You hit it right on the head, Elaine.

When some bit of technology, which I generally take for granted, goes awry, I get very angry and frustrated. When that happens, lots of time can be wasted.

But then, once it's fixed, I'm back to wondering how'd we manage without email, cellphones, computers, faxes.

Love it -- hate it, all at the saame time.

I feel your pain, Elaine. I love technology only when it works. Sounds like a lot of us are fickle that way!

At least you ARE backing up, however... good for you. I learned that lesson the hard way when I lost ALL of my MarketingProfs email without warning... *poof*.... it was gone.

OUCH.

That was 2 months ago, and I'm still recovering.

Elaine,

I like how you use the word "relationship" to describe how we all use technology today. Like any relationship, we sometimes ignore it... and we sometimes adore it. Regardless, we hope that it keeps humming along.

And, a lot of us are reluctant to make any change to our relationship with our cellphone, blackberry, laptop, etc. until something goes wrong or something better comes along - like a lot of relationships. We just hope that the transition to the next device, operating system, etc. is quick and painless.

It's funny how these gigabytes and gadgets are now as necessary to us as our personal and professional relationships.

Technology has made my life far more organized, and has accelerated the pace and volume of certain work that helps me both professionally and personally.

But I also spend far too much time with technology. A couple years ago, I decided I needed a hobby that was about as far away from computers, email and the Web as possible. I took up woodworking, and it's been a fantastic, balancing tool for me - and a great incentive to get off the computer and do something fun and productive!

Elaine,

You speak for lots of us. I started my career using a Royal Portable. The IBM Selectric was huge. Then I got a DECMate, about the size of a desk set on it side, but Wow! And so on!

I am faster with my computer and the work is easier to produce (but I haven't seen any evidence that people's work has gotten better.) I have no interest in seeing a Royal Portable any time soon, except in a museum.

Backup, Backup, Backup. That is the key.

Important data is saved on servers in a server facility and backed up there. But what many people forget is that they also save business and personal stuff on their PC and many do not back up their data.

Technology is like trains (or maybe running water). Nobody notices if it is on time but when the train is late you notice.

Backups can make the problems and stress so much less when something goes really wrong.

I found myself nodding at everything you wrote on this subject, Elaine. Your comments are right on the money. Loved the input from all of the posted comments, too. Technology is terrific when it works as it should. When it doesn't, it's a nightmare.

One thing I'd like to mention: backing up to one's hard drive is not sufficient. Copying files to disc or a memory stick is one alternative, but I've found something I like better. After a friend recently had a disaster with a total hard drive melt-down, I went to Best Buy and purchased an F Drive, or Free Agent Drive. Now, if my hard drive goes, or I purchase another computer, I can hook up the F Drive and recopy everything in a matter of minutes. Gotta love it. A little insurance policy and real peace of mind for a small investment.

Claire, I bought and external hard drive that is very easy to backup too and has massive disk space. It is easy.

If my HD goes down, as you mentioned, I get a new one and copy the files over. No problem, very little stress.

Thank you all for your empathy and comments. David, I agree. We are soooooo dependent on technology these days.

Ann, I can't imagine how lost you must have felt losing all that e-mail. Neil and Claire are right. Backing up is crucial. I, too, have an external hard drive. I set up an Outlook reminder to back up every Friday.

Lewis, did you ever take keyboarding or typing in school? I never did. It was during the women's revolution and avoiding typing class was a statement against stereotypical secretarial jobs. I still hack away at my computer with three fingers!

Matt, I applaud your efforts to wean away from technology to do something "real."

AnnaMaria, I agree that we are fickle in our beliefs that the next thing will be better at solving our problems. The issue with that is all the garbage hardware that ends up in landfills.

Oh, well. Keep the stories coming....

Having learned the importance of backing up the hard way, I am a bit fanatical about it. I have Mac OS X's Time Machine doing hourly backups to an external drive, I do daily backups of critical stuff to an online backup service (the house could burn the ground and the data would still be safe), and once a week I make a bootable clone of my main hard drive on yet another external drive.

Maybe it's excessive, but I like knowing that there are three different places to recover data from.

I love technology but there are frustrations. Think of it as a good relationship in which there is some tension and the occasional fight.

These days, for example, I almost never watch a movie before going to http://www.imdb.com for reviews and so on. Almost every day I look something up onhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page though the site is far from perfect.

I even pay money for subscriptions to The Economist (and the paper version), The Wine Advocate (reviews of thousands of wines), and Consumer Reports. My Consumer Reports' subscription paid for itself on the first day.

Any time I want I can talk to an old friend who lives in Europe on Skype (for free), exchange emails with friends and family, and check the headlines on the Web.

It is so much easier to find out about just about anything these days. Sure, the usual caveat emptor applies even to free information.

John, all it takes one big boo-boo to become diligent in avoiding it again. If it gives you peace of mind, who cares what others think?

Neil, love your analogy to relationships. How true!

No matter how diligent I am I ALWAYS end up losing some information. The only thing that is worse is when I lose my phone.

Gavin, I know what you mean. Somehow files go missing just like socks in the dryer.

I have to agree - I hate my Blackberry but I can't live without it.

It's hard to break free from a wireless leash...

Agreed, that's why God made Mac's.

Lisa -- Not sure about that one. I've hated my Mac deeply at times.

One of the illusions I had about technology as computers became more available was that they would be very flexible. For users who only want to use applications, not customize them or design them, computers, TVs, cell phones and other technology can't be as easily organized as a file of index cards or a filing cabinet.
I have trouble with the trend toward smaller and smaller phones, because my fingers often hit two keys at once.
I also prefer my computer's icons in fixed locations and in alphabetical order.
A couple of years ago I received a big pr packet on a CD. I put it in my computer, clicked on the CD to play the thing or open the files or whatever, and all the icons on my desktop skidded to new locations. I was not amused.
It is also frustrating to discover that software companies don't really want to hear how I want my computer to perform. Software production exemplifies Tangerine Toad's expression -- "your brand is not my friend."