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My editor calls my cell phone while I'm out eating a chile relleno. It's odd to get a call from a computer magazine editor--e-mail is so much simpler. And his proposal is downright dumbfounding. Would I be willing to give up PCs and the Internet for 20 days?
The rationale behind the request: For its 20th anniversary, PC World wants to examine the PC's impact on our lives by yanking it away from someone who works and plays with computers every day. That sounds like me--I build desktops, schlep laptops, tweak Windows, download Linuxes, and (don't tell HBO) burn The Sopranos onto DVD. And I've written about technology for nearly as long as there's been a PC World.
Living without the PC would shake up my career, my leisure time--in short, my whole persona. Still, I'm curious: Would I be better off as an analog guy? I take up the challenge.
Twenty days later, I'm glad that I did. Sure, I missed Google, MapQuest, and spelling checking. But my digital exile had unexpected upsides--and it revealed how PCs controlled me, in ways I hadn't seen before. More about that later. First, a day-by-day report:
Day 1
I'm trying to deal with every last e-mail in my in-box before I shut down my home office's three computers. I print my contacts and calendar, and I send a note to friends mentioning that I'll be off e-mail but available by phone or snail mail.Therapy for the PC-addicted
Then I turn off my slim Sony Z505 laptop and lock it in my office safe for dramatic effect. I power down the two other computers as well. The Eagle has landed.
Already, I miss Google. Want a recipe for ravioli in sage cream sauce? Need to know what a grimoire is? Want to see what people think about their 1999 Audi A4 Quattro wagons with Tiptronic transmission? I did recently, and Googled my way to answers in seconds. Without the Web, it dawns on me, I'll have to work harder to learn stuff. Or live with knowing less.
Continued...
The rationale behind the request: For its 20th anniversary, PC World wants to examine the PC's impact on our lives by yanking it away from someone who works and plays with computers every day. That sounds like me--I build desktops, schlep laptops, tweak Windows, download Linuxes, and (don't tell HBO) burn The Sopranos onto DVD. And I've written about technology for nearly as long as there's been a PC World.
Living without the PC would shake up my career, my leisure time--in short, my whole persona. Still, I'm curious: Would I be better off as an analog guy? I take up the challenge.
Twenty days later, I'm glad that I did. Sure, I missed Google, MapQuest, and spelling checking. But my digital exile had unexpected upsides--and it revealed how PCs controlled me, in ways I hadn't seen before. More about that later. First, a day-by-day report:
Day 1
I'm trying to deal with every last e-mail in my in-box before I shut down my home office's three computers. I print my contacts and calendar, and I send a note to friends mentioning that I'll be off e-mail but available by phone or snail mail.Therapy for the PC-addicted
Then I turn off my slim Sony Z505 laptop and lock it in my office safe for dramatic effect. I power down the two other computers as well. The Eagle has landed.
Already, I miss Google. Want a recipe for ravioli in sage cream sauce? Need to know what a grimoire is? Want to see what people think about their 1999 Audi A4 Quattro wagons with Tiptronic transmission? I did recently, and Googled my way to answers in seconds. Without the Web, it dawns on me, I'll have to work harder to learn stuff. Or live with knowing less.
Continued...
My home PC I could live without but my work would become virtually impossible without a PC.
I could do my job manually but it would literally take about 10 times longer.
I could do my job manually but it would literally take about 10 times longer.
My editor calls my cell phone while I'm out eating a chile relleno. It's odd to get a call from a computer magazine editor--e-mail is so much simpler. And his proposal is downright dumbfounding. Would I be willing to give up PCs and the Internet for 20 days?
The rationale behind the request: For its 20th anniversary, PC World wants to examine the PC's impact on our lives by yanking it away from someone who works and plays with computers every day. That sounds like me--I build desktops, schlep laptops, tweak Windows, download Linuxes, and (don't tell HBO) burn The Sopranos onto DVD. And I've written about technology for nearly as long as there's been a PC World.
Living without the PC would shake up my career, my leisure time--in short, my whole persona. Still, I'm curious: Would I be better off as an analog guy? I take up the challenge.
Twenty days later, I'm glad that I did. Sure, I missed Google, MapQuest, and spelling checking. But my digital exile had unexpected upsides--and it revealed how PCs controlled me, in ways I hadn't seen before. More about that later. First, a day-by-day report:
Day 1
I'm trying to deal with every last e-mail in my in-box before I shut down my home office's three computers. I print my contacts and calendar, and I send a note to friends mentioning that I'll be off e-mail but available by phone or snail mail.Therapy for the PC-addicted
Then I turn off my slim Sony Z505 laptop and lock it in my office safe for dramatic effect. I power down the two other computers as well. The Eagle has landed.
Already, I miss Google. Want a recipe for ravioli in sage cream sauce? Need to know what a grimoire is? Want to see what people think about their 1999 Audi A4 Quattro wagons with Tiptronic transmission? I did recently, and Googled my way to answers in seconds. Without the Web, it dawns on me, I'll have to work harder to learn stuff. Or live with knowing less.
Continued...
The rationale behind the request: For its 20th anniversary, PC World wants to examine the PC's impact on our lives by yanking it away from someone who works and plays with computers every day. That sounds like me--I build desktops, schlep laptops, tweak Windows, download Linuxes, and (don't tell HBO) burn The Sopranos onto DVD. And I've written about technology for nearly as long as there's been a PC World.
Living without the PC would shake up my career, my leisure time--in short, my whole persona. Still, I'm curious: Would I be better off as an analog guy? I take up the challenge.
Twenty days later, I'm glad that I did. Sure, I missed Google, MapQuest, and spelling checking. But my digital exile had unexpected upsides--and it revealed how PCs controlled me, in ways I hadn't seen before. More about that later. First, a day-by-day report:
Day 1
I'm trying to deal with every last e-mail in my in-box before I shut down my home office's three computers. I print my contacts and calendar, and I send a note to friends mentioning that I'll be off e-mail but available by phone or snail mail.Therapy for the PC-addicted
Then I turn off my slim Sony Z505 laptop and lock it in my office safe for dramatic effect. I power down the two other computers as well. The Eagle has landed.
Already, I miss Google. Want a recipe for ravioli in sage cream sauce? Need to know what a grimoire is? Want to see what people think about their 1999 Audi A4 Quattro wagons with Tiptronic transmission? I did recently, and Googled my way to answers in seconds. Without the Web, it dawns on me, I'll have to work harder to learn stuff. Or live with knowing less.
Continued...