iphone phrenzy

I am not a luddite, nor do I fear technology. In fact, I sometimes embrace it. I mean, I am blogging, am I not? And I love apple. I have never owned a computer that was not an apple -- from my II LC (which I bought from a guy who advertised it in the Chicago Reader -- pre craigslist, kids!), to my blueberry ibook, to my G3 white ibook, to my current desktop G4. I didn't care to learn about computers when I was in high school, was slightly less disinterested in college, but once I saw what apples could do and how easily and intuitive the work was on their computers, I was hooked. 

I love the Mac V. PC commercials, have owned three ipods and read mac magazines like they are softcore porn (hardcore porn, to me, is stuff like Metropolitan Home and Elle Decor -- yeah, expose that brick! let's see you match the window treatments to the carpeting!) and troll the Web sites for new product rumors (were it not for the auto fill-in function, I'd have carpal tunnel from typing in 'ipod touch price drop' so often). I don't think I would care at all or at least not so much, about designing flyers and posters, making stationery, making music playlists and compilation CDs, or blogging, if I had to do any of it on a non-apple computer.

All that being said, am I alone in thinking, as I read all about the madness surrounding the release of the new iphone, "Um, you people are getting excited and waiting in line for hours and hours for ... a phone?"  Maybe it's because I am at an age where I remember when just about every cool technological, computer-based thing became available to the general public (CD players, DVD players, cell phones, mp3 players, for instance) that part of me still thinks all this is way cool and any day now we will have our jet packs, but I am pretty sure I can survive a week or two (and would even look forward to) living without the cell, the computer, the e-mail, the news and blog updates, et al. I get technology, I like it, most of the time, I know my way around it, but it all should help our lives, not drive them. It's like that old Roman saying, "I eat to live; I do not live to eat." I think technology should make our lives easier, but we shouldn't complicate our lives in order to make a place for the technology. Then again, I just paraphrased an ancient Roman saying -- that could explain why I might be a little out of touch.