At Home with Tech

Imagine if I were still figuring out a way to use my old Palm Pilot (shudder). Don’t try too hard….

Last week I had a great catch-up coffee with a friend and former colleague. We reminisced about the good old days and compared some parenting notes. Then, I told him about this little blog. And how I was so focused lately about how to keep all the technology in my home life just working from one day to the next.

He said, “Oh, so it’s really “At Home without Tech.”

I sat there for a moment, dumbfounded.
Come to think of it, I’m talking precisely about that.
The fear of my tech not operating properly.
The frustration when I can’t figure it all out.
The embarrassment when my modest home of the future doesn’t have the latest and greatest.

While I sat there pondering the veracity of his suggestion, he started plotting his own theoretical counter blog with its suddenly very clever and relevant name.

How did I miss this?
“At Home without Tech” is really catchy.
It strikes both an ominous cord in your soul as well as a rebellious one. It taunts you every so often to throw your BlackBerry into the pond and hook up the horse and buggy lurking deep in your soul’s garage.

I could be writing about how I had failed to maintain my PalmOne Tungsten E2 organizer from the late ‘90s, forcing me to use my old pocket address book from the previous century.
(My father still swears by his.)

And then I realized I was still okay.
This blog isn’t for luddites.
It’s for everyone who knows they can’t do without tech.

If you’re at home without tech, it’s a bad scene.
You need tech! You want tech!!

I write about everything it takes to NOT be at home without tech.
My blog ‘s branding is still on target.
Phew…

But I think my friend was actually on to something.
Deep down, we all have fears.
Fear of the unknown. Fear of death. Fear of bad sushi. Fear of no tech.

Whatever.

These fears are great motivators.
They force us to take action to avoid bad juju.
And that’s oh-so-true when technology you rely on goes kerflooey.
Or when you’re too darn lazy to perform a software update on your wife’s computer.
All of this leads back to being at home without tech.
Which brings me to today’s gauntlet.

The iCloud Deadline
I know. I know.
After eight months, how long did you think I was going to wait until I finally took action to avoid the permanent side effects of the death of MobileMe on June 30th?

How about two weeks?

So here’s the good news.
It’s not that hard.
In fact I’m already half way there.
Last week, I successfully converted my MobileMe account to iCloud.
Yesterday, I did my wife’s.

The steps were indeed simple.
Backed up our calendars, contacts, and Safari bookmarks.
(in case something went horribly wrong in the process)

The online iCloud registration and transfer was a snap that took less than five minutes. As did the activation for our associated mobile devices (iPhones and iPad).

It’s the pre-work that took some time.
I’m not satisfied just to know that every file/photo/movie/website that exists online through MobileMe will simple vanish on June 30th. I’d rather pull the content down myself, thank you very much. (It’s a control thing.)

Just the idea of these files disappearing into the digital void doesn’t sit so well for me. I’d rather eliminate them myself and not have to wonder where they really went.

So that means clearing out our iDisks. Pulling down each photo and home movie gallery one by one. That takes time.

More good news is you don’t have to finish all that before you pull the iCloud trigger. All of my now-shrinking galleries are still active until June 30th. So I can continue my digital house cleaning until then. (And I’m really looking forward to that last minute, late night ‘cramming-for the-exam’ session on June 29th.)

So where’s the real problem?
Well, there hasn’t been a problem, because I’ve been working with all newer Apple hardware already running the current Lion operating system and mobile IOS 5.

But I’ve got older Apple gear too…

2007 is So Yesterday
I’ve got an old MacBook Pro laptop, and my father has an old iMac.
(Remember, I’m the family IT guy.)

I know this is clearly my fault, and I am embarrassed to publicly admit this… but both machines are still running the old Leopard OS, two operating systems away from where they need to be to play with iCloud.
(Will any self-respecting geek talk to me ever again?!)

Apple is notorious for leaving older gear behind as they introduce new software functionality. And are these machines already slated for Apple obsolescence? Close.

The irony is I’d be happier if these machines were wicked old, because they would be in the “Sorry Charlie” category of not being able to run Lion. And you need Lion to use iCloud.

But these two computers are just new enough to handle the transition.
For me, it’s now or never. I know I’ll later regret not doing their Lion upgrades when I end up having to put them out to pasture prematurely.

But operating system upgrades are a hassle.
And I’ve got to pay for two of them now?!
(You need Snow Leopard installed first to move to Lion.)
And for those of you non-Apple folks who need a quick knowledge update, the order of Apple’s recent operating systems goes like this:
Leopard (October 2007), Snow Leopard (August 2009), and Lion (July 2011).

Free Snow Leopard
In what appears to be a rare moment of digital kumbaya, Apple has the answer.

They’re giving Snow Leopard away for free.
What?!

Yup. They really want you to make the upgrade to Lion (which only costs $29.99).
This link sends you to the Apple page to sign up for your free Snow Leopard disk via your MobileMe log in.

My disks are on their way.
Hurry. Time is running out.
Really.

Digital Sisyphus
So when all of this if finally done, I can kick back and relax for a while, knowing all my Apple gear is up to date, right?

Nope.

This week Apple said its next operating systems are right around the corner.
Mountain Lion is coming later in July.
And IOS 6 for iPhones and iPads will be here this fall.

The kicker?
IOS 6 won’t work on our iPad 1.

What?
But we’ve only had our iPad for two years…
D’oh!!

Progress waits for no tech blogger.
I’d better keep up.
Because what would there be to write about if you’re at home without tech?