Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Wifi, Blue Tooth, On Sat and Garmin

Technology sure is moving along. Us old farts can either embrace it or become hopelessly lost.

Wifi, now that is some word..and how do you pronounce it.  Why-fy or Wiffy?

The Grandkids roll their eyes and laugh out loud if you say Wiffy..so that is what I do.

I had Far Guy ask his sister if they had Wiffy yet?  She had no idea..but someone brought out a box and hooked it up and they can use their laptop upstairs.

I contacted Bethany (our niece) and asked her..she said LOL yes. 

Blue Tooth.  Why in the world would anyone name something Blue Tooth..and why is that important and what does it do?  Our new car has Blue Tooth..Far Guy can answer his phone by pressing a button on the steering wheel..and the voice comes on over the radio.  It will make hands free calls for you.  I can tell it to call Jen and it will.   It only works if Far Guy has his phone in the car or within 30 feet of the car.  Bethany’s beau is a computer guru and he helped Far Guy get the Blue Tooth all set up to recognize the cell phone.

On Sat..another new word..let me tell you those people want your credit cards very badly..we did not give it to them..I am not sure why I need On Sat but I have it free for awhile.  I could have bought minutes for their phone system..not sure why I would want that either.

The Gremlin..or Garmin..we call it the Gremlin.  Four years ago, I drove aimlessly around South Bend Indiana looking for a motel that would take a dog..and got lost..hopelessly lost..the only way I found my way back into the city was to go where the bright lights were.  Yes..I followed the light.  Far Guy was so tired..he said “Lets just sleep in the car.”   Eventually I found us a motel.

I wasn’t up to a repeat performance..so I went shopping..the Gremlin works great..she may be re calculating a lot whilst I am driving.. she only got us on one almost cow path in Indiana.

IMG_3930

This is a Indiana road..not quite sure where it was..some place around Paoli maybe. No center line..no fog lines..no shoulder and not much of a ditch. Far Guy and I had no idea where we were..but the Gremlin kept directing us..and sooner or later we saw something familiar.

IMG_3943

I like that I can program in stops..rest stops and look for gas stations and look at area attractions and for dog friendly Motels!  If I get real bored while Far Guy is driving I can just watch the little car move along on the road map on the purple path:)

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21 comments:

DJan said...

Isn't technology great? Or is it, I don't know! I don't have GPS in my car,but then again, I don't go to new places very often. Now that I have an iPhone, I can program the GPS in it to find a route. I guess. Still need to learn how. :-)

Muffy's Marks said...

I love our 'gremlin'. Hubby is directionally challenged, and boy did the fights arise. We picked up a 'gremlin'. I couldn't stand the female voice, so I changed it to the male version and we now call it Moses. (Just wandering around the desert) Oh heavens aren't some of these new gadgets wonderful. I don't know what everyone does with those little calculator looking things are, but they sure keep everybody busy. Probably whispering behind my back!!!

linda m said...

You are so funny!! We have wifi so my husband can use his laptop in the living room. And our computer has bluetooth so we can have a wireless keyboard, mouse and printer. The Garmin (or Gremlin as you call it ) is always in our car now. My husband has no sense of direction nor can he read a map so a GPS device is a must when we travel. It was very annoying when I would be driving and I would ask him for directions and all he could do was to shove the map in my face for me to read. So a Garmin it our very next purchase. I love it when your maps aren't updated and the little car is driving out into nowhere and the voice keeps saying "re-calculating". Have a great day.

MTWaggin said...

Your car has more technology than my whole house! :) We used my Mom's Garmin (she loves it) on our trip to Canada in August - it doesn't speak Canadian so once we were off US soil we were on our own and using Lori's phone. Apparently you gotta buy another set of maps if you want to go away fromt the lower 48. It was really handy though - oh yeah till it got us lost in Seattle!

Dreaming said...

I am in awe of the changes in technology... just in the past 20 years or so. There are times I just shake my head and think back ... realizing that what we have today was only found in science fiction novels at that time.

RURAL said...

We have a GPS and it sits in the dresser drawer, I've heard they love to live there...lol. I am not even sure it works because himself has never ever tried it out.

