Technology Takeover

Last Tuesday I woke up early to post on my site so that I could get to an appointment afterwards. I typed carefully but quickly, and added the photo. Suddenly – the screen went blank! I searched high and low in cyberspace. My post was gone. My appointment was coming up. My early-morning readers were waiting!

As I was re-typing the whole thing, I started ranting to myself about the annoyances of technology. How could my laptop not know that I was in a hurry? Eventually I finished, and sat down in a comfy chair to lower my blood pressure. I picked up a magazine and there, lo and behold, was an article I didn’t need: Twenty Tech Trends for Seniors.

They’ve got to be joking. Do we really need more technology in our lives? Well apparently we do. I felt I had an obligation to read on, just in case there was something worthwhile I could pass on to you, dear readers.

As one might expect, there were lots of health-related devices. A couple of them are meant to enhance hearing aids, for noise suppression and for dampening sound distortion, both of which apparently reduce stress for the listener. The other option is to put your hearing aids in a drawer. That definitely suppresses noise and fixes sound distortion. You can live in peace and quiet with no technology whatsoever.

Then there are technology clothes. Imagine something called Siren Socks. These magic socks detect hot spots in your feet which could turn into nasty ulcers, according to the manufacturer. Another company is developing a shirt that listens to your breathing and can uncover lung problems including pneumonia and COPD. For the perfect health accessory you should consider the Apple Watch. The new version can recognize a fall and call 911. It’s much sexier than those pendants that identify you as unsafe, kind of like a prisoner with an ankle bracelet.

To keep us entertained while we are trapped in our homes, either from Covid or other illness, there is help. A new app called ZoomGoodNight hooks grandparents up with kids who want to hear a story. It doesn’t even have to be your own grandkids. You can use this app to adopt some! Or for people who find it hard to get motivated, the ElliQ Robot uses artificial intelligence to keep you engaged. It may suggest a walk if the weather is good, or a Ted Talk if the weather is rainy. It’s like having an imaginary friend. I am really hoping I don’t need this app for quite a while.

But there are a couple of devices that caught my eye. First of all there is the Tertill Robot. This little guy actually weeds your garden. It’s kind of like a Roomba vacuum cleaner, but for outside. It wander around the garden, churning up the soil or whirring a tiny trimmer that trims off anything shorter than 1 inch. When it comes across a tall plant, it figures you meant that plant to stay there and it turns away, looking for another tiny offender.

But the best one? The OrCam MyEye. I have GOT to have this. It’s a tiny camera that fits on an arm of your glasses. When you come across a familiar person, either at home, or in a store, or at a park, the camera identifies the person and sends you a tiny message in your ear with….. the name of the person! How perfect is that? No more humming and hawwing or making small talk while you try to remember the person’s name! Just blurt it out. And it’s only $5,800.

You’re welcome.

Sue