What other electronic gadgets can't you live without?

DYasha wrote:

At least we agree on something aside from Vick.

Personally I find it both amusing and frightening that the generation being brought up with cell phones actually thinks they might not be able to "live" without them. It's almost as if technology is creating an entire culture of perpetual adolescents who will always be dependent on the tech the way k1d$ are dependent on parents.

We had pretty fancy scientific calculators back when I was taking math/science in school, but the teachers never let us use them during exams so that we had to learn how to do it the hard way first. Parents ought to force their k1d$ to learn how to function without the tech before letting them use it IMHO. Eventually some hacker is going to put cellphone towers and internet service out of comission temporarily as a bit of social commentary. God forbid k1d$ will have to go outside and meet the big yellow ball in the sky for a change...

To further proselytize it seems like the techno-k1d$ of today are also like social insects. Take an ant and isolate it in a jar and it freaks out. Take a k1d away from their social network (hive) and they panic as well without the constant validation of others. It's like they can't figure out what to do next without checking with 10 other people first. Sort of makes you wonder what would happen in the case of a 3rd World War. A lot of young k1d$ fought in the first two, but they were so much more mature than k1d$ the same age today that I wonder if we could win the same battles if they were fought by the 18-year-olds of today?

BTW, if you want to determine which electric items you 'can't live without,' simply live in areas that are regularly hit by hurricanes. Running through regular evacuations and/or prepping for days/weeks without power except the necessities running of generators, you will rapidly find that there is very little you can't survive without once you make the mental adjustment.

It's hilarious that the youth of today can't tell time or do math in their heads. They require a calculator just to figure out correct change.

DYasha wrote:

Although I don't think youth of yesterday (me included) could live without cars, airplanes, and electric appliances. So maybe it is natural evolution and not just today's generation.

But there is a big difference between having necessities like cars and toys like i Pods. An electric toaster is a far cry from a Blackberry. The appliances helped with things we had to do, while these toys today are just that; toys. Youths are spoiled with these toys.

DYasha wrote:

It is hilarious -- and alarming at the same time -- MacDonald, lead the way several years back, with revamping their cash registers that itemizes exact change -- today's youth for the most part can't count.

My Orgasmatron!

i could do without my blackberry, DS, xbox, mp3, digital cam. but don't touch my pc, tv or fridge i need to eat, i love to eat within it's boundaries of course

Currently, my most important gadget is my ebook-reader.

For anyone who doesn't know what this is: it is like a mp3 player but for books. It doesn't have a normal computer screen, it uses e-ink, that way you can look at it for hours, without getting eye-problems (try reading on a normal computer monitor and your eyes will become sore).
The most important thing about it is the size: It is about the same size as a paperback book, but currently it stores like 50 books on it (and the storage is far away from being full). Last year I spent my honeymoon in the USA, so that meant a 10 hour flight to Miami (we got married at the beach), a 2 hour flight to a NASCAR Race in SC, a 2 hour flight back to Miami and another 10 hour flight back to Germany.
I had 2 big books in my luggage. After I finished this books, I read 2 books from my wife (luckily she has a similar taste in books) and then I bought an english book. So 5 big books means a lot of weight .... thanks to my ebook-reader, in the future, my luggage will weigh a lot less.

Yes, you can call it a toy, but - so what - I love it.

me, I couldnt go without my iphone. It helps me stay connected to the world and everything. Also it is my watch, my phone, my music player , lets me check my text messages and so many more things. Its almost like a laptop in the palm of your hand.