My parent's new car has a GPS, and Bluetooth, and every knick knack known to man, and no one could figure out how to turn on the headlights.

We have Wifi, I guess, is that the Router thingy? I have only had a cell phone for one year, and to be honest, they will have to pry it out of my hands before they get it back, and I always said I didn't want one.

I looked up your temperature, ah....summer time in your house, what's that like? I would love to be warm again. We live at 18C that's freakin cold.

Jen

GramMary said...

GPS has saved us many a grumpy mile. We called ours Maude, because she was so bossy. However, we now have a new GPS and haven't named it yet. I love "Moses" because we are currently in the desert - and occasionally wander! I am in awe of technology, too, and dumber than a stump about it. I know it's good, but I hate change!

L. D. said...

We like our airport at home because we don't have to have wires running all over. I don't like that all the neighbors have airports too. Most all of them, seven of them,are locked except for one. That one is where my computer wants to connect, which is probably right across the street. Our gps was great in Maine but it did make one mistake in Bucksport, Maine. It told us to make a wrong turn against the wishes of the signs that gave the oposite direction. Esmerelda, our gps' name, also had trouble with a new Walmart, thinking we were sitting in a cornfield.

Nancy said...

I love my Garmin, too. It's important to use commons sense with it though. The Sheriff's Department in my area has rescued several city folks who turn on dirt roads and drive for miles getting hopelessly lost - could be life-threatening in severe weather.

Wi-fi is wonderful, but no Blue Tooth or On Sat for me. I rarely use my cell phone.

Muffie said...

GPS can be great, but I also like a real, hold-in-your-hand map when I'm the navigator. I also like to see the route before I take off. WiFi and Blue Tooth are also great additions. I like moving on in our tech world -- I feel like Jane Jetson with a Rosie!
Peace,
Muff

Leah said...

I get all baffled with new technology but I certainly know that I need it... for my leisure and for work! I have an ipad that I haven't yet mastered and think about a Gremlin occasionally.

Red said...

You're right about old farts and technology. We are going to have to go with it. I'm amazed at how many of the people my age are really up on technology. Those who ignore technology really stick out .

Country Gal said...

Thankfully Papa here is a techno geek as I call him lol and keeps me up to date with all this as he is an electronic nut always has been. Now we don't own everything electronic that's out there but enough of it to get by that's for sure ! Some things I can live with out but computers I cant I love my blogging , my photography and making photo cards and calendars . Oh well as my mum always said if ya cant beat them join them lol ! Have a good day !

Terry and Linda said...

I like the Garmin...and I, too, watch the little car move. Terry won't use it, so we drove around LOTS while we were in Denver. I used it an thought it was great!

Linda
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Leilani Schuck Weatherington said...

We depended quite heavily on our new GPS unit (Tomtom) to get us where we wanted to go in Las Vegas last June and it quite well. Except it didn't know that a crew working on a massive road repair project had built a road leading to the staging area for the supervisors and the equipment and so when she said "turn right," I did and we ended up in the construction yard.

Gail said...

I need one of those but I fear I couldn't figure out how to program.

lisa said...

You are too funny, Connie. I have do have blue tooth (head piece, not in car), I don't leave home without my garmin! I would be lost and the whole family without the Wi Fi! We each have our own laptop computers!

Anonymous said...

You are funny! We don't have Garmin, or Sat Nav - but yes to WiFi and Bluetooth. We use our iPhones as a Garmin as you can download great apps to help you get to your destination.

Alan Burnett said...

As I undergo my own technological upgrading, I reach out to you in solidarity from across the seas (by courtesy of wifi, t'internet, and computational machine).

Rita said...

I only recognized the first two. But then I don't have a car right now and it is 20 years old if we can get it running again--LOL! I like wiffy and gremlin, though. ;)

Sam I Am...... said...

Well, don't feel bad...I have a degree in Computer Science and worked at it for years but that was on the old dinosaur computers..mainframes they called them...now it's pc's and all the new technology and I'm out of the loop and no better off than anyone else! LOL! I don't even own a cell phone! I do have WiFi in the house though and was happy I set it up myself at least. I also have an old GPS and it's not worth anything...it will take you way our of your way because it doesn't update itself about new routes or roads. I give up!