would benefit from it. Just this morning, I watched him shake it and then point at various areas on it. I was intrigued as to what he was doing. He was playing Monopoly. When you shook the iPad, it would shake the dice so that the dice would roll. Just like playing the actual game. I said, "Bless You, Steve Jobs," to myself. Bless your incredibly creative mind and insight to come up with an entity that has literally "shaken up" the whole world!

Five and one-half hours until midnight. Let's just hope it's not Pacific Standard Time. 

Keeping Up With the...Benjamins? - Cara Potapshyn Meyers

 The following is a direct quote from a posting on Facebook last week, written by a Mom friend of mine:

“I was just told by my kid that I’m the worst Mom ever for not buying him a new (Nintendo) DS. While that was hurtful, I told him that there is special training for that at Mom School and that I won the Best ‘Worst Mom in Training’ award! The nerve!”

This posting elicited more than fifteen responses from other supportive Moms, including me:

“My son said that there were only 4 kids in school who didn’t have (Nintendo) DS games and he was one of them. I responded by asking him, “Do they have their own laptops like you do (my hand-me-down), and not have to share them with a brother or sister? And do they have their own iPhone to play a thousand different games on (also my hand-me-down...no cell service though)? He said, Um, no.” So I told him that he was pretty lucky and privileged even without a (Nintendo) DS. That left him speechless.”

I bring this up because my husband and I have been going through this “DS Drama” for a few weeks now. And although the Mom I quoted received quite a few accolades for the creative comeback she quickly thought of, it still is not getting to the root of the problem, nor is it teaching her child where the line has been crossed. This same Mom posted after mine that although she liked my post, her kids were, “So teched out, it wasn’t even funny.” So where is that line?

I wrote a few weeks back about wanting to “fit in” with my peers at age fourteen by having Levi jeans with the leather tag on the back. But that was probably a $20 pair of jeans. Yes, expensive for jeans 30 years ago but not in comparison to a $130+ Nintendo DS, where each game costs between $15-30! There is even a service similar to Netflix called “GameFly” where you can rent games for an unlimited amount of time, but with a monthly fee attached.

My husband and I have been intensely debating this “DS” issue and how to make it purposeful. During this time, with my assistance, but with my son’s own money, he bought an accessory kit for a DS he doesn’t even own yet. I suggested he could temporarily use it to carry his iPhone in, (which he constantly misplaces. More on that in a minute), and his response was, “No, Mommy. This case is ONLY for my DS.” The one he doesn’t have yet. He also has a DS game, this time with my husband’s assistance, but with my son’s money to purchase it. (This kid has been offering and doing quite a lot of extra chores around and outside of the house).

Right now many of you are thinking, “But both you and your husband are in the position of Enablers! You are giving this child what he wants, but in a circumferous way!” Yes, and no. We made a deal with our son that he has to save up his own money to pay for half of whichever DS he wants. At a starting price of $130, that’s a lot of saving. And the cruel part of this is that Nintendo has just released a 3D DS game, which costs close to $300. And guess which kid is going to be one of only four kids in the whole school who does not have a 3D DS game, six months from now? You guessed correctly.

Now, here’s what I don’t quite understand. My son uses my old iPhone, which he plays pre-approved games on. There are probably close to 100 games on this little gadget, so you don’t have to carry (and risk losing) any of the games. Most of the games were either free or close to $.99. Many of them are quite similar to DS games. And the best part? My son’s phone is wirelessly connected to a service I have for my own iPhone, where if it gets lost, I can lock it down so that it cannot be used and even post my husband’s work number on the screen with a message saying, “If found, please call xxx....” Try doing that with a DS!

There is also another concern I have. Children with Auditory Processing Disorder and ADD, like my son, are notorious for losing and misplacing things. I can’t tell you how many mad dashes there have been, on most mornings, looking for my husband’s keys (he also has ADD). I even put up a key holder for him to put his keys on when he walked in the door. He never used it. We use it for dog leashes now. My point is, why give a kid, who is prone to misplacing/losing things, an expensive item, which has styluses which can easily get lost, game cartridges which could easily be lost, heck, the whole DS could easily be lost! But as a Mother who has continually allowed her son to take chances and face the consequences when necessary, I am allowing my son to have his DS. If he has to work to obtain it, he might covet it enough to limit losing all of the little accessories. And he will have to pay for whichever accessories he does lose. And if he loses the actual Nintendo DS, I will comfort his loss, but will not replace it.

It is going to be a few months before my son saves up enough money to buy whichever DS he chooses. In the meantime, we will be working on responsibility. Coming home with a forgotten lunch tote or rain jacket is not conducive to being a responsible person. However, my son didn’t purchase those items himself. We have an interesting test coming up in our lives.

Stay tuned...I am certain there will be more to come!