Technology, Schmechnology

I try to keep up with what's going on in the world for the sake of my characters when I'm writing. However, I'm too old fashioned to jump at all the latest gimmicks out there. I still just use a cell phone to make phone calls. It receives text messages, but I delete them if someone dares send me one. It has the usual number buttons, though I'm not interested in sitting around trying to figure which numbers to press to spell out "get lost." I have considered getting a smart phone to learn what my characters might do with it, but I haven't taken the plunge yet.

I did give up and go high-tech with the TV a week ago. I'd been content with a remote that changed channels and switched on and off. We've used a DVD/VCR to record the CBS evening news and my wife's favorite morning show, The Price Is Right. The recorder had been screwing up recently, though. After numerous efforts to watch the news or Drew Carey failed, we decided something had to be done.

Our old 32-inch TV, a monster device that weighed a ton when I tried to move it, was at least twenty years old, though it still had a fairly decent picture. We decided to go all out and get a 42-inch flat screen model with High Definition. Comcast had provided us with a small gadget that sat on top of the TV when they went all-digital. I discovered a full-size cable box would be required to get HD on the new set. I also discovered for the same price I could get a cable box/DVR, a digital video recorder.

I got all the connections made and the device activated and voila! Up pops a menu will all sorts of possibilities. The TV has a Wi-Fi connector. I can connect with my computer and display Internet content on the TV screen. Do streaming movies, photo albums, all sorts of things. With the Comcast box, I can record TV programs galore. Using ON DEMAND, dozens of programs telecast over the past week are available to watch again, plus dozens of movies.

The only problem is I have two manuals (TV and cable) and three CDs to peruse to learn how to use all this stuff. Technology, ain't it great? Ugh!

I suppose it's necessary to give me the ability to keep my characters in vogue with the times. How about you? Have you upgraded your life to take in all the latest gadgetry?

Chester Campbell

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G-Whiz, the PI's Have It

I write two mystery series featuring PI's. In the first series, my protags are a couple in their latter sixties. Greg McKenzie is a sharp investigator and is fascinated by all the new surveillance gadgets, but when it comes to telephones he's a bit old-fashioned. He thinks telephones are communication devices for people to talk on, just like they were back when you stuck your finger in the correct holes to dial a number.

The G-revolution has changed all that. If you're like Greg, you've seen all the G signs around kiosks at the mall but never bothered to find out what it's all about. The modern PI knows. In my second series, Sid Chance's sidekick, Jaz LeMieux, has all the latest smart phone gadgetry and uses them to her advantage.

So what is this G business all about? Greg McKenzie stepped on the G1 rung when he bought an analog cell phone. For an investigator, it was a great time. You could buy a scanner that would sweep the cell-phone spectrum and listen in on your target's conversations. No need for a wiretap and all that business.

That ended when G2 came along, the digital cell phone. Digital transmission improved the quality of the signal but made it quite difficult to listen in on the conversations. You had to know the algorithms used by a particular cell company to unscramble a call.

Greg was okay with the G2 step, but then along came another advance known as G3. That was a bit much. Cell phones suddenly started sprouting up that would tune into the Internet, receive emails, text messages, pictures, most anything you could imagine. A bit slow for downloading large files, but doable.

Now we have the fourth generation (yes, G stands for Generation). The 4G phones are faster than ever, four to ten times faster than the previous generation. The high-speed addition will allow a PI to sit at a table watching his target chat with a potential bad guy, flip through photos on his cell phone and try to pick out a match. It provides all kinds of possibilities. Do a real-time background check.

This newest revolution won't affect Greg because he's still living in 2004, but you can bet Sid and Jaz will put it to good use. Have you encountered the G-whiz factor in a mystery?

Mystery Mania Blog

ChesterCampbell.com