Tag: LUDDITES

Unhinged may not be the right word, but, when actress Winona Ryder told Jimmy Fallon last night that she doesn't own a computer, she certainly seemed slightly manic. True, as a seven-year old, the actress lived on a commune with no electricity, but her previously noted aversion to the Internet doesn't seem to be rooted in any sort of Ludditism; she has an iPhone that is currently baffling her. ...

Allow us to tweak your nostalgia bone for a minute (you can find it right next to your insincerity bone): the last remaining typist (yes, as in typewriter) has gotten the boot from the hallowed halls of the Writers Room here in NYC. Skye Ferrante has been paying the $1,400 annual fee to guarantee himself space at the Greenwich Village haven for writers for the past six years. But he decided to ...

There may not be a more prescient, or dichotomous, living author than Ray Bradbury. The sci-fi writer has foretold of numerous modern gadgets and gizmos; in his classic 1953 novel 'Fahrenheit 451,' he wrote of flat-screen interactive televisions and headphones eerily similar to ear buds. His story 'The Veldt' describes in great detail "Happy-life Homes," a remarkable precursor to technologically ...

Keeping up with the latest Web and tech trends can be particularly difficult, especially for casual surfers who get easily confused and frustrated by the constant inundation of new terms and devices. To help lower the language barrier, according to the BBC, the master statisticians at Gadget Helpline surveyed 5,000 U.K. residents, and compiled England's 10 most confusing tech-related terms. We ...

Singer, '70s sex symbol, and supposed spell-caster Steve Nicks has officially come out against computers, according to the AP. "I believe that computers have taken over the world," Nicks told the AP last week. "I believe that they have in many ways ruined our children. I believe that kids used to go out and play." She continued, saying "I believe that social graces are gone and manners are gone ...

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/arts_culture/Paul_McCartney_Beatles_on_iTunes_stalled_I_m_not_dead'; In a new twist to the wearisome saga of the Beatles digitizing their music catalog for iTunes (or any digital service, for that matter), Paul McCartney says that the negotiations have "stalled." McCartney said, "It's between EMI and the Beatles, I think," before adding, "I really hope it will ...

If you were an aging rocker with a few hits from decades past occasionally percolating up through the sappy songlists of soft-rock radio stations, would you tell your already slim and likely dwindling fan base to ratchet up the tribute Web sites, maybe to spur on a few album sales? Or would you employ the long arm of the Web Sheriff, and shut'em down! (That exclamation point tells you ...

In a fascinating convergence of the old world and the new, some Pennsylvania Amish communities have recently begun harnessing solar energy to power devices like hot water heaters and horse-drawn buggies' taillights. While environmentalists have been pushing for the development of solar energy for decades, the Amish's adoption of the energy source has little to do with its being "green." ...

In a recent interview with the New York Observer, 'Bonfire of the Vanities' and 'Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test' author Tom Wolfe declared that blame for the ongoing mortgage crisis can be placed squarely on the shoulders of digital media, BoingBoing tells us. Whereas in earlier days, Wolfe explains, lenders reviewed mortgages on paper, today they are confronted with digital copies and, thus, a ...

From all the stories about wired AARP-ers, you might think of today's senior citizen as a Wiimote-swinging, brain-training, video-gaming technological hipster (with replaced hips). That's certainly the case for a growing number of seniors out there, but sadly, it's definitely not the majority, at least according to a recent survey in Germany showing that 58-percent of seniors in that country ...

When asked by the New York times about his proficiency in surfing the Web, presidential candidate John McCain admitted to being Web 'illiterate,' and relying on his wife for 'any assistance he can get.' The interesting part about this story isn't the fact that a 71-year-old-man is unable or unwilling to use the Internet. Only 35% of senior citizens (people over 65) are online. However McCain is ...

Last month, we reported on a story about some computer users' fears of Internet access making us increasingly stupid. We're not sure that we necessarily agree with that idea, and we certainly aren't feeling the latest Luddite-tastic claim that GPS-enabled devices are going to make us forget how to get home. The idea is that people are becoming increasingly reliant on gadgets that tell us how to ...

Do you know anyone who isn't spending time online, sending e-mail, reading blogs and reviews or just shopping for the best deal? Apparently, plenty of people are still not using the Internet, whether for communication or anything else, according to a new survey issued by Parks Associates. According to the analyst firm, one-fifth of U.S. households have never used e-mail and 18 percent have no ...

Jaroslaw Kaczynski has, shall we say, an aversion to technology and those who use it. The former Prime Minister of Poland and current opposition leader has drawn attention to himself with a barrage of pointed opinions regarding online voting. In a quote from his political party's Web site, Kaczynski believes that online voting should be a non-option for Poles because the Internet is for people ...