Well Elroy, if I didn’t have government clients, I could also get rid of my printer

I guess I’ll be Judy. Haven’t had a printer at home for more than three years. I’ve needed one twice — both times I “rented” one at a local office supply/business center.

There’re two in my garage, just in case I need one. I’m not in a hurry to get them set up, though.

I’m almost the same way, the only time that I need paper is when I’m dealing with the bigger bits of bureaucracy within the University. Personally, I try to keep everything PDFed and searchable.

Grandma still appreaciates mailed photos of the grandkids that we printed out and sent her. And, my son’s school projects still require printed things. Other than that, it gathers dust. Over the summer, the toner actually dried up from lack of use. I wonder how well this next generation will be able to operate in an analog world if necessary or required…

Grandma still appreaciates mailed photos of the grandkids that we printed out and sent her. She has not gone digital at her 75+ years. And, my son’s school projects still require printed things. Other than that, it gathers dust. Over the summer, the toner actually dried up from lack of use. I wonder how well this next generation will be able to operate in an analog world if necessary or required…

Crap…toner dries up?

Welcome to the fold. I haven’t had a land line telephone since 2003, and our last ink jet was thrown away when we moved in 2002. We haven’t missed either of them. When people hear that, they usually wrinkle thier eyebrows and look at us like we are freaks, though I am not sure why.

The only hitch in our giddy-up is for occasional Government (tax) paperwork that has to be printed. They have pdf forms that we fill out, then print at work the next day. I probably print less than 25 pieces of paper per year for personal use. A bonus is that all of our important docs are reachable online. If fire, flood or tornado strikes our home, we don’t have to start from scratch.

One set of Grandparents is web-able and checks our Flickr photos to see the Grandchild, the other set is pleased as punch a few times a year when we print photos out of iPhoto and they miraculously deliver straight to their home. We looked into buying them a digital photo frame a while back, but they have no internet connection, and live far enough in the sticks that it would be a long distance phone call to update it once a day.

I’ve been trying to keep the same mentality at work. Whenever I make tutorial or course handouts, I go ahead and make the full length razzle-dazzle version and place a pdf of that on the server. Then I delete all but the barest of essential take-away data and put that on a single page with directions on where to go online to find the full version. That way if they want it, it is there for them. If they don’t want it bad enough to go get it, we just saved on printing costs. (I wish I could say it was because I am mindful of the environment, but it is really to save printing costs.)

Anyway - you are correct, a wireless, paperless life is possible!

Hey Elroy,
I hadn’t really thought about it, but just realized the ONLY use my home printer has gotten the last few months has been when my daughter has printed out something that she’s created for fun, and wants to display it on the wall, or something she wants to turn in for homework. Things that make me go hmmm…

Chris O’Neal

Well, I must be the only one who lives in a backwards world - neither my parents nor my wife’s parents are “wired”, we still send Christmas cards with letters to people, we have a phone which is used regularly, especially with our teenage daughters. I work at a school that has forms, many, many forms, that we print and fill in and fax an file everyday. I still read the paper on Saturday and my family still enjoys a great game of Clue or Monopoly on Friday evenings. Everytime I check this out, it’s like another planet. really. We don’t Skype at all, the kids are happy playing hockey in the streets and some even still believe in Santa Claus. btw - I’d miss speaking with my 92 year old grandmother a few times a year and my chidren still love to count the number of Christmas cards we receive from all over the world from relatives and friends. I bet most of you think that voting should be done electronically from home! To be quite honest, some people don’t want to be as “cutting edge”, still enjoy a good book, making puzzles, running in the morning or a good workout, planting gardens and all those other “sticks” things;) I just love this place - it keeps me human!
K

[...] Right now, you’re wondering, what does this have to do with JL? Well nothing. However, it will all come together. After getting home and watching Cars with my kids - a must see for any parent - I have been checking out some of my favourite blogs and reading. As usual, I stick to those that discuss education, technology and learning. Now, Will Richardson’s was good for some deep reflection on my part, especially the blog on No Printer and it’s comments. Imagine a Christmas with no Christmas cards or a birthday with just a little blip on your computer. Where does grandma put the money? As I read the blog and comments, it wasn’t the Jetson’s that I was reminded of, but Jean-Luc Piccard and the Enterprise as he travels throughout space, seeking new life forms. What I truly enjoyed was that, surrounded by all that technology and instant communication, Piccard always sought to remind us that, without our humanity, the technology was nothing. He constantly used Shakespearean references, various instances when our human history and intelletual wit, not the technology, to bring about peace and find a solution . In fact, Data, a machine, for all his technological abilities, was not human because he couldn’t understand the emotion that a certain picture could bring to someone or a particular melody could evoke within another being . It was this lack that kept him, a truly technological being, from being human. So as we race to get rid of paper and all those other “old” modes of communication and rush to embrace the “sanity” that technology brings us - no more messy piles of paper - should we maybe remember that no replicator could ever make a good cup of Earl Grey tea, a StarShip Captain read Will and wrote poetry and the one thing Data wanted for Christmas was to be human. [...]

Elroy, You can borrow my HP-9040 (just .9 cents per page) whenever you want to jump back to the old ways.

I guess I missed something somewhere in this thread.

My telephone and printer never once made me feel more human. Not having them has never prevented me from going outside, reading a book, gardening, calling Great-Grandma on my cell phone or sending Christmas cards.

It HAS saved me $30 a month in telephone company charges, and who knows how much on ink jet printers and their ink cartidges- which by the way is more expensive per ounce than the finest champagne in all the world. That would buy a lot of board games, books and hockey pucks.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
–
Technology is a word with origins in the Greek word technologia (τεχνολογία), techne (τέχνη) “craft” and logia (λογία) “saying.” It is a broad term dealing with the use and knowledge of humanity’s tools and crafts.
–

Paper is “stuff”. Pencils, ink, harness, plow, wheels and thread are “stuff”. Printers and telephones are “stuff”. Technology is what we do with the “stuff”. “Stuff” is rarely the issue.

One of my pet peeves is the linking of “stuff” to emotion. Some people want to hold onto old “stuff” because it feels comfortable to them. Others want to get rid of the old “stuff” and replace it with latest “stuff” because it is shiny and makes them feel emotionally better in some way. As educators I feel like it is our responsibility to sit in the middle and do the most to benefit teachers and kids with the most efficient “stuff” we can get our hands on.

And now I understand what I missed earlier. I forgot that when we read blog posts we react to things that touch our own emotions. other wise we would just sit on our hands and move along. “K” and “MrChristie” read something here that sparked them to react. I didn’t understand what they were getting at, which sparked me to react. Our ideas and spark points may be different, but we all shared our feelings here on this page.

That feels pretty human to me!

Wikipedia is the key to most success online, when it comes to collabritive content adding. I have spent many hours writing articles for Jimmy Wales and am very happy with this project. I am based in Seminole FL close to the wikipedia offices in St Petersburg. I love contributing!

Happy New Year Bloggers!