Going paperless in 2010 as much as possible.

We've enjoyed some great weather here in Whitehorse for August.  August 16, 2010 probably marks the last time that we'll get up near 30 degrees Celsius for 2010.  The next 24 to 36 hours are going to see us return to normal temperatures for this time of year.  Alaska did not fair well for weather this summer. Summer in Whitehorse is most excellent indeed.

Since the year 2000 I have attempted to move towards technology is some specific and significant way.  These changes were not New Year's resolutions.  These were choices made after spending some time considering what these changes would mean in terms of how those around me and myself would be affected.  This year I have decided to get rid of paper as much as I can.  I decided it's time to get with the 21st Century and go after the one "old" thing that I have not attempted to get rid of .  Books, magazine and newspapers are my prime targets for removal from my life.  I don't actually mean I'm ridding myself of books, magazines and newspapers.  I will no longer be purchasing the paper versions of these thing from now on.

Bills in paper form have been relatively easy to rid myself of.  A fair number of companies that can be found on the web offer (and actually prefer that customers use because it's way cheaper) paperless billing via e-mail.  Will I be fully free of paper?  The realistic answer is no.  That may not happen in my lifetime as paper is still a mandatory requirement for many things in life.  Take passports for example.  A rather important paper based document that will probably remain paper based for decades to come.

Sony Reader PRS-600

But, with books, magazine and newspapers the answer is yes.  It's fairly easy to do these days.  I have tried reading from a computer screen and even a netbook screen but, that hasn't been convenient because of the size of the screen, position of the computer display and my posture while reading have been issues.

I chose to purchase a Sony Reader PRS-600 last week.  Besides purchasing books, magazines and newspapers in a digital format  I have been interested in Google Books ever since Google announced it was scanning books with the idea of making the world's largest collection of digital books or e-books available on-line.  The cool thing is that the Sony Reader does a good job with presenting PDF files also.  I can now add manuals and instruction guides to the list of paper items I am ridding myself of.  With the choice of using a Sony Memory Stick Duo or SD cards up to 32 GB, I don't think I'll run out of storage any time soon.

I enjoy audio books from Audible.com and when I have a mildly mindless chore to perform or want to go for a walk I'll listen to an audio book.  I confess that this has become the major way that I "read" books these days.  Audio books aren't the full answer to my needs so my Sony Reader will function as the main device by which I will read all manner of things that I use to read from paper.  As much as some may think this is about going green and I guess it kind of it.  I mean I know that I have killed a lot of trees in my life when it comes to the amount of paper that I have collected.  It's not really the "Green" thing that motivates me.  I am tired of paper.

I took a look at the iPad from a distance and am not interested in it at this time.  I have never had one in my hands and that may change towards the ends of this month.  I'm sure it's a fine piece of technology.  It's just not want I'm looking for at this time.  The applications I have in mind and the things that I do and want to do just don't suit what I think the iPad could be used for.  It would probably make a good e-reader but, it's not a cheap e-reader!  I also don't believe the iPad is a computer killer yet.  I know it's not the only gadget that I'll ever want because I don't want it.  It's not the iPad.  It's just me.  I'm picky like crazy!  Just ask my wife.

Another thing that I have decided is that I don't want an all-in-one gadget.  Yet, the tech industry tells me that I do.  I want my phone to be my phone.  I want my PDA to be my Personal Digital Assistant and not my phone.  I want my ebook reader to be my ebook reader, etc.  I may eventually get myself a smart phone but, it won't be the only communications device that I will have.  What happens when the all-in-one gadget fails?  You've got nothing.  Don't tell me I'm old fashioned because I know that's not the case.  Having an all-in-one gadget may be cheaper but, again, why would I want to have all my important communications resources and functions in one gadget?  I believe I am not the only person in the world with this view.

GPS receivers are an excellent example of all-in-one gadgets that do some really amazing stuff in terms of navigation and provision of navigational information.  I will always carry a compass and map(s) with me.  Maps are another paper based thing that I will probably always have.  Why?  Because maps and a compass don't require batteries.

Northwestel's fibre optic cable has been in the news a lot this month.  Construction types with digging equipment love digging up cable.  This leave us Northwestel customers north of 60 degree North kind of knackered up when it comes to telephone service, Internet service and all manner of other commercial services that require any kind of network for transactions and the like.  As I write this post Internet bandwidth here in Whitehorse is still rather narrow.  Sigh!

Have a fun and safe remainder of August.  I'll write again when the leaves are even more yellow and almost totally gone in September.