Whenever new technology or methods are brought into the mainstream culture, there are always some delays and skepticism before these new ways are fully accepted.

But I should say almost always.  In the case of the massive transfer to the electronic era this hasn’t been so.  Our entire populace has dived in and accepted this new way of record-keeping and information transfer in a way that has completely transformed the way we live and do business.

It wasn’t that many years ago that when you would present your credit card to the cashier of a retail store, everything would come to a halt while the cashier pulled out this Reader’s Digest-sized book with 50,000 suspended credit card numbers in it.  Then she’d desperately thumb through the book comparing your card number with the “hot sheet” before the sale could be completed.

But now, with the combination of high-speed, reliable computers and efficient wireless and cable telephone connections, such transactions are accurately and safely completed in the fraction of a second.  We are reminded of this benefit every time we purchase gasoline with the plastic card.  Or use that life-saving device known as the ATM.  You just punch a few numbers into a little keyboard, dutifully face the wall for a few seconds, and then money comes out of a little slot for you to take and keep on spending.

Even though I now take advantage of this new technology and have automatic payment plans with my utility bills and debit card use for the stores,  I still write the occasional check.  But now I am running low on checks and need to order a fresh supply.  Later this morning I will log onto the printer’s webpage, enter a few basic figures, and about 3 minutes later I will be finished.  Within 12 hours my box of new checks will be printed, packaged and in the mail where I will get them in 2 or 3 days.  Ain’t that slick?

Ok, time to get the equipment checked out.  I’ve got to get the coffee started.  We don’t have a computer that does that yet.

Trackback This Post | Subscribe to the comments through RSS Feed