Technology Overload Syndrome

When it comes to learning new technology my advice is always --- one thing at a time. It is good sound advice, but even I cannot always take it. This booming technological world does not always allow me to be comfortable with my current “one thing” before dropping another right on my head.

I am the one who refuses (almost all) software updates because I cannot stand the thought of things changing place on a screen (that I already have trouble seeing). I do not get giddy when the newest version of anything is released, I get nervous. It does not keep me from wanting all the hottest newest things --- I just do best when they come in measured doses.

For the last several weeks I have been sometimes overwhelmed with too much new tech, most of which was not my choosing. It is not a good feeling when everything you need to do takes ten times longer than (the five times longer) it usually takes! Progress moves to a snail’s pace and the anxiety mounts.

It started out with a budget proposal in Microsoft Excel, a program I had not used to any great extent in years. Well it’s not like riding a bike, I can assure you. The last time I used Excel it was 6 versions ago and my computer screen was not quite so magnified back then. It was unrecognizable and quite difficult to navigate at 8 times larger than norm.

It’s a good thing I did not get too cozy with whatever Excel version I was on because the very next week my computer at work was upgraded to Microsoft Office 2010 and all hell broke loose, I mean we were practically leaping from the past into the present. It was a hard landing. Everything in the toolbars looks different --- the drop down lists I had so become accustomed to now look like a lot of cartoon icons I cannot identify. My comfort with Outlook and Word is under siege, but I am certainly not alone in this, all of my colleagues are also adjusting. My adaptation is a little different because when the screen is magnified 8x you can only zoom into about 1/8 of it at a time.

My challenges transitioning to Office 2010 were compounded by the prickly and often outright unfriendly nature of assistive technology. ZoomText (software) the lifeline to my PC which gives me the magnification and speech I need was undergoing its own issues adjusting to this new environment. Text was disappearing when magnified (too much) and the speech now had a funny accent and was mispronouncing every few words. Work was becoming hell -- proofreading a total bitch! Now everything was taking me 15 times longer.

While all this is going on I have to deal with fundraising for Double Up 4 Vision the tandem bike ride I am participating in to support the Lighthouse. I am participating in tomorrow to support the Lighthouse. It is to be set up online using a program by Convio which is not accessible to people using screen readers --- and not that accessible to anyone else either. Following two sessions guided step by step through the many, many steps required to register and start the fundraising process I discover there are two options for fundraising --- the easy way or the hard way. I choose to minimize the torture on this one and instead of using the complicated Convio system I simplify --- sending email notes with this link to my donation page: http://lhi.convio.net/goto/Dorrie


To keep your brain healthy and sharp I know it is essential to keep learning, challenging, stretching your mind. But does it have to give you a headache?