Although there are still a few who prefer to live their lives without the aid of a computer, most people have made this new technology a part of their everyday lives. (Those of you who are viewing this page, obviously have a computer so the rest of these thoughts are for you.)

We take for granted many of the things we use a computer for in our daily lives - like:

• E-mail
• E-mail is my favorite thing - that's what I check first.
• I try to answer my e-mail promptly and I like others to do the same.
• If someone doesn't answer my e-mail promptly, I think it because they were offended by what I wrote.
• Financial Affairs
• I want to see if there are any unauthorized charges to my account.
• I only look at my portfolio balance if the market has gone up.
• Getting News and Sports results
I usually fall asleep before the end of a night game (like the Super Bowl) so I go online in the morning to find the results.
• Frieda likes to look at the race resuts, but then she ties up the computer looking to see how her major competitors did.
• We don't get a daily newspaper anymore. (I used to like the comics and word-jumble puzzle.)
• Getting information fast
• It's amazing how fast you can find things with the search engines.
• I wanted to use part of the "To be, or not to be" soliloquy from Hamlet in an e-mail and it only took one try on Google to find it.
• Learning something new
• No matter how old you are, it's important to keep your mind challenged by learning something new.
• You can upgrade your job skills or enhance your resume by taking online courses.
• If you plan to travel overseas, you can study a foreign language.
• When you become retired (like me), you have to have a hobby that you enjoy. You could learn to create web pages like this one.

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Now let's take a look at the dark side of the computer age; the things that sometimes make us wish computers had never been developed.

• Learning how to operate the software
• Everyone should keep a record on how much time they waste getting the computer to do what they want.
• Computer programs are always being upgraded so you have to take time to learn how to use the new features.
• The computer sends you cryptic messages, like - "C: Drive not found." If you get that one, you're in big trouble!
• Concerns with computer security
This is a really BIG ONE! We have to have Firewall Protection, Virus Scanners, Protection from Hackers and Anti-Spyware Programs on our computers.
• We have to worry about opening e-mail attachments, even from people we know, which may contain viruses or other malicious programs.
• It's up to us to protect ourselves - the government doesn't seem to try to catch the bad guys or punish them if they catch them.
• Detachment from the Real World
• We may tend to interact with our family and friends by e-mail rather than personal contact or phone calls.
• Parents may let their kids play computer games instead of going outside and getting some exercise.
• We may develop eye problems or carpal-tunnel-syndrome by spending too many hours in front of the computer.