Tech changes even for unhip

Published 10:45 pm Monday, May 22, 2006

By Staff
At about 4:30 p.m. last Sunday, my husband and I became the most boring couple on earth.
Our TiVo, apparently using our previous recording history as a guide, decided to tape something from C-SPAN for us. We've never recorded anything from that channel before, but apparently our taste in other programs is just a little bit dry.
We've tried to be technologically hip. We own an iPod, for which we download episodes of &#8220The Office.” Our first major purchase after our wedding was a cute little iBook computer. We both own cell phones that take photos.
But when the girl who was president of her high school Latin club marries the boy who was captain of the Scholars Bowl team, &#8220hip” just never happens.
But at least we're catching up to technology. Still, I never realized what an impact all of those gadgets were having on me until I sat reading a newspaper story online - and noticed that the newspaper I was reading was also sitting right next to my laptop.
I swore I would be one of those people who would always want a real live newspaper to hold in my hands.
I never minded the ink smudges on my fingers or the big pages almost harder to fold than a road map.
You can carry a newspaper with you and read it anywhere. It doesn't need batteries or a charger or a complex connection for downloading.
But I also understand the allure of having so much information - from current news to archives to links around the world - right beneath your fingertips as you navigate a Web site.
So as we continue to consider what improvements and additions we will make to The Brewton Standard, we will also be looking at what we can do to spruce up our Web site, from adding new features to updating it more often throughout the week to give you the most current news possible.
We will never give up on our printed newspaper, and I don't think many newspapers will. But there are ways to integrate what you get on the printed page with what you can see on a Web page, from blogs to photo essays.
If you have any suggestions for what you're like to see on our Web site, please let me know.
You can give me a call or send me an e-mail - I seem to be attached to my laptop these days.
Kerry Whipple Bean is publisher of The Brewton Standard. She can be reached at 251-867-4876 or by e-mail at kerry.bean@brewtonstandard.com.

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