New Year, New Toys?

I love technology.  I was probably the first 10-13 year old on my block to have a reel to reel tape recorder. By the time I was in college I had my very own TV, BIG reel to reel deck and a cassette recorder.  Cutting edge stuff.

But I don’t remember ever been as excited about a “pending” announcement than I am right now about the Apple tablet (whatever they end up calling it, and whenever Apple ends up announcing it) and the other tablets that will be announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas this week.

Sure, I read the New York Times every morning on my Blackberry Curve, and catch up on Seattle news via Viigo and an AP news plug in and those apps actually work well.  But I am looking forward to using my phone as a phone once again, and migrating my digital life to a device that will allow me to read newspapers, books, check email, update my calendar, and search the internet etc easily.

One simple device I can stow in my briefcase, or carry from room to room.

You’re probably thinking, “Steve Lawson needs to disconnect.  He needs to chill!”

And to you I say, “I am chillin!”

I’ve been addicted to exploring and learning from a young age.  Not so much stuff that others have wanted me to learn (like school districts, standardized test givers, teachers etc), but stuff that interests me.

The internet was a god-send for guys and gals like me.  Web 2.0 and the interactivity introduced by the Social Web have allowed me to learn more about more then ever before in my life.  It’s allowed me to organize my life and my thoughts as never before, and it’s enabled me to be a better learner; to dig deeper and wider.

A well thought out tablet, from Apple, or from whomever, will just make my life that much easier.  I’ll be able to read the news over a cup of coffee at the kitchen table once again, and settle into a comfortable chair with a great books, newspapers or magazines anywhere on the planet.  I’ll be able to keep in touch with friends and family like never before.

Debbie and I just returned from a fabulous 10 day vacation in Maui with our daughter, her husband and our six month old granddaughter.  It was a fabulous trip.  We spent hours walking the beaches in Kihei, Wailea and Makena, ate fabulous meals, and enjoyed 10 days of totally unstructured island bliss.  I only recall the TV being on once the entire trip.

But we stayed informed about our world with news delivered on our mobile devices and about our friends and family by reading their Facebook posts (my wife, Debbie, excited that she mastered email and Facebook on her iPod Touch AND texting on my Blackberry).  And I had a great time taking pictures and shooting video of six-month old Ally to share with my mother in law and kids back home.  If you would like, you can click here to see many of those pictures and the videos.

That’s the Social Web.  An introduction to how we will all communicate in the coming decades.

Technology will continue to advance and I look forward to staying on the bleeding edge of those advancements.  Those advancements that will enable me to continue to learn more ABOUT more than ever before.

I hope you’ll  continue to follow my journey.  And share this post with your friends.

There’s so much to learn in the New Year!

One of the videos I shot.  Fun times with my tiny Sony Webbie Camera.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZctywV0UpI[/youtube]