Technology Techcitement Is Thankful For, Part One

We here at Techcitement are thankful for a lot of things like friends, family, jobs, and pie. Oh, so much pie. What we’re most obviously thankful for is how technology has affected our lives. Here is the first part of a two-part series on what the staff of Techcitement is thankful for.

Matt Algren: WordPress
Way back in July 2007 when I started my own little movie review blog, the first decision I had to make was which blogging platform to use. The choice was easy. Even then, WordPress had begun to pull ahead of the pack.

By the time I moved from WordPress.com to the self-hosted WordPress.org software, version 2.3.1 was out and stable. I remember the clunky navigation at the top of the page and the five page reloads (so painful before broadband!) it took to open a new post, long before the current, infinitely quicker sidebar navigation.

Little did I know that four years and three (two currently active) blogs later, I would be using WordPress many times every day. Whether I’m writing a post, tweaking a theme, digging through a new plugin I found, or feverishly refreshing the stats page hoping for one more post, WordPress has become a major part of my life. Here’s to you, WordPress, the best darn blogging platform around! (Version 3.3 next week! So excited!)

Jon Clinkenbeard: Online Multiplayer Games
From the days of Goldeneye 64, I’ve enjoyed playing video games with and against my friends and family. Memories are sweeter still of Halo LAN parties where 16 of us played rockets/no shields and every death equaled a swig of beer. Then, came mainstream online multiplayer with Counter Strike, PlayStation Network (Free!), and Xbox Live. As much as I hate the community of immature players who troll my LoL games and put my sniping to shame in Call Of Duty and Battlefield, being able to play games with my brother, cousins, and best friends is ultimately worth all the trouble. And that’s preserving a very special Thanksgiving tradition.

Dina Ehrenburg: Skype
This year, now that my husband and I are far from both sets of grandparents, I’m very grateful to have Skype, which is to a thousand phone calls what a picture is to a thousand words.  My children haven’t forgotten what their grandparents look like (especially since my parents figured out how not to be upside-down on the screen), and I don’t have to strain my powers of eloquence to describe that face the baby makes.

Mordy Gilden: DSLR Video and Bluetooth Stereo (A2DP)
I’m thankful that I won’t have to ever watch another independent film that looks like it was shot on a consumer video camcorder. French film director Jean Cocteau once said that “Film will only become an art when its materials are as inexpensive as pencil and paper.” Until very recently, getting the Hollywood “shot on film” look required extremely expensive equipment. But the prosumer digital camera market has caused something of a revolution. Granted, a good video-capable DSLR isn’t as cheap as pen and paper, but a prosumer or serious hobbyist can now afford the same HD video equipment that was used to shoot scenes from Fox’s House MD and Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. And that’s pretty darned cool.

On a more gadgety (that should totally be a word) note, Bluetooth’s Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) has really simplified my music experience. I primarily listen to music in the car, but fumbling around with an audio jack from my digital music player to my stereo every time I start or want to change tracks was less than ideal. I often found that quick trips around the corner weren’t even worth the time to take out my phone and plug it in. That was before I found some affordable aftermarket Sony bluetooth stereo head units. Now, I leave my phone in my pocket, and I can use the stereo controls to wirelessly connect and start playing music, as well as stop and change the current track. The next time I go for a drive and press reconnect, my phone continues where it left off (Winamp for Android is very good about keeping track of playlist location). All while driving, without ever having to take out my phone. This is something I’m extremely thankful for.

Yoni Gross: Google Being Everywhere
To me, Google basically is the cloud. Sure, I use other services like Dropbox and SugarSync, but nothing connects my digital life in anything remotely like the number of ways Google does. I use Gmail to consolidate all my email communication, both work and personal. Google Calendar manages my schedule throughout the day. My calls and text messages go through Google Voice. I do all my writing in Google Docs, keep up with news in Google Reader, and connect with my friends, family, and readers on Google+. I store photos in Picasa, listen to my music library in Google Music, and watch videos on YouTube. Also, I use an Android phone that keeps all that information readily accessible even on the go, with apps that bring me everything from email to contacts to podcasts.

So this Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for the hub of my digital life. It may be terrifying that one company knows so much about me, but they leave me confident that wherever I go, I’ll have access to all of my most vital data. Thank you, Google. It would be a very different internet without you.

Later today, we’ll post part two of things the Techcitement staff is thankful for. Until then, please free to tear yourself away from the turkey, football, video games, awkward family conversations, and having a bit too much to drink to tell us what you’re thankful for this Thanksgiving in the comments section.