Technology

[Louis the fly]

Some of you may have noticed I am making many mistakes in recent posts. My wife gave me an Amazon Fire tablet at Christmas. This works very well, I can use it anywhere in the house. The problem is it is made for those with long piano playing fingers and I keep hitting the wrong letters.
I am now loaded down with new technology, computers, big screen tv, smart phone and set top box. My brain is overloaded and is in the shut down mode, it is buffering, freezing and refusing to accept anymore new information.
Yesterday Virgin media sent me a replacement hub, I opened the box, saw more usb cables, small boxes to connect to, an instruction manual and another remote control.
I carefully put everything back in the box and closed the lid, it will have to stay there until my brain reboots itself and is fully functional .

[Louis the fly]

Another problem I forgot to mention. When I come to this site a message tells me to refresh the page or try again later. I have to go back into history to connect.

Anyone else finding this ?

[Captain Kong]

Much better and easier to stay a Dinosaur, life is simple.
I haven't even got a clue as to what you are talking about,
I do not have a mobile phone, don't know how to use one, no lap top , just a key board and a desk top is all I need,
Cheers
Brian

[vic mcclymont]

Louis, biggest problem with your Amazon tablet is the predictive text, which is set on. As you type the computer will change words to what "it" believes they should be.
I hate predictive text, the number of errors it makes when Changi g words to what it thinks you wrote are unbelievable.
Thats my excuse.
Regards
Vic

[Louis the fly]

Brian you left sea going at the right time, a ships bridge today is one large computer. All the knowledge you studied for over years is now obsolete , replaced by a box of red and green lights. Navigation is by GPS, a ships master or officer of the watch taps a screen or clicks a button for information on the running of the ship.
The same situation in the engine room, an engineer sits in an air conditioned control room, if there is a malfunction the computer will tell him where it is and how to fix it, usually by pressing another button. This can be transferred to his cabin at night when the engine room is unmanned.
If all the computers broke down or the satellites fell from space there would be mass panic around the world , as all the skills of the past have been lost.

[Captain Kong]

I was a fireman on a coal burner in 1952 and the only technology was a steam valve and a water valve and a big shovel.
Wheel house was chain and rod steering and a magnetic compass, very technology.
and over the years I did see changes.
When I was a Mate on VLCCs, 256/ 300,000 tonners we had an old radar, a spider Decca Navigator, and a sextant, and just the Mate on watch.
That was technology.

Now when I go cruising every year I always go up to the air conditioned enclosed Bridge, and see something out of Star Trek.
The Mates have comfy arm chairs, no bridge wing to walk out on, so they must have a nice chair. and about three or four men / women.
No Steering wheels, no sextants. technicolour anti collision Radars, and just a mass of dials to look at and closed circuit TVs
and that is technology.
BUT very Boring.
On Queen Mary 2. the Mate asked me what cabin I was in, I gave him the Number, he tapped a dial a few times and said, the Temperature in you cabin at the moment is 78 degrees F. I wondered if he had a secret camera in there as well.
Cheers
Brian

[Keith Tindell]

Can anyone confirm that my memory of the fire detection cabinet on the old Stirling Castle consisted of a cabinet of tubes to various departments ?, and if I recall correctly, it was my job as bridge boy, apart from gofor, to check the cabinet every so often to see if smoke was issuing from any tube. Top technology !!!! Kt

[Ivan Cloherty]

. I wondered if he had a secret camera in there as well.
Cheers
Brian

The answer is yes Brian, check your photos on 'Youtube' next time keep your Y Fronts on!

[Captain Kong]

I knew it, the swine.
Brian

[happy daze john in oz]

Technology, what a wonderful word. It conjours up in the mind a scene of automated devices doing the work man once did.

But in reality it can be the biggest nightmare ever invented by man, though with some of it being so convoluted one wonders if maybe a female did it.

When it works, great, but one small failure and you are cactus.