Am I a nerd...?

Thanks Penny for this quiz...I figured I should answer too...

1. Do you remember when you saw your first computer?
I won't count the Atari game player I got when I was about 11. I was in 3rd year of senior school (US equivalent 8th grade) - at the time I had taken computer studies....although what that meant was that you wrote your programming on cards...gave them to a college, wait a week and then get back your output. 9 times out of 10 the admin would mistype something.....

My first "proper" computer was actually at work and probably where I lost complete fear of them. I was 16, it was my job at BT and I remember being led into a lab and told "learn this as you have to teach us how to use it" - it was the only PC in the team. I thought it was flipping marvelous - big heavy 7inch floppy disks. It really did do me the power of good.

My first home computer was a "portable" the size of a house.....it was huge:)

2. When did you first go online and/or use email? Who did you email back then? How did the internet change your life? When did you discover blogging? What about your home internet connection - is it dial-up, DSL, cable?

I had an email address at BT in 1996...but never used it - I used cellphones and fax. I can't believe that....but that's how it worked. Trevor and I briefly had an MSN account in the UK but rarely used it. When we moved, we probably left it about a year....and then we had dial-up for 6 months. Then....we got broadband and have never looked back. Who we emailed? family and friends...not really much for work. When I joined APAC in 1999 I started to use email even more......now I'm addicted. In fact, the best way to get hold of me either instant messenging or email (esp now I have a Blackberry).

The internet changed my life because I can keep in touch far more with everyone and much more regularly. I'd phone the UK once a month....now I talk maybe 5 days a week on IM. It's great. Oh yeah, and shopping - i do all my shopping online.....I rarely go into a shop. It's cheaper....

I'm relatively new to blogging. Penny got me into it last October....

3. Do you remember your first VCR?

It was a Hitachi....I thought it was so cool because you could fast forward to each new recording.

4. When did you switch from VCR to DVD? How did it change your video viewing experience? Do you use TiVo or any such "contraption" to tape TV shows? Do you use Netflix or some other internet-based DVD "renting" service?

Probably 5 years ago...although it's only with this move that ALL the videos are being sent to goodwill. I've not watched a tape since I've been in st Louis....so it's time fo rthem to go. Tivo? I'm an addict. I love Tivo - it revolutionalizes what and how much you watch. Right now we're using the cable company's equivalent but it's no match for Tivo...

I've done netflix a couple of times thanks to our kids....however with all the CSI's and Law and Order's on demand with Tivo, there's no need.

5. What about music? Did you enjoy listening favorite music in Long Plays or did you prefer cassette tapes? When did you buy your first CD player and switched to CDs? Did you abandon them (and turned to downloaded music) for MP3 players or Ipods or do you still buy CDs? (I'm not going to ask or comment about "illegal" music activities in the internet, even though it was an exciting innovation, lest one of us gets arrested for it :)

I bought singles between the age of 16-20. I bought very few LPs. I generally mixed my own tapes. I bought my first CD player in 1985 when they were terribly expensive. I'm now an MP3 addict...although I still don't get the whole IPOD thing. ....I have a Samsung 1GB MP3 player and it's awesome. I've just bought a external hard drive as I've got over 20GB music recorded..... I have yet to purchase any online music....all my MP3s are my own.

6. Do you own and use a cell phone? Do you think it's useful or just annoying?(Did you always have a telephone in your house growing up? Did you have a phone in your own room?)

I have my own cellphone - actually I just switched to a Blackberry....very cool. I think it's great, although sometimes I think you can be too accessible. I never had a phone in my room growing up, but there was always one in the house.

7. When did you first buy a digital camera? What kind was it (3.2, 4.0, 5.0 mega-pixels or better)? Did you start taking more pictures or were you a photo aficionado before then? What about a digital video camera?

I bought my first digital camera about 5 years ago. It was $50 and it was crap....Trev said that I should buy a good one...but I wanted to check whether I'd like it. I was a big SLR camera person, long lenses etc etc. My "proper" digi I bought was a Sony DSC-P1 3MP - it was awesome. What got me away from SLRs was my trip to Oz 3 years ago - the pics on the digi were as good (if not better) than the cumbersome SLR. I upgraded last year to a Sony P200 which is great.....I did briefly have a Canon S500..but I hated it. Sony's brand is awesome. I do hanker for a cuter model though:) I've never had a digi video....although both Sony's have a video mode that I use.

8. What about televisions? Have you already embraced the new technologies, such as HDTV, plasma, and flat screen? (On the other hand, you wouldn't remember black & white TVs, would you?)

When we bought in STL we bought a 42inch Panasonic flat panel HDTV. It's blinking marvelous. Love it. I embrace all new technologies.......I'm even excited that my laptop for work has a finger print reader instead of typing in a login (how nerdy is that!!